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I hope the next 26’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.
4 THOUGHTS
1. Tapping into the Life Force
“The most universal practice for tapping into the Life Force is really a number of practices—mediation, prayer, reading, journal writing, exercise—that make up the morning rituals that so many people swear by. Rather than preparing you for a single event, like a game, a play, or a public address, the rituals prepare you for the entire day to come.”
- Barry Michels and Phil Stutz, Coming Alive
How good is that? (Well, except that they left off breathing, ha!)
It’s a nice reminder that all our practices help us tap into our Life Force as holistic preparation for “the entire day to come.” 🙏
2. The Benefits of Alternate Nostril Breathing
“This technique provides high level evidence for positive outcomes for the autonomic nervous and cardiopulmonary systems. There is also high level of evidence regarding improvement in cognitive functioning with regular practice of alternate nostril breathing.”
This review found that ANB improved nervous system and heart health, lung function, and cognitive ability, suggesting that it is an effective technique for boosting overall health & wellness 🙏
***
P.S. I just released a new Science 411 on this paper in the Breath Learning Center. Sign up for as little as $5 to read or listen now.
3. Four Reminders of the Breath’s Power for the Brain and Mind
1. “The brain, by regulating breathing, controls its own excitability.” – Journal of Physiology (1988)
2. “In other words, by changing the breath pattern one can induce a chosen state of mind.” — Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
3. “Just as your mind influences the breath, you can influence the state of your mind through the breath as well.” –Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
4. “Messages from the respiratory system have rapid, powerful effects on major brain centers involved in thought, emotion, and behavior.” –Patricia Gerbarg, MD and Richard Brown, MD
4. Wash the Brain with this “Subtle Fluid”
“There seems to be a subtle fluid from humor and fun which penetrates the entire being, bathes all the mental faculties, and washes out the brain-ash and debris from exhausted cerebrum and muscles.”
– Orison Swett Marden, The Joys of Living
1 Quote
“The real meaning of simplicity is singling out what is worth living for, and then shaping our lives around what matters and letting go of everything else.””
1 Answer
Category: The Brain
Answer: Between its more than 86 billion neurons, the human brain has over this many connections.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is 100 trillion connections?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. next time you want to spread some love
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The Breathing App for Diabetes
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Amazon Associate Disclosure
I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )
* 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.