health is what you don't see

Breath Walking with Gandhi

 

Today marks one year since I walked 100 miles for breathing and chronic disease. In that spirit, this week’s newsletter celebrates breathing and walking. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. An Update on "Walking 100 Miles: How Chronic Disease Makes Us Stronger"

Here is a re-share of the blog I wrote a few months after completing the walk:

Walking 100 Miles: A Story of How Chronic Disease Makes Us Stronger

Reading it now, I would change the "Healthy Paradox" section. At the time, I felt quite conflicted that I had become unhealthy on my mission to promote being healthy. In hindsight, that shouldn't have been the case.

Undoubtedly, I was the most unhealthy I had been in a long time. But, I was training for a very difficult challenge. Hard things don’t come easy. Without my daily breathing practice, who knows how much worse I would have been.

I had forgotten that sometimes health is what you don’t see [#2].

2. The Surprising Trick This Breathing Expert Uses To Stop A Panic Attack

"So when Bentley tells you to take in quick, shallow inhales, it's understandable you may raise a brow….'Doing it intentionally and in a relaxed manner and setting can actually help open up the lungs,' Bentley adds, 'so that when one does try to breathe in fully, it actually relieves that feeling.'"

- Jamie Schneider, mindbodygreen

Tanya Bentley, Ph.D is the CEO of HHPF, the non-profit organization the 100 mile walk was for. In this article, Tanya describes a rather counterintuitive approach to dealing with panic attacks: intentionally hyperventilate.

Whenever I read something that goes against everything I’ve ever learned, I immediately think, "well this just might work." : ) Enjoy the quick read.

3. Breath Walking

"Synchronizing your breathing with the rhythm of your steps in order to walk more while providing less effort…Both energizing and meditative, the Afghan Walk offers a new opportunity to approach walking with a sense of well-being."

- The Afghan walk, the benefits of a regenerating walk

Here’s a unique article about combining breathing and walking through what is known as the Afghan Walk. The goal is to reach around 6-8 breaths per minute, which we know is linked to better cardio-autonomic balance. It’s always nice when practiced methods are validated by new science.

Since learning this technique, I’ve been practicing a modified version (inhale 4 steps, hold 1 step, exhale 6 steps, hold 1 step) a few times a day in my backyard. It’s rather phenomenal. Here’s to more breath walking today.

Thanks to L.M. for sharing the Afghan Walk with me!

4. Getting Healthy vs. Staying Healthy

With high motivation, you can get healthy pretty quickly. In one day, you could clean out your pantry, start a meditation practice, and sign up for a gym.

The real challenge is staying healthy when motivation wanes.

To do this, we must develop and maintain healthy habits. It must become customary to do things that are good for us, even when we don’t feel like it.

Fortunately, there are two simple, scientifically-proven habits you can easily create to get and stay healthy: Walk more, breathe less [see #1].

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"Gandhi used to walk for miles every day repeating it to himself until the rhythm of the mantram and his footsteps began to stabilize the rhythm of his breathing, which is closely connected with the rhythm of the mind."

– Eknath Easwaran, Gandhi The Man

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The highest recording of this measurement of oxygen consumption is 96.7 ml·min-1·kg-1.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is VO2max?

 
 

Breathing’s Indirect and Unseen Benefits

 

Welcome to another edition of The Breathing 411:

Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for you to consider this week. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS


1. The Science of Breathing’s Indirect Benefits

Last week we learned that breathing is the only true compounding health habit. However, I believe the real magic occurs when breathing begins improving other areas of our lives. I’ve never had a reasonable explanation for these "indirect effects." They just seemed to happen. But now I do, thanks to Tiny Habits.

In this excellent book, behavioral scientist BJ Fogg shows us how tiny changes in one area of your life can lead to massive changes in others. It all comes down to a simple equation: B = MAP

A Behavior happens when Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt all come together. Makes sense. But the significant breakthrough Fogg discovered is the curved (nonlinear) relationship for when action occurs (adapted from his book below):

Befor_and_After.jpg

In this hypothetical example, we see how a breathing practice might help you exercise by increasing your motivation and physical ability (e.g., better sleep and oxygenation). The exercise prompt is now above the action line, and you exercise.

This is behavioral science, not physics. So there are no exact numbers for "motivation" or "ability." It will be unique from person-to-person. But this is where the real magic of compounding occurs. We move beyond just breathing, and begin fulfilling our own individual goals and ambitions.

P.S. Some examples from my life:

  • Walking 100 miles.

  • Having more energy to manage my diabetes.

  • Waking up before 4 a.m. every day for breathing research.

2. Health is What You Don’t See

"But the truth is that wealth is what you don't see. Wealth is the nice cars not purchased. The diamonds not bought. The watches not worn, the clothes forgone and the first-class upgrade declined."

- Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

Similarly, health is what you don’t see. It’s the cold you didn’t get, the late night you didn’t have, the stress you didn’t experience, the breathlessness you didn’t have after a brisk walk to catch your flight.

This is why the benefits of a long-term breathing practice might not be immediately apparent. You can’t measure the number of health issues that breathing helped you avoid. But that makes them no less important.


3. Longer Exhalations Are An Easy Way to Hack Your Vagus Nerve

"Just two minutes of deep breathing with longer exhalation engages the vagus nerve, increases HRV, and improves decision-making."

- Christopher Bergland, Psychology Today

Here’s another gem from Psychology Today on slow breathing, stress, and the vagus nerve. I may or may not have visualized "squirting some stress-busting vagusstoff" onto my heart when I took my next slow breath : )

4. Breath Matching

Rather than focus on any specific method, focus on your goals: to reduce anxiety, to increase focus, to improve autonomic function, to fall asleep, and on and on.

Then, based on those aspirations, find the right match. For combatting anxiety, you might choose extended exhales. For focus, you might pick box breathing.

But it’s not about the method; it’s about the outcome you wish to experience.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"Life and respiration are complementary. There is nothing living which does not breathe nor anything breathing which does not live."

- William Harvey, 1653, Lectures on the Whole of Anatomy

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: More than 60% of primary care physician visits are related to this condition.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is stress?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Really made me stop and think