Listen Instead of Reading
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Reading Time: 1 min 55 sec
I hope the next 30ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.
4 THOUGHTS
1. After a Breathing, Mindfulness, Yoga/etc. Session, Ask Yourself this:
“How does it feel to be like this? Does it feel natural? Is this a way you would want to continue to be in your life?”
Then, if it is a way you’d like to continue to be in your life, use it as motivation to carry that feeling into the rest of your day 🙏
2. Slow Breathing: External vs. Self-Paced
You can choose a rate (say, 6 breaths a minute), use an app, breathe at that rate, and feel great. I’ve done this for years.
However, you can also let your body set the pace: you can voluntarily breathe slowly without using an external pacer.
Here’s a great explanation of why this works from Yogani. He’s talking about spinal breathing, but it applies to slow breathing in general:
“The time it takes will be different for each person. It can be different for the same person from day to day, depending on the course of purification occurring in the nervous system. It can even vary in a single spinal breathing session we are doing. Duration is a function of our inner neurobiological processes and our metabolism, which change as the processes of inner purification and opening are occurring. // In spinal breathing we comfortably favor slow deep breathing, whatever that is for us in the moment. That is what determines the duration.”
3. If Mind and Body are One, Then…
“If mind and body are one, we can do more than change the body by changing the mind; we can change the mind by changing the body.”
- Ellen Langer, Ph.D., The Mindful Body
And this is precisely the power of breathing. It’s the most direct path to realizing this mind-body unity.
Change your breathing, to change your body, to change your mind.
4. But the Real Healing Power of Breathing Lies Here
The real healing power of breathing lies in metaphor:
When we accept the breath as it is (mindfulness of breathing), we learn to accept life just as it is, helping us see reality more clearly.
When we control our breath (breathing exercises), we discover a locus of control over our body and mind in any situation.
And when we examine the breath with curiosity, we learn that everything—all the mundane, everyday, overlooked aspects of life—can become interesting with mindful awareness.
P.S. We deeply explore and apply these metaphors (along with the actual physical & emotional benefits of breathing) in my 8-week coaching for overcoming stressful setbacks. Email me at nick@thebreathingdiabetic.com with subject line “breath” and I’ll send you more details.
1 Quote
“Laughter is a beautiful form of resilience, one that evinces a generosity of spirit.””
1 Answer
Category: Involuntary Breathwork
Answer: These are repeated spasms of your diaphragm accompanied by sound from your vocal cords.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What are hiccups?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. up for the October challenge?
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If you haven’t already, try iCalm, an awesome product made by a mindful and loving company (use discount code NICK20 for 20% off).
* 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.