June 12, 2023

Gratitude Brain Change, 2 Quotes, and You Can Bring Retreat to You

June 12, 2023

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4 THOUGHTS

1. The Passion Paradox

I love breathing and lose sleep thinking about it.

2. Two Unconnected (but highly related) Quotes to Contemplate

“To know that the mind is the root of everything is to realize that we are ultimately responsible for both our own happiness and our own suffering. It is in our hands.” – Sogyal Rinpoche

“By controlling your breathing, you can use a voluntary mechanical behavior to make a profound change on your state of mind.” - Emma Seppälä, Ph.D.

3. An Easy Way to Change Your Brain & How You Feel

“Every time you take in the good, you build a little bit of neural structure. Doing this a few times a day—for months and even years—will gradually change your brain, and how you feel and act, in far-reaching ways.”
– Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Buddha’s Brain

Here’s a simple way to put this idea into practice during your day: Take a couple of breaths and think to yourself, “This is great! I have an abundance of the most valuable resource known to our species, and I don’t even have to work that hard to get it!”

***

P.S. I use this a lot. Sometimes it feels too forced, and I don’t notice much of anything. But sometimes, it profoundly shifts my mindset, making it worth it every time 🙏

4. Nasal Breathing Counteracts the Effects of Gravity

“In this work, we have demonstrated that nasal breathing counteracts the effects of gravity on pulmonary blood flow in the upright position by redistribution of blood to the nondependent lung regions.”
– Sánchez Crespo et al. (2010)

I re-read this excellent paper and wanted to re-share this remarkable finding: Due to nitric oxide, nasal breathing redistributes blood flow from the bottom to the top of the lungs, countering gravity’s effects.

This *might* mean that nasal nitric oxide was an evolutionary adaption to lessen gravity’s effects, allowing us to walk upright 🤯

P.S. Check out the IG post for neat graphics.

1 Quote

“Breathing, it turns out, can be the quickest, most direct path to deep rest. When you can’t go to a retreat, you can bring the retreat to you. And all you need is your breath.””

— Elissa Epel, Ph.D.

1 Answer

Category: Nasal Nitric Oxide

Answer: Compared with mouth breathing, research shows that nasal breathing delivers about this much more nitric oxide to the lungs.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is six times more?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. I personally have no problem with it

* An asterisk by a quote indicates that I listened to this book on Audible. Therefore, the quotation might not be correct, but is my best attempt at reproducing the punctuation based on the narrator’s pace, tone, and pauses.

Nicholas Heath

April 3, 2023

weekly email, Batch 9

Top 5 IG Accounts, “Embreathment”, and Breathing for Emotional Health

Nicholas Heath

April 3, 2023

weekly email, Batch 9

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4 THOUGHTS

1. The “Embreathment” Illusion

“This new way of inducing a respiratory bodily illusion, called “embreathment,” revealed that breathing is almost as important as visual appearance for inducing body ownership and more important than any other cue for body agency.”
- Monti et al. (2020)

This was such an awesome, fun-to-read study (and “embreathment” is possibly the coolest thing I’ve seen in a science paper).

They used virtual reality to assess how important breathing is for “corporeal awareness,” the feeling that we own a body, we have agency over that body, and that body occupies a location in space.

As the above quote illustrates, they found that, even without conscious awareness, breathing helps us feel more body ownership and, most significantly, a sense of body agency. Pretty crazy.

Those are the most important things, but this one had tons of other neat and practical results. If you’re interested, consider signing up for the Learning Center to get the full Science 411.

2. Endlessly Ending. Endlessly Renewed

“One of the most remarkable facts of existence is under our noses all of the time. This is the Now of the present moment: endlessly ending, and endlessly renewed. Radically transient, yet always enduring.”
– Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Neurodharma

“Endlessly ending, and endlessly renewed. Radically transient, yet always enduring.”…just like each breath.

I suppose this is why humanity has always regarded breathing as our gateway to presence…because it is presence : )

3. A Thought & Action on Breathing for Better Emotional Health

Thought

We cannot control our emotions with our thoughts (at least, I’ve never been able to). We can, however, regulate them with our actions. And breathing is the most accessible action we can perform anytime to help manage our emotions.

(Related Quote: “The finding that we can change how we feel by using our breath is revolutionary.” - Emma Seppälä, Ph.D.)

Action

Stop and notice where you feel breath sensations in your body, in whatever position you are currently occupying. Note how observing the breath naturally slows it down. Do this for 1-3 breaths, and notice how much better your mind and body feel after.

This is always available to you.

4. Five Instagram Accounts I Love

Here are 5 IG accounts I genuinely enjoy, in no particular order (there are many more, but these were the first to come to mind).

HHPF: Best account for breathing studies.
abc.breathworkforkids: One of the coolest accounts out there if you have kids or work with them.
jaozolins: Brings life-changing wisdom to life with elegant yet simple designs (I could look at these posts all day).
op_e__n: Beautiful designs, lots of breathing posts, and inspiring quotes.
still.life: Awesome designs and inspirational content.

Become the Bruce Lee of Breathing

Learn & integrate different methods, philosophies, and approaches to breathing for better mental and physical health.

Join Today.

$14.99/month or $149/year

1 Quote

“Wherever you go, the breath is with you, providing an anchor. At moments that are right for you, you can turn to it just as you might turn to a good friend, to help you stay alert and cut down on the mind’s habitual, unnecessary thinking that often squanders so much energy.””

— Larry Rosenberg

1 Answer

Category: Aquatic Mammal Breathing

Answer: Dolphins can exhale air up to this fast.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is 100 mph?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. I’m too witty for this class

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Each Monday, I curate and synthesize information from scientific journals, books, articles, and podcasts to share 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy!") related to breathing. It’s a fun way to learn something new each week.

Nicholas Heath

February 27, 2023

weekly email, Batch 9

Good Stress, Self Love, and Breathing for Happiness and Wisdom

Nicholas Heath

February 27, 2023

weekly email, Batch 9

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4 Thoughts

1. On & Off: The Stress-Reducing Effects of Fast Breathing

“Breathing really fast and heavy on purpose flips the vagal response the other way, shoving us into a stressed state. It teaches us to consciously access the autonomic nervous system and control it, to turn on heavy stress specifically so that we can turn it off and spend the rest of our days and nights relaxing and restoring, feeding and breeding.”
- James Nestor, Breath

Although I talk about slow breathing 99.9% of the time, this is an excellent description of the benefits of occasionally practicing fast breathing: We consciously turn on stress so we can then turn it off. 👏

***

P.S. If you’re interested, I just released a Book 411 on Breath. Sign up for the Breath is Life Learning Center to get immediate access 🙏

Featured

Jun 16, 2023

The Stress Prescription: Seven Days to More Joy and Ease

Jun 16, 2023

What You’ll Learn:

1. What Meditation Is & Its Overall Goal

2. Well-Being, Telomerase, and Adaptive Functioning

3. The Emotional Benefits of Meditation

4. Brain Changes from Meditation

1 Life-Changing Idea

How to End a Breathing, Meditation, Reading, or Really Any Contemplative Practice

Jun 16, 2023

2. Breathing for Happiness, Love, and Wisdom

Thought #1 reminded me of this amazing quote from Rick Hanson, Ph.D., in Buddha’s Brain:

“Happiness, love, and wisdom aren’t furthered by shutting down the SNS [sympathetic nervous system], but rather by keeping the autonomic nervous system as a whole in an optimal state of balance.”

So here’s to using our breath—our remote control to our nervous system—to achieve an optimal state of balance and find a little more happiness, love, and wisdom this week 🙏

***

P.S. We also have a Book 411 on this one in the Learning Center : )

3. The Breath of Life Influences Everything

“Chronic overbreathing leads to loss of health, poor fitness, and compromised performance and also contributes to many ailments including anxiety, asthma, fatigue, insomnia, heart problems, and even obesity. It may seem strange that such a disparate range of complaints can be caused by or worsened by overbreathing, but the breath of life influences literally every aspect of our health.”
– Patrick McKeown, The Oxygen Advantage

And fortunately, this is also why improving our breathing can help with so many issues—because “the breath of life influences literally every aspect of our health.” 👏

4. The Best Definition of a Breathing Practice is…

Self-love. It covers all benefits for the body, mind, and spirit.

So don’t forget to show yourself some, this week.

1 Quote

“Remember that every time you bring yourself back to full presence, you reap major rewards: you become more impactful, more memorable, and come across as more grounded. You’re laying the foundation for a charismatic presence.””

— Olivia Fox Cabane

1 Answer

Category: Blood Reservoir

Answer: At rest, these organs contain approximately 10% of the total circulating blood volume.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are the lungs?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. sorry Jerry I was in a jam

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Nicholas Heath

November 28, 2022

weekly email, Batch 9

Holotropic Breathing, a 6 bpm Prayer, and the Power of PNS

Nicholas Heath

November 28, 2022

weekly email, Batch 9

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4 Thoughts

1. Study: Prayer and Mantra Lead to ~5.5-6.0 Breaths a Minute

“Remarkably, the regularity of breathing seen during recitation of the Ave Maria or of the mantra was similar to regularity during controlled breathing at 6/min, indicating that these methods could stabilise the respiratory rate as effectively as precisely timed control.”
- Effect of rosary prayer and yoga mantras on autonomic cardiovascular rhythms…

In this now somewhat famous study, reciting the Hail Mary prayer or a yoga mantra naturally led to a breath rate of almost exactly 5.5-6 breaths/min. Leading to the conclusion: “The rosary might be viewed as a health practice as well as a religious practice.” 👏

***

P.S. I released a Science 411 for this paper on Friday as part of my new Breath is Life Learning Center. You still have two days to get this & tons of wisdom for just $11/month or $110/year (27% off forever) 🙏

2. The Power of the PNS and How to Nourish It

“Parasympathetic activation is the normal resting state of your body, brain, and mind. If your SNS were surgically disconnected, you’d stay alive (though you wouldn’t be very useful in an emergency). If your PNS were disconnected, however, you’d stop breathing and soon die.”
- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Budhha’s Brain

That’s crazy. And since our PNS is so vital, I think it’s safe to say we should nourish it every chance we get. So how do we do it?

Here are two (of several) exercises Dr. Hanson suggests:

Diaphragmatic Breathing: Place a hand on your stomach and look down at it. Then, breathe slowly, and try to “breathe into your hand with real oomph, so that it travels back and forth half an inch or more with each breath.”
Big Exhales: “Inhale as much as you can, hold that inhalation for a few seconds, and then exhale slowly while relaxing.”

Better yet, combine the two, and enjoy stimulating and nourishing your PNS a little more this week : )

3. The Healing Power of (different) Breaths

“Each breath form is taught for its own special healing purposes. Just as you use different exercises for different muscle groups, you gain more by using a variety of breathing practices that each has their own unique effects.”
- Richard Brown, MD, and Patricia Gerbarg, MD, The Healing Power of the Breath

Just an excellent reminder that one of the key healing powers of the breath is that we can use it in different ways for different outcomes.

We “gain more by using a variety of breathing practices that each has their own unique effects.” <— Let’s do that 👏

4. Are All Breathing Practices Holotropic?

Discussing the word “holotropic:”

“This composite word means literally ‘oriented toward wholeness’ or ‘moving toward wholeness’ (from the Greek holos = whole and trepein = moving toward or in the direction of something).”
- Stanislav & Christina Grof, Holotropic Breathwork

Based on that, I’d say we practice “holotropic” breathing—moving toward wholeness—every time we stop and breathe consciously.

So regardless of what methods we use, let’s all orient toward wholeness a little more, this week 🙏

***

P.S. I’m releasing a Book 411 on Holotropic Breathwork this Friday. Although it’s somewhat controversial to some, I absolutely loved the book (and its bold claims). I hope you’ll consider signing up to get it.

1 Quote

“All persons going to sleep should think, not of their business, not of their riches or poverty, their pains or their pleasures, but, of what are of infinitely greater importance to them, their lungs; their best friends, that have kept them alive through the day.”

— George Catlin

1 Answer

Category: The Nervous System

Answer: The nervous system can transmit information up to this many miles per hour.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is 268 mph?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. A brosecco

Breath is Life Learning Center Now Open

I made the Learning Center for you. The person who reads these posts all the way to the bottom; that loves learning as much as I do 😊

It’s literally my dream come true, and I hope that shines through in the amount of material I’ve added and continue adding every day.

I hope you’ll consider signing up to get all of it for just $11/month or $110/year if you pay annually (less than 40 cents a day in either case). Your price will never go up. This intro offer ends on Dec. 1.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and supporting my work over the years 🙏

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Nicholas Heath

November 14, 2022

weekly email, Batch 9

Wim Hof & the Ocean, Presencing, and a Long, Good Life

Nicholas Heath

November 14, 2022

weekly email, Batch 9

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If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

4 Thoughts

1. A Borrowed Rule from Nutrition that Applies to Breathing

What you remove is far more valuable than what you add.

When you remove habitual mouth breathing, it’s like removing ultra-processed foods. You’ll feel amazing, and everyone will agree it was a good call.

From there, it becomes like a diet. All breathing methods work in some capacity, and each has its own unique benefits (and group of zealots 😊).

But the key is to find—in a safe and enjoyable way—which one works best for you at this moment in your life.

2. Breathing for Presencing

“Otto Scharmer…suggests that identifying and letting go of our restricting inner voices can help us become more open and present, and thus more creative and collaborative. Scharmer uses the term ‘presencing’—combining ‘present’ with ‘sensing’—to describe the process of coming into the moment and activating full, uninhibited awareness.”
Laurie J Cameron, The Mindful Day

Presencing. I love that word. And what better way to be ‘present’ and ‘sensing’ than with mindful breathing? It’s literally the definition of presencing.

So here’s to tuning into our breath to activate full, uninhibited awareness a little more this week 🙏

***

P.S. The ultimate benefit of presencing: You live longer.

3. The Best Prescription for a Long, Good Life (applied to breathing)

“The best-odds prescription for a long, good life is a baseline of mainly PNS arousal with mild SNS activation for vitality, combined with occasional SNS spikes for major opportunities or threats.”
- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Buddha’s Brain

Although Dr. Hanson is talking about life in general, I think we could apply this wisdom to designing a breathing routine:

Baseline of Mainly PNS Arousal: Most of our time is spent on slow breathing exercises and nasal breathing 24/7
Mild SNS Activation: Some of our time is spent on fast-breathing and/or breath-hold practices
Occasional SNS spikes: A smaller percent of our time is spent on methods like Wim Hof or similar

That seems like a reasonable framework, but remember: it ultimately comes down to what’s suitable for you in this moment of your life—see Thought #1 : )

Note: SNS/PNS = sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system

4. The Ultimate Value of a Breathing Practice is This

“From my standpoint, the ultimate value of art is in nourishing the soul. Everything else is residual.”
- John Toki

I think we could equally say:

The ultimate value of a breathing practice is in nourishing the soul. Everything else is residual.

So make sure you nourish yours a little more this week 🙏

1 Quote

“The breath is as big as the ocean. … It is the sea itself. It’s where we came from, who we are. It is bigger than us because it is us.”

— Wim Hof

1 Answer

Category: Word Etymology

Answer: The word for this organ literally means “light” (in terms of weight).

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the lung?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. Happens every time

Breathing for Diabetes Online Course ($99):

If you love learning about breathing, want to live a healthier life, or just want to support my work, I think you’ll really enjoy this class (diabetes or not).

LEARN MORE AND VIEW THE COURSE CURRICULUM

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Nicholas Heath

November 7, 2022

weekly email, Batch 9

Effective Non-Breathing Tool, Equanimity, and an 8 Breath Protocol

Nicholas Heath

November 7, 2022

weekly email, Batch 9

Listen Instead of Reading

If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

If You Have Diabetes…

Would you mind taking a quick survey? I try to avoid stuff like this, but it will genuinely help me with a project I’m a part of. Thank you!

Breathing & Diabetes Survey

4 Thoughts

1. The Perfect Word for How You Feel from a Breathing Practice

“Equanimity is neither apathy nor indifference: you are warmly engaged with the world but not troubled by it. Through its nonreactivity, it creates a great space for compassion, loving kindness, and joy at the good fortune of others.”
- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Buddha’s Brain

Equanimity. That’s the perfect word to describe what you get from a breathing practice. It’s what you feel immediately after a session, and it’s a state that gradually becomes a bigger part of who you are.

So here’s to experiencing a little more of it, today.

***

P.S. Of course, I’m nowhere near a permanent state of equanimity (just ask my wife 😂), but it has certainly become more a part of me than it was before.

2. Breathing Got the Best Feedback (+ Dr. Weil’s 8 Breath Protocol)

“Over the years, I would say that of all the techniques that I recommended to people for improving health, the single technique that I get most feedback about in a positive way is the breathwork that I'm going to teach you in this program.”
- Andrew Weil, MD, Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing

That’s an insanely powerful statement when you consider how many people Dr. Weil has helped and all the tools he has at his disposal.

And here were three exercises he taught in the program that stood out the most:

Breath Awareness: “The very simplest form of breathwork is doing nothing other than paying attention to your breath.”
The Relaxing Breath: This is the infamous 4-7-8 breath. Watch a video demonstration here.
The Stimulating Breath: This is the bellows breath. Watch a video demonstration here.

As a bare minimum, Dr. Weil recommends four rounds of the 4-7-8 breath twice daily. That’s 8 breaths. It doesn’t get any simpler than that, folks. 👏

3. One of the Most Helpful Non-breathing Things I Learned in PTT

Close your eyes and rub your palms together vigorously for a few seconds to create heat. Then, place them over your eyes.

Do it anytime, but especially at the end of a breathing practice. It’s amazing.

***

P.S. This wasn’t really part of the pranayama teacher training (PTT), just a side note that I found unbelievably helpful. If you’re interested in pranayama, I wholeheartedly recommend Eddie and Robert’s training.

4. My Twice-Yearly Rant (with helpful tools, at least)

I’m pretty laidback 99% of the time (equanimity for the win). But nothing frustrates me more than the time change—even the good one, like yesterday.

But instead of ranting like I normally do on how awful the whole idea is, let’s focus on something we can do to support our sleep: yoga nidra.

Here are a few tracks you might find helpful for better sleep or midday resets:

1 Quote

“Since earliest history, virtually every major psychospiritual system seeking to comprehend human nature has viewed breath as a crucial link between the material world, the human body, the psyche, and the spirit.”

— Stanislav & Christina Grof

1 Answer

Category: The Airways

Answer: This portion of the upper airways is part of both the digestive and respiratory systems because it carries both food and air.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the pharynx?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. An undeniably valid concern/question

Breathing for Diabetes Online Course ($99):

If you love learning about breathing, want to live a healthier life, or just want to support my work, I think you’ll really enjoy this class (diabetes or not).

LEARN MORE AND VIEW THE COURSE CURRICULUM

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Nicholas Heath

October 17, 2022

weekly email, Batch 8

Four Qualities to Develop, and Why Breathing Might Be a Panacea

Nicholas Heath

October 17, 2022

weekly email, Batch 8

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4 Thoughts

1. Why Breathing Seems Like a Panacea

“Your body has numerous major systems, including the endocrine (hormone), cardiovascular, immune, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. If you want to use the mind-body connection to lower your stress, cool the fires, and improve your long-term health, what’s the optimal point of entry into all these systems? It's the autonomic nervous system (ANS).” (my emphasis)
- Rick Hanson, PhD, Buddha’s Brain

And what’s the optimal point of entry into the ANS? The breath.

As Deb Dana says, “Breath is a direct, easily accessible, and rapid way to shape the state of the nervous system.”

When we change the breath, we change all the major systems of the body.

2. The Four Qualities of Breath We Want to Develop to Feel Better

“One of the essential techniques that I distill from this body of knowledge about pranayama is that the qualities of breath that you want to develop are to make it deeper, slower, quieter, and more regular.”
- Andrew Weil, MD, Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing

This has become my new mantra.

Waiting in line at the grocery store: deeper, slower, quieter, & more regular.

At the park with my daughter: deeper, slower, quieter, & more regular.

Anywhere we find ourselves: deeper, slower, quieter, & more regular.

Why are these four qualities so powerful?

“When your breathing is deeper, slower, quieter, and more regular, you are feeling better, in both mind and body. Your nervous system is functioning more smoothly, and all your organs are operating more harmoniously as a result.”

Sounds good to me 🙏

3. It Only Makes Sense that the Breath is So Profound

“The act of breathing begins our life as we come out of the womb; in our last moment, when we cease breathing, our life is over. It only makes sense that the breath should also have a profound influence on all the moments in between.”
- Larry Rosenberg, Breath by Breath

Whenever all this breathing stuff just seems too good to be true, remember: It’s not (talking to myself here 😅). In fact, “it only makes sense” that breathing should have a “profound influence” on all aspects of our lives. 👏

4. Knowing Doesn’t Change Your Life; Doing Does

“But knowing something doesn't change your life. Doing something does. … [T]here's a huge difference between acquiring information and understanding it. And there's an even wider gap between understanding it and implementing it, or actually doing it.”
- Dr. Jason Selk & Tom Bartow, Organize Tomorrow Today

This is a perfect reminder that, although learning is incredible, practice is what changes our lives.

As Jon Kabat-Zinn says, “Try it for a few years and see what happens.”

Count me in. I hope you’ll join me 🙏

1 QUOTE

“By breathing less frequently, we begin to achieve elemental harmony.”

— Anyen Rinpoche & Allison Choying Zangmo

1 ANSWER

Category: Breathing Mechanics

Answer: The contraction of the diaphragm is controlled by this nerve.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the phrenic nerve?

Extra: Ways to Decide if Breathwork Is Right for You

I wrote another guest blog post for ResBiotic titled Ways to Decide if Breathwork is Right for You.

It’s a 5-min read to help you pick which type of breathwork is right for you.

Enjoy!

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. welcome to the team

P.P.S. Slower, deeper, quieter, and more regular

Breathing for Diabetes Online Course ($99):

If you love learning about breathing, want to live a healthier life, or just want to support my work, I think you’ll really enjoy this class (diabetes or not).

LEARN MORE AND VIEW THE COURSE CURRICULUM

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Nicholas Heath

August 8, 2022

weekly email, Batch 8

Vagal Tone, Perfect Advice, and How to Experience More Joy

Nicholas Heath

August 8, 2022

weekly email, Batch 8

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If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

4 Thoughts

1. Breathing, and the Key to High-Level Success

“The key to high-level success is to pick one thing to change—yes, just one—and master it.”
- Dr. Jason Selk & Tom Bartow, Organize Tomorrow Today

Since breath is life, I can’t think of any better “one thing” to master.

2. Extend Your Exhalation to Increase Vagal Tone

“findings showed that CVA [cardiac vagal activity] is higher when the exhalation phase lasts longer than the inhalation phase”
- Laborde et al. (2019)

There is a lot we could cover from this study, but the take-home message is super practical: By slightly extending our exhale, we increase vagal activity.

Here’s a simple formula for doing it: 40% of your breath should be inhaling, and 60% should be exhaling. Simple, easy, and effective.

***

P.S. Thanks for 411 reader B.W. for sending me this paper 🙏

3. How to Experience More Awe, Gratitude, & Joy

“University of North Carolina psychologists Barbara Frederickson, PhD, and Bethany Kok, PhD, demonstrated this beautifully when they asked 52 adults to track their positive emotions—awe, gratitude, joy—for 9 weeks. They found that the higher a subject’s HRV was at the beginning, the easier and more quickly he or she could experience positive feelings over the next 9 weeks.”
- Leah Lagos, Psy.D., Heart Breath Mind

Do you want to experience more awe, gratitude, and joy? (who doesn’t?! 😂) Research suggests that having higher baseline HRV will let you.

And the best way to increase your baseline HRV? See #2 above…

***

Related: Perrin White and I recently discussed breathing and joy on her Breath to Breath podcast. You can jump right to it here. My explanation was different from this one…but it’s all interrelated : )

4. Perfect Advice for the Rest of the Week (and the rest of our lives)

“So look for those little ways in the flow of life to feel a bit more relaxed, protected, strong, and at ease…and a little more grateful, glad, and successful…and a little more cared about and caring, and a little more loved and loving. One breath at a time, one synapse at a time, you can gradually develop an increasingly unshakable core inside yourself. The more often and deeply you do this, the greater the results.”
- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Neurodharma

Sounds good to me 🙏

1 QUOTE

“We might say (every pun intended) that the richness lies right beneath our noses in any and every moment.”

— Jon Kabat-Zinn (foreword to Breath by Breath)

1 ANSWER

Category: Etymology

Answer: This word is derived from a Greek word generally meaning “something that divides” or “a barrier.”

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is diaphragm?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. By the time you’re 30 you should have…

Breathing for Diabetes:

If you love learning about breathing, or just want to live an overall healthier life, I think you’ll really enjoy this class (diabetes or not).

LEARN MORE AND VIEW THE COURSE CURRICULUM

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Nicholas Heath

May 16, 2022

weekly email, Batch 8

Beating Biases, a Simple Truth, and How to Engage in Meaningful Tasks

Nicholas Heath

May 16, 2022

weekly email, Batch 8

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4 Thoughts

1. Use Breathing to Help You Engage Fully with Life

“Mindful Breathing is a useful practice in its own right. It allows us to take some time out from our busy daily routines, and often creates a restful state that allows us to recharge our batteries and find some inner peace. However, I’d like you to think of it as a versatile training tool to help you engage fully in every meaningful task in your life.”
- Dr. Russ Harris, The Confidence Gap

This is the perfect way to approach any type of breath practice. We use it to find inner peace and build resiliency in a controlled environment. But, ultimately, we use that training to help us “engage fully in every meaningful task in [our] life.”

2. Beating Our Negative Biases with Slow Breathing

“We need to deal with real dangers. But much of the time we overestimate threats, which is an aspect of the negativity bias, and don't feel as safe as we actually are. This makes us feel bad, and it wears down physical and mental health over time.”*
- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Neurodharma

Evolution wired us to notice the negative about 9x more than the positive. Although that’s good for survival, it’s not so great for our everyday health.

Enter slow breathing exercises. By activating the calming parasympathetic nervous system, they teach our bodies to feel safe. This dampens the negativity bias, helping us engage fully in things that matter (see thought #1).

3. Try it and See What Happens

“So, at the beginning, you might want to stay with the breath, or use it as an anchor to bring you back when you are carried away. Try it for a few years and see what happens.”
- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go There You Are

I have nothing useful to add, except that this is the best advice I’ve read for all this breathing stuff: “Try it for a few years and see what happens.” <— Count me in 😂 I hope you will join me, too.

4. Breathwalking in its Simplest Form

“Breathwalk at its very simplest means putting breathing patterns and walking together into a carefully and beautifully timed single, synchronized movement. It is walking harmonized with breathing.”
- Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, Ph.D., and Yogi Bhajan, Ph.D.
Breathwalk

Breathwalking is a terrific way to combine 3 ancient wellness techniques: walking, breathing, and meditation. Here’s a good one to get started.

Inhale 8 steps, exhale 8 steps
Do this for 3 min
Walk normally for 2 min
Repeat as needed

It’s simple yet surprisingly powerful. Give it a shot and see how you feel.

1 QUOTE

“These ancient techniques are a reminder of a simple truth that any of us can choose to harness right now: Oxygen is life.”
- Tony Robbins, Life Force

1 ANSWER

Category: Lungs & Gas Transfer

Answer: This is the distance oxygen has to travel to get from the alveoli into the blood vessels, where it can start its journey around the body.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is 1/3 of a micron?

P.S. Michael J Stephen, MD, says that this distance is so small that it “could double without any noticeable shortness of breath at rest.”

Extra: Slow Breathing is a Natural Antioxidant

I wrote a guest blog for ResBiotic titled: Want a Natural and Effective Antioxidant? It's Right Under Your Nose. Enjoy the 3-min read!

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. Optimist vs. Pessimist vs. …

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Nicholas Heath

January 10, 2022

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Inner Resources, Better Blood Flow, and How to Focus on a Fuller Life

Nicholas Heath

January 10, 2022

weekly email

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🎧 Listen Instead of Reading 🎧

If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

4 Thoughts

1. Here is the Fastest Way to Achieve Well-Being

“So what is the fastest way to achieve well-being? It is so close to you that it can easily be overlooked. Your breath. A rapid and reliable pathway into your nervous system, dedicated to helping you regain your optimal state.”
- Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., The Happiness Track

This is beautifully and perfectly said. Nothing to add here 🙏

2. On Sailboats, HRV, and Developing Your Inner Resources

“Developing inner resources is like deepening the keel of a sailboat so that you're more able to deal with the worldly winds—gain and loss, pleasure and pain, praise and blame, fame and slander—without getting tipped over into the reactive mode. Or at least you can recover more quickly.”
- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Neurodharma

Although Dr. Hanson is talking about inner resources in general, this is an excellent analogy for why improving HRV via slow deep breathing is so helpful: it’s like deepening the keel of your physiological sailboat.

You will still be hit by life’s storms, but with higher HRV, you’ll remain steadier and recover quicker. We could say, then, that deep breathing = deep keel.

3. Slow Breathing for Better Blood Flow

“When [the small] blood vessels are relaxed, more blood can flow freely through them. When they become constricted, the same amount of blood flows through a narrower space, increasing your blood pressure.”
- Inna Khazan, Ph.D., Biofeedback and Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Slow breathing activates the calming parasympathetic nervous system, which relaxes the small blood vessels, lowers blood pressure, and improves blood flow.

This is a vital benefit of slow breathing because better blood flow is necessary for, well, just about everything (especially if you have diabetes).

So if you feel so inspired, give it a shot. Sit and breathe at 5-6 breaths/min for 2 min. Feel for yourself the rapid boost in blood flow to your hands and/or feet.

***

P.S. I’ve had cold hands & feet for as long as I can remember (thanks, diabetes). Although it’s improved considerably, one of my favorite things about slow breathing is the warmth I feel in them during and after my practice.

4. Control, and How to Focus on a Fuller Life

“Even if you don't have control over the outcome of the stressful situation, you may be able to exert some control over its impact…You can't always control what you feel or think, but you can control what you do. Focus on living a full life even though you don’t have [fill in your issue]…”
- Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D., The Stress-Proof Brain

When nothing seems to work, my blood sugars still go crazy, my insulin sensitivity is off, or I don’t sleep well, I always have the breath. I have something I can control, that gives me control.

It helps me focus on living a fuller life, and I hope it does for you too 🙏

1 QUOTE

“When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace.”
- Unknown

P.S. Like a lot of what I share, this one is a reminder to myself : ) And it’s advice I haven’t been following that well lately (facepalm).

1 ANSWER

Category: Blood Flow

Answer: Although hemoglobin is best-known for releasing oxygen, it also releases this gas, which enhances blood flow and helps the oxygen actually get where it is needed most.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is nitric oxide?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. hoppity hop, hop hop hop