breath practice

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

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Listen Instead of Reading

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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.)

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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).

 
 

* 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.

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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.

 
 

Yogic Wisdom, Start with the Breath, and Will Smith’s 60/40 Rule

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. Start with the Breath (scientists agree)

“They [breathing patterns] thereby constitute an easy but potent avenue to manipulate the whole physiological state of the organism.”

- Respiratory Feedback in the Generation of Emotion

Want to potently “manipulate the whole physiological state of the organism”? Scientists start with the breath. And that’s why, for overall health, we do too: It’s the quickest and most efficient way to positively impact every aspect of your life. It’s actually quite absurd not to start there, in my humble opinion 😊

2. The Montessori Breathing Method

“The Montessori method emphasizes both intrinsic motivation and learning through doing. In fact, for this latter reason, it’s often called “embodied education.” Don’t just read about organic farming—go out and plant a garden.”

- Steven Kotler, The Art of Impossible

Let’s apply the same principles of Montessori education (aka embodied education<—absolutely love that) to our breathwork.

Read about the methods you’re interested in. Read about how breathing affects the whole physiological state of the organism. But then, most importantly, embody that education and learn through doing. As Confucius says, “What greater joy can there be than putting into practice what you have learned?”

3. Ancient Yogic Wisdom Wins (again)

“One of the things that the yogis really seemed to understand was that this circuitry didn’t just happen in the brain, it happened globally, with messages going in both directions: TOP DOWN (brain to body) and BOTTOM UP (body to brain).  The intrinsic link between prāna and citta accounts for why the yogis insisted on breathing practices as the primary means to pacify the mind. …Breathing can effectively modulate the reactive loop, and restore us to a more coherent frame of mind.”

- Robin Rothenberg, Restoring Prāna

I have nothing to add, except for one of these 🤯 Oh, and to re-read Thought #1 on how modern science agrees with this global perspective on breathing…

4. How Breathing Makes You Prosper, Part II

“If man’s breath is prosperous, then the body prospers.”

- The Primordial Breath, Volume I

Pop quiz from last week: Do you remember what prosper literally means?

To go forward with hope.

So, if the breath is prosperous, then the body prospers (and I’ll add that the mind and spirit prosper, too). Thus, we could argue that “the whole physiological state of the organism” goes forward with hope. Sounds good to me : )

Bonus Thought: Will Smith’s 60/40 Rule with His Mom

“When I say silly stuff, it makes the world lighter for her. But she needs me to say smart stuff too. That makes her feel safe. She thinks that the only way I'll be able to survive is if I'm intelligent. She likes about a 60/40 ratio of smart to silly.”

- Will Smith, Will

This has nothing to do with breathing, but since I shared a 60/40 breathing rule last week, this passage jumped out at me. It’s an excellent approach to life : )

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“Life begins with our first breath and will end after our last. To contemplate breathing is to contemplate life itself.”

- Larry Rosenberg, Breath by Breath

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Breathing 101

Answer: The matching of air and blood flow in the lungs is known as this.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is ventilation-perfusion?

In good breath,

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

P.S. You think you can hurt my feelings?

 
 
 

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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.

 
 

Light and Calm, Start by Starting, and the 60/40 Rule of Slow Breathing

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. How to Get Started with Breathwork

“But this doesn’t have to be all at once.  Start by starting.  Add in what you can right now, and as these practices begin to improve your performance, they’ll end up saving you time.”

- Steven Kotler, The Art of Impossible

Kotler is discussing practices for peak performance, but the exact same goes for breathwork. Start by starting. One minute is always better than none-minutes.

So go easy and have fun with it : ) Your practice will grow naturally with time.

2. The 60/40 Rule of Slow Breathing

Speaking of getting started, here’s a simple rule you can begin with for slow breathing (and it’s one I use every day), inspired by Heart Breath Mind:

40% of your breath should be inhaling

60% of your breath should be exhaling

Here’s what it looks like:

  • 6.0 breaths/min: 4 sec inhale, 6 sec exhale

  • 5.5 breaths/min: 4.4 sec inhale, 6.6 sec exhale

  • 5.0 breaths/min: 4.8 sec inhale, 7.2 sec exhale

  • and so on…

Note that it’s hard to be this precise with most breathing apps, so just do what you can. For example, I simply use 5 in/7 out to breathe at 5 breaths/min.

3. Breathing and the Brain’s Default Mode Network

“The resting brain turns out not to be resting at all. Left to its own devices, the human mind holds imaginary conversations, replays past experiences, and reflects on the future.”

- Kelly McGonigal, PhD, The Joy of Movement

If you’ve ever tried to rest your brain, this passage probably isn’t surprising : ) It’s called the brain’s “default mode,” and it has a negative bias: Our natural tendency is to ruminate, criticize, and worry. Not so good.

Luckily, McGonigal says there’s an easy way to quiet it down. “In brain-imaging studies, focused breathing, mindfulness, and repeating a mantra have all been shown to deactivate hubs of the default mode network.”

Sounds good to me. So here’s to practicing some 60/40 slow breathing to deactivate our default mode, and activate more joy, today.

***

P.S. Don’t have time for mindfulness or breathing? Kelly has an even easier hack, which is to exercise in nature: “Green exercise appears to do something similar to the brain, but without the need for such dedicated mind-training.”

4. How Breathing (literally) Makes You Prosper

“Did you know the word ‘prosperity’ literally means ‘to go forward with hope’?”

- Brian Johnson, +1 on Spiritual Economics

I did not know that. But now that I do, I can confidently say that breathing makes us prosperous. When you walk away from a slow breathing session (or yoga, meditation, exercise, etc.), you always “go forward with hope.”

I wonder if it’s because we quiet our amygdalae and deactivate that pesky default network…🤔

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“If our breathing is light and calm, a natural result of conscious breathing, our mind and body will slowly become light, calm, and clear, and our feelings also.”

- Thich Nhat Hahn

The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Breathing 101

Answer: The portion of each breath that does not participate in gas exchange is called this.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is dead space air?

In good breath,

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

P.S. Good luck to her on this journey

 
 
 

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

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.

 
 

The 5 Exhales, Spirit, and How One Word Makes Breath Holds Easier

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. The 5 Exhales of Slow Breathing

Here are 5 different exhales you can try during your slow breathing practice. Give them a shot and see which one brings you the most relaxation.

  1. Nasal exhale

  2. Audible pursed-lips (like blowing out birthday candles)

  3. Barely audible pursed-lips (like blowing on hot soup)

  4. Ujjayi

  5. Humming

I do a mix of these depending on how I’m feeling, but my defaults are 1 and 3.

2. How Changing One Word Makes Breath Holds Easier

Instead of saying “hold” your breath, use (or think) the word “pause.”

Holding implies tension and effort. Pausing is natural and effortless.

It’s a subtle change, but it can make a significant difference.

***

P.S. This idea was inspired by Eddie Stern’s Pranayama Week. He used the word “pause” instead of hold several times, and I found it brilliant.

3. Why Mindless Breathing is Good, Part II

“We now know that somewhere between 40% and 80% of what we do is done automatically … This is the exact strategy the brain uses to conserve energy, but especially if we've got the wrong habits, it can wreak havoc on our lives.”

- Steven Kotler, The Art of Impossible

Coming back to last week’s thought on mindless breathing, here’s another way of looking at it: 40-80%(!) of what we do is automatic. And with breathing, it’s probably 96-99%, depending on how much you practice.

But this isn’t a bad thing—it’s actually a blessing we can put to good use.

If we’re diligent and consistent with our precious gift of breath control, a mindful 1-4% investment can pay dividends on the other unmindful 96+%.

Which comes back to the main point: The goal of mindful breathing is to improve our mindless breathing.

4. A Beautiful Message and NOSEvember

“Breathwork is life changing. Whether reducing stress, controlling or eliminating disease symptoms, improving sleep, or even being a better person at work and at home. I truly believe that the breath is the key to unlocking our bodies abilities to heal themselves and perform at optimal capacity.”

- Dr. Tanya Bentley, HHPF Co-Founder & CEO

A beautiful message from a beautiful human being. Check out NOSEvember and consider supporting HHPF’s phenomenal mission. 🙏

 
 

Extra Thought (minus the bi-annual rant)

We just had another time change. I’ll spare you my normal rant on how almost every sleep scientist on the planet thinks it’s awful to change the time twice a year. But alas, we still do it : )

And if you’ve read this a while, you know I decided to ignore the time change when we “sprung forward” in March (be the change you want to see style). I loved it, and I plan on doing the same again with this one, if life allows…

 
 

1 QUOTE

“It means that breath is the root of the essence and of the soul, the life source and the ruler of the spirit.”

- The Primordial Breath, Volume I

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Exhalation and Nasal Nitric Oxide

Answer: This exhalation technique can increase nasal nitric oxide by as much as 15-fold.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is humming?

In good breath,

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

P.S. The true test of longevity

 
 
 

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

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.

 
 

Intravenous Oxygen Delivery and The River of Breath

 

Welcome to another edition of the 411 newsletter. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for you to consider this week. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS


1. Intravenous Oxygen Delivery?

"For example, oral vitamin C is absorbed in the small intestine…but intravenous vitamin C bypasses the gut, achieving blood and tissue concentrations that are markedly higher than those achieved with the oral form." - Dr. Rhonda Patrick

While reading this, I thought, nose breathing is like intravenous oxygen delivery. It improves your body’s ability to use the oxygen you breathe, increasing tissue concentrations by 10% compared to the "oral form." But we don’t need any fancy equipment. We just have to breathe the way our bodies were designed.

So for fun, we can imagine nasal breathing to be like an IV, "injecting" oxygen to the organs, tissues, and muscles that need it most.


2. The River of Breath and Chemoreceptor Flexibility

Most popular breathing methods focus on pushing carbon dioxide (CO2) to one extreme, whether it’s with hyperventilation (low CO2) or breath holds and reduced breathing (high CO2). But this misses the point. The goal is to return our breathing to its natural physiological levels, to make it optimal.

So instead of picking a side, I prefer the idea of "chemoreceptor flexibility." To adopt a concept from Dan Siegel, we can think of it like a river. On one side is low CO2 and on the other is high. We want the flexibility to occasionally push to either side. But, we’ll be most efficient when we’re flowing down the middle.

 
Chemoreceptor_Flexibility.png
 

P.S. This also brings to mind James Nestor, who said, "Today, chemoreceptor flexibility is part of what distinguishes good athletes from great ones. […] All these people have trained their chemoreceptors to withstand extreme fluctuations in carbon dioxide without panic." - Breath, pg. 170

3. Breathing is a Communication Skill

"The quality of your breath lets dogs know if you are the one who has what it takes to be the leader, the one who can confidently lead them to food, safety and rest. That would be the belly breather." - Breathing is a Communication Skill

I love dogs. So even though this article isn’t strictly scientific or entirely correct (and even got a little woo-woo here and there), I enjoyed reading it.

Overall, it captures the essence of relaxed breathing and provides a unique idea of how our breathing communicates with our pets. Enjoy, fellow pet lovers!

4. The Best Slow Breathing Practice for You

The best slow breathing practice is the one you’ll commit to, the one you enjoy doing most. None of the science matters if you don’t put it into action.

So, I suggest you don’t worry about the "best practice" you read in a health book or on a website. Instead, just get started and be consistent with the one you enjoy most.

Extended exhales, box breathing, or ujjayi. One minute, two minutes, or twenty minutes. It can only help, and it’s the consistency that pays off.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."

- Mark Twain

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The total length of the airways running through your lungs.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is 1,500 miles?

 
 

The Breathing 4.1.1. - The Best Breathing Class You Haven’t Heard Of

 

Hello, and Happy Monday! Welcome to another edition of The Breathing 4.1.1.

Thank you for reading this. Putting together the 411 emails each week is one of my favorite things to do, so I appreciate that you’re here reading it.

Now, on to the email. Below you’ll find 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (think "Jeopardy"). Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breath Practice versus Breath Training

Breath Practice: Time you spend every day performing breathing exercises that are comfortable and beneficial to you. Think of it as self-care. For me, this would include my 15 minutes of slow breathing first thing in the morning.

Breath Training: Time you spend deliberately pushing yourself to improve your breathing. For example, if you can comfortably box breathe with a 4-4-4-4 rate, you might spend some time at 5-5-5-5 rate as training.

Breath Training is always Breath Practice, but Breath Practice is not always Breath Training.

(This thought was inspired by pages 51-53 of Breathe to Perform.)

2. The Best Way to Make Your Breathing Practice Stick: Celebrate!

"Celebration will one day be ranked alongside mindfulness and gratitude as daily practices that contribute most to our overall happiness and well-being." BJ Fogg, Tiny Habits

Are you trying to make your breathing practice a habit? BJ Fogg, creator of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University, says that if he taught you his "Tiny Habits" approach, the first thing he would do is help you celebrate better.

If you spend 1 minute focused on your breath, celebrate it. If you already have a solid practice, try adding some celebration to the end.

I started doing this and love it. After my slow breathing session, I reward myself with a small celebration. After my breath holds, the same thing.

Is it cheesy? Kind of. Is it rooted in science from the leader in habit development at Stanford? Yes. Will anyone know? Nope. Give it a shot.

(See the P.S. below for a great example of celebrating the small stuff.)

3. The Best Breathing Class You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

That celebration idea came from Brian Johnson’s Optimize program (I adapted it for breathing, but it can be used in any aspect of life). If you’ve been following my work for a while, you probably know that Brian Johnson is one of my favorite teachers on the planet. Actually, he is my absolute favorite.

He has an "Optimal Breathing 101" course that is phenomenal. He combines research from all of the best books on breathing into a succinct and practical course. It’s awesome.

He also recently reviewed Breath: The New Science of A Lost Art. Again, phenomenal.

4. Why Are You "Breathing"?

"Don’t mistake the finger pointing to the moon for the moon itself." - Buddhist Saying

Let us not forget that "breathing" is only the finger.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

The first "tiny habit" to build:

“Replace the habit of taking short shallow breaths into the top of the lungs with the practice of taking a full deep breath. Nearly all of the benefits begin with this one simple change.”

- Al Lee, Don Campbell, Perfect Breathing

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: This is the world record for the longest case of the hiccups.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is 68 years?*

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. How To Celebrate.

* I found this on dozens of websites. However, I could not find an official record anywhere on Guinness (I even tried some "dorking"). So, I can’t be sure it’s 100% legitimate. But, it’s a fascinating story nonetheless!