Listen Instead of Reading
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Reading Time: 1 min 57 sec
I hope the next 30ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.
4 THOUGHTS
1. Breathing Exercises Reduce Oxidative Stress: 2023 Meta-Analysis
“Breathing exercises can improve the main biological indicators of OS [oxidative stress] toward the direction of antioxidation and improve the OS state by increasing the levels of antioxidants and reducing those of oxidative markers.”
– Li et al. (2023), Frontiers in Medicine
This 2023 meta-analysis examined 10 studies, finding that breathing exercises of all kinds (fast, slow, inspiratory muscle training, and so on) significantly reduce biomarkers of oxidative stress. Breath practices also increase the body’s antioxidant capacity, which may benefit both healthy and disease states 👏
2. The Most Important Determinant & the Mother of Mindfulness
Ellen Langer, Ph.D., put the word mindfulness on the map in western psychology (she’s even referred to as the “mother of mindfulness”).
I’m reading her latest book (she’s one of my favorite authors), The Mindful Body, and I felt obliged to share this passage because it’s so good. Enjoy:
“But my use of the word “mindfulness” also, importantly, refers to a condition of the body. Indeed, I believe our psychology may be the most important determinant of our health. I’m not just speaking of harmony between mind and body. I believe the mind and body comprise a single system, and every change in the human being is essentially simultaneously a change at the level of the mind (that is, a cognitive change) as well as the body (a hormonal, neural, and/or behavioral change). When we open our minds to this idea of mind-body unity, new possibilities for controlling our health become real.” (my emphasis)
3. Three Simple Lessons about Breathing
The best morning breathing exercise is a good night’s sleep.
The best healing breathing exercise is a good dose of laughter.
And the best time of day for breathing exercises is always right now.
4. Experiencing Wholeness: Why We Practice
“Through ongoing practice, we can come to live in a more integrated way from day to day and from moment to moment, in touch with our own wholeness and connectedness and aware of our interconnectedness with others, with the larger world in which we find ourselves, and with life itself. Feeling whole, even for brief moments, nourishes us on a deep level.”
– Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D, Full Catastrophe Living
That’s why we practice: it brings us wholeness. And even if we only experience wholeness briefly, it still “nourishes us on a deep level” 🙏
1 Quote
“The silence around us may contain a lot, but the most interesting kind of silence is the one that lies within. A silence which each of us must create.””
1 Answer
Category: Breathing 101
Answer: This is the clinical name for shortness of breath.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is dyspnea?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. how to make parties more interesting
iCalm for Focused Relaxation
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.