The No-Nonsense Meditation Book

Become More You, Deep Changes, and Benefiting Those We Encounter


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Reading Time: 1 min 39 sec

I hope the next 25’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.



4 THOUGHTS

1. Become More and More You

“The film director David Lynch formulated it most compellingly when he told me ‘The thing about meditation is, you become more and more you.’ So you should not have the slightest concern about meditating in ways that suit you and are to your liking.”

- Steven Laureys, MD,
The No-Nonsense Meditation Book

That’s so good, and it applies perfectly to breathing exercises, too.

With that in mind, we might ask, ‘How could I tailor my breathing or meditation practice to better suit my unique self?’ Remember: it’s about becoming more of who we are, not more of someone else 🙏

2. Getting Deep Physical and Psychological Changes

“As the breath is the link between the body and mind, it can intervene in the activities of either level. With increased awareness and control of the subtle aspects of breathing, these interventions can affect deep physical and psychological changes.”

-John Clarke, MD, Science of Breath

“As the breath is the link between the body and mind, it can intervene in the activities of either level.” That’s a potent reminder of why the breath is so powerful. Be sure to use it wisely, today 🙏

3. Immediate Influence of the Divine

“Taken more spiritually, inspiration means to breathe life into. An ancient interpretation defines it as the immediate influence of the divine.”

- Rick Rubin, The Creative Act

This is just a reminder that, at any moment, we can experience the “immediate influence of the divine” by bringing all our attention to the act of inhalation via mindfulness of breathing 🙏

4. Benefit Every Person We Encounter

“Breathing, the common, everyday act of inhaling and exhaling a breath, has the ability to be something that benefits not just me or you, it can benefit every person we encounter.”

– Rev Duffy Peet

This is an excellent reminder that our breathing and meditation practices go beyond just our personal wellness. Because these practices make us calmer, joyful, loving, and more attentive, they benefit every person we encounter 👏


1 Quote

So try to remember every day that you are participating in meditation even at breakfast, at work, at school, in the garden, everywhere.”
— Eknath Easwaran

1 Answer

Category: The Nose

Answer: Physiological reflexes that occur due to changes in body position (such as going from sitting-to-lying or lying on one side) can impact this, and hence nasal congestion.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is nasal airflow?


In good breath,

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

P.S. Me neither

Breathing, Reading, and Meditation for a Well-Lived Life

Learn to think, speak, and act in alignment with the person you want to be.

Start Today.

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.


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.


 

Catch & Shoot, 20 or 50 Years, and Slow Breathing Doesn’t Work Now


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Reading Time: 1 min 49 sec

I hope the next 27’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.



4 THOUGHTS

1. Slow Breathing Doesn’t Work?

A paper recently published in Nature may seem to suggest that slow breathing doesn’t work over a “placebo.” However, when analyzed carefully, it actually showed that controlled, nasal, diaphragmatic breathing works wonderfully (whether it’s slow or not).

I created a 10-minute video breaking down the study for those breath nerds who are interested : ) Watch it here.

2. Take a Walk and Breathe Through Your Nose

“Walking is the perfect time to hone your breathing. So take a stroll—and breathe through your nose.”

- Annabel Streets, 52 Ways to Walk

Want to get even more benefits from walking (as if there aren’t enough already)? It’s simple: just breathe nasally. As Streets says:

“As you walk, close your mouth; relax the jaw, tongue, and face; and breathe slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth or nose. You'll find this more challenging as your pace picks up. But stay focused and you might—possibly—have fewer colds, more energy, and greater serenity.

Sounds good to me 🙏

3. Catch Before Shooting: The Power of Breath Awareness

“I once saw a player trying to shoot before he caught the ball; he was moving so fast that when he finally was able to reach for the ball, he hit it and of course it flew out of bounds. Well, why does that happen? It's because he wasn't in the present moment; he wasn't in the flow.”

- George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete

This same thing happens in life. In high-stress situations, we often try to shoot before we’ve even caught the ball (guilty here). This is where breath awareness comes in.

When we come back to our breath before reacting to a stressor—even for one breath—it’s like catching the ball before we shoot. Just that simple act allows us to make a better play going forward.

4. Two Choices: 20 or 50 Years?

“A disciple asks a Zen master: ‘How long does it take to be able to experience Awakening?’ ‘Maybe 20 years,’ answers the master. ‘And if I am in a hurry?’ asks the disciple again. ‘In that case, it is 50 years,’ concludes the master.”

- Steven Laureys, MD, The No-Nonsense Meditation Book

This passage made me laugh out loud. It’s a perfect reminder that trying to hurry often takes more time.


1 Quote

For the lungs to draw in air, they must first be emptied. For the mind to draw inspiration, it wants space to welcome the new.”
— Rick Rubin

1 Answer

Category: Breath Condition

Answer: Halitosis refers to this “breathing condition,” which can often be helped by switching to primarily nasal breathing.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is bad breath?


In good breath,

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

P.S. a new year resolution I can get behind

Coaching

Breathing & Mindfulness 1-on-1

Support this Newsletter

If you enjoy getting these each week, consider donating to keep me breathing. Anything helps and is appreciated 🙏


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.


 

24 Ideas, Favorite Books of 2023, and the Secret to Healing


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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 😊



Reading Time: 1 min 27 sec

I hope the next 22’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.



4 THOUGHTS

1. 24 One-Sentence Breathing Ideas for 2024

1. Breathing saves your life 20,000 times a day; mindfulness helps you appreciate this truth.

2. Breathing is 90% mental; the other half is physical.

3. The best healing breathing exercise is laughter.

Read all 24 thoughts here.

P.S. We’ve made it four years straight with this one-sentence idea. Here’s to many more 🙏

2. My Favorite Books of 2023

I read 50 books last year. I’ve made a list of all of them and also broke them into the following categories:

  • My Top 3 Overall

  • My Top 3 on Breathing

  • My Top 3 on Mindfulness

  • My Top 3 on Mindset

Read the lists here.

3. An Incredible Passage on the Power of Breathing to Start 2024

“If you breathe in calmly and hold your breath for a while before exhaling slowly, you will stimulate your vagus nerve, which in turn will have a soothing effect on your body and brain. That is why training in meditation breathing is a formidable tool for controlling and consciously inhibiting unconscious stress reactions. As such, it allows us to modify our brain activity (as we have demonstrated in our lab) to overcome anxiety, to lower blood pressure and sugar levels (and thus reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases), to strengthen the immune and metabolic systems, and to have a positive influence on numerous pathologies.”

- Steven Laureys, MD, The No-Nonsense Meditation Book

4. The Secret Ingredient to Healing (from a 102-year-old doctor)

“Healing, too, takes its own time. More often than not, time is the secret ingredient that allows healing to take place. Sometimes, while we're wishing things would hurry up, they're doing exactly what they should be doing.”

– Gladys McGarey, MD (102), The Well-Lived Life

Thats an excellent reminder that with healing, time is our ally, not enemy 🙏


1 Quote

It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.”
— Francis of Assisi

1 Answer

Category: Funny Breathing

Answer: The number one reason we do this breathing exercise is not because of jokes but actually to bond with others.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is laugh?


In good breath,

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

P.S. a gummy vitamin perhaps

Coaching

Breathing & Mindfulness 1-on-1

Support this Newsletter

If you enjoy getting these each week, consider donating to keep me breathing. Anything helps and is appreciated 🙏


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.