Listen Instead of Reading
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4 THOUGHTS
1. Breathing for Better Mental and Emotional Health
“The information presented is interesting and inspiring. The power of conscious breathing can't be overstated. I've benefited physically, mentally and spiritually from taking this course.”
– Tina Gilbertson (May 2023 Class)
A reminder that I’ll be running a 4-week Breathing for Better Mental & Emotional Health Course starting August 20th (session recordings available for those who can’t attend live).
In addition to the positive anecdotal feedback I received, the May 2023 class achieved a 35% reduction in stress:
The Three Skills You’ll Learn:
Mindful Breath Awareness (Week 1)
Mindful Slow Breathing (Weeks 2 & 3; Week 3 is my favorite)
Remembered Wellness & Wholeness (Week 4)
You can sign up for just $195 before 11:59 p.m. EST on August 4th.
I hope you’ll consider joining 🙏
Click Here to Learn More and Enroll
(Use discount code EARLY100 if it’s not already applied.)
2. Mindfulness and The Everlasting Audience Effect
The Audience Effect: ‘The effect of passive onlookers or spectators on an individual's task performance.’
I think we could argue that mindfulness creates an everlasting audience effect of one. And it always changes your behavior for the best, because the one onlooker is the most important of all: you.
3. Your Seatbelt for Everyday Life
“It’s like when you’re flying in an airplane. Whenever severe turbulence comes along, the seatbelt keeps you from getting thrown around the cabin. Mindful breathing is your seatbelt in everyday life—it keeps you safe here in the present moment.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Breath
Experiencing any turbulence in your life?
(Of course you are, you’re human 😊)
Just remember: “Mindful breathing is your seatbelt in everyday life—it keeps you safe here in the present moment.” < — 👏👏👏
4. Something That Helped Me Tremendously This Week
What Helped: Letting go while cultivating gratitude.
This was inspired by How Bad Do You Want It?, which I read and immediately re-read because it was so good.
A lesson I took from it was that the greatest athletes learn to let go of winning and instead experience gratitude for being able to compete in their chosen sport. (Paradoxically, this is how they end up winning.)
Of course, we’re all endurance athletes in the sport of life, so we can use this approach as well. I’ve consciously adopted it in two practices:
While doing my morning walks
While doing my morning breathing
If you feel so inspired, try it out in any activity you do:
Let go of winning or any desired outcome you have.
Cultivate gratitude that you’re able to perform the action.
1 Quote
“What if learning how to inhabit silence and stillness and awareness—especially when you do so with kindness, with patience, and with self-compassion—is itself healing?””
1 Answer
Category: Stress Hormones
Answer: Consistent practice of diaphragmatic breathing has been shown to reduce levels of this primary stress hormone.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is cortisol?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. Since I didn’t win the Mega Millions…
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* 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.