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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.”
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.”
1 Answer
Category: Word Etymology
Answer: The word for this organ literally means “light” (in terms of weight).
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
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.