Greetings everyone,
Here are four thoughts, one quote, and one answer for you to ponder this week.
Enjoy!
4 THOUGHTS
1. 20 One-Sentence Thoughts on the Wim Hof Method
"Wim Hof breathing doesn’t help with the cold; your belief that it helps with the cold is what helps with the cold."
The Wim Hof Method. For some, it’s easy to point out its flaws. For others, it’s hard to deny its power. But one thing is certain: it’s confusing as hell for just about everyone.
In this post, I share 20 one-sentence thoughts about the WHM. You might still be confused, but at least we can be confused together : )
2. Why Nose Breathing Might Be Especially Important for Diabetics
We have recently learned that inhaled NO is transported systemically throughout the body (a paradigm shift in breathing science). Specifically, we discovered that:
Inhaled NO improves blood flow when endothelial-NO is deficient
Inhaled NO increases SNO-Hb, critical for regulating blood flow
Both of these findings are particularly important for diabetes. For example, people with diabetes suffer from reduced endothelial-derived NO and reduced blood flow. Diabetics also have a tendency to store less NO as SNO-Hb.
Collectively, these papers suggest that inhaled NO might be essential for people with diabetes, providing support that diabetics should be breathing nasally 24/7.
Ultimately, it will require better blood sugars to fix the issues with NO metabolism in diabetes. But breathing might also help here, as it both improves glucose control and helps reverse the harmful effects of high blood sugars.
3. How Breathing Can Calm Us - A Perfect Read
"Instead of trying to think yourself out of feeling anxious, you can do something concrete — breathe slow or fast, in a particular rhythm, or through one nostril — and sometimes find immediate relief." - Feeling anxious? The way you breathe could be adding to it
This TED/UC Berkeley article is a gem. It will be my new go-to for people interested in the calming effects of breathing. Enjoy the excellent read.
4. Breathing is Practical Idealism
"Mahatma Gandhi called this “practical idealism,” which means that it can be practiced in every aspect of life. It doesn’t call so much for great acts of heroism as for a continuing, persistent effort to transform ill will into good will, self-interest into compassion.” – Your Life is Your Message
Breathing is a form of "practical idealism." It’s idyllic in that we can talk about how "breath is life" or how it’s our body’s most important function.
But it’s practical in that it can be used by anyone, anytime, anywhere. It doesn’t call for huge acts, just simple changes like using your nose, slowing down your breath, and extending your exhales.
And, quite literally, it can transform "ill will into good will, self-interest into compassion." Not in some woo-woo way, but in a concrete way, by stimulating the vagus nerve and shifting dominance to your parasympathetic (calming) system.
1 QUOTE
"Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
1 ANSWER
Answer: Of the five senses, this is our oldest.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is smell?
In good breath,
Nick
P.S. They just show up