presence

,

Top 5 IG Accounts, “Embreathment”, and Breathing for Emotional Health

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4 THOUGHTS

1. The “Embreathment” Illusion

“This new way of inducing a respiratory bodily illusion, called “embreathment,” revealed that breathing is almost as important as visual appearance for inducing body ownership and more important than any other cue for body agency.”

- Monti et al. (2020)

This was such an awesome, fun-to-read study (and “embreathment” is possibly the coolest thing I’ve seen in a science paper).

They used virtual reality to assess how important breathing is for “corporeal awareness,” the feeling that we own a body, we have agency over that body, and that body occupies a location in space.

As the above quote illustrates, they found that, even without conscious awareness, breathing helps us feel more body ownership and, most significantly, a sense of body agency. Pretty crazy.

Those are the most important things, but this one had tons of other neat and practical results. If you’re interested, consider signing up for the Learning Center to get the full Science 411.

2. Endlessly Ending. Endlessly Renewed

“One of the most remarkable facts of existence is under our noses all of the time.  This is the Now of the present moment: endlessly ending, and endlessly renewed. Radically transient, yet always enduring.”

– Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Neurodharma

 

“Endlessly ending, and endlessly renewed. Radically transient, yet always enduring.”…just like each breath.

I suppose this is why humanity has always regarded breathing as our gateway to presence…because it is presence : )

3. A Thought & Action on Breathing for Better Emotional Health

Thought

We cannot control our emotions with our thoughts (at least, I’ve never been able to). We can, however, regulate them with our actions. And breathing is the most accessible action we can perform anytime to help manage our emotions.

(Related Quote: “The finding that we can change how we feel by using our breath is revolutionary.” - Emma Seppälä, Ph.D.)

Action

Stop and notice where you feel breath sensations in your body, in whatever position you are currently occupying. Note how observing the breath naturally slows it down. Do this for 1-3 breaths, and notice how much better your mind and body feel after.

This is always available to you.

4. Five Instagram Accounts I Love

Here are 5 IG accounts I genuinely enjoy, in no particular order (there are many more, but these were the first to come to mind).

  1. HHPF: Best account for breathing studies.

  2. abc.breathworkforkids: One of the coolest accounts out there if you have kids or work with them.

  3. jaozolins: Brings life-changing wisdom to life with elegant yet simple designs (I could look at these posts all day).

  4. op_e__n: Beautiful designs, lots of breathing posts, and inspiring quotes.

  5. still.life: Awesome designs and inspirational content.

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1 Quote

“Wherever you go, the breath is with you, providing an anchor. At moments that are right for you, you can turn to it just as you might turn to a good friend, to help you stay alert and cut down on the mind’s habitual, unnecessary thinking that often squanders so much energy.””
— Larry Rosenberg

1 Answer

Category: Aquatic Mammal Breathing

Answer: Dolphins can exhale air up to this fast.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is 100 mph?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”


P.S. I’m too witty for this class

* 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.

 
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Wim Hof & the Ocean, Presencing, and a Long, Good Life

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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.”

- John Toki

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.”
— Wim Hof
 

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.

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

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.

 
 
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How to (actually) Live Longer, Point A to B, and Breathing for Spirit

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4 Thoughts



1. How to Get from Point A to Point B

“This is the deepest paradox in all of meditation: we want to get somewhere—we wouldn’t have taken up the practice if we didn’t—but the way to get there is just to be fully here. The way to get from point A to point B is really to be at A.” (my emphasis)

- Larry Rosenberg, Breath by Breath

To get from point A to point B, we just have to be fully at A.

Although that reframe is life-changing by itself, here’s another mind-blower:

Point A is the breath.

2. How Long Should You Practice Breathwork Each Day?

“I think the amount of time that you spend on this work is not that important. …[W]hat is important here is the regularity of doing this work. You want to do this every day without fail because you are attempting to change rhythms in your nervous system, and it's the constancy of the input, it's the regularity of the input, that is going to produce these changes over time.”

- Andrew Weil, MD, Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing

Of course, we can use scientific findings to find a reasonable dose (which is about 10 min/day for slow breathing).

But, an even better approach is what Dr. Weil says here. Simply focus on consistency. We’re trying to rewire our nervous systems, and “it’s the regularity of the input that is going to produce these changes over time.”

Amen to that 🙏

3. How to Live Longer (regardless of your age, lifespan, or health span)

“Harvard researchers found that 47 percent of the time, people are thinking about something other than what they're doing. That's nearly half of our day.”

- Laurie J Cameron, The Mindful Day

We’re not present about half the time. That’s nuts. It made me think, what’s the point of trying to live a long, healthy life if we’re not actually experiencing it?

Enter the power of the breath. By learning to come back to our breath—back to Point A—we learn presence. And we instantly (and truly) live longer.

As Cameron says, “It amounts to having a longer, richer life, because you’re present for much more of it. And we can all do this.” <— Let’s do that 👏

4. Breathing for the Spirit

The foods we eat influence our bodies.

The thoughts we think influence our minds.

The breaths we breathe influence our spirits.

Let’s feed them all well, this week 🙏

1 QUOTE

“From time to time we should take a breath and notice the silence between sounds.”
— Haemin Sunim
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Breathing Mechanics

Answer: These organs are actually passive during breathing—they don’t create any movement associated with inhalation and exhalation.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are the lungs?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. Did a little self-diagnosing over the weekend

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.

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

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.

 
 
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Top 5 Daily Breaths, a Guide to Wim Hof, and Coherence Fuels Purpose

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4 Thoughts



1. Wim Hof & Diabetes: A Complete Guide to the Benefits and 5 Real Dangers

This is a complex topic I get a lot of questions about. I made a 40-min class on it, but attempted to put the most critical information into this free post:

You can read it here.

It’s pretty long, but I hope it’s thorough and genuinely helpful, especially if you have diabetes or are a WHM coach. 🙏

2. Word Etymology and Why We Can All Do Asanas, Yogi or Not

“The word asana is made up of two parts: as ‘to sit’ and ana, ‘breath.’ To do an asana is to literally sit with your breath, or to sit in a special way and breathe.”

- Eddie Stern, One Simple Thing

This is awesome word etymology (thanks, Eddie). And, it’s an excellent reminder that sometimes abstract words are straightforward to implement.

So, I say we all channel our inner yogi and do some more asanas, today 🧘‍♂️

3. Why Coherence Fuels Purpose: Finding Internal & External Safety for Growth

“The need for coherence is the form of meaning that is most strongly tied to the need for safety. Does my immediate environment make sense? Is there any predictability and comprehensibility in my life? Coherence is necessary to even get a chance to pursue one’s larger purpose or pursue various ways that one can matter in this world.”

- Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D., Transcend

Researchers tell us to “pursue one’s larger purpose,” we need external coherence with our environment, which allows us to feel safe.

Conversely, we know that slow breathing (~5-6 breaths/min) provides internal coherence—a predictability in our nervous system that makes us feel safe.

And in my opinion, this second type is even more potent because it’s always available, and our inner state determines how we relate to our external world.

So let’s breathe slowly, find some internal coherence (and maybe even external, too), and use this feeling of safety to pursue our bigger purpose.

***

Related Quote: “The unseen design of things is more harmonious than the seen.” - Heraclitus

4. Two Small Thoughts on Breath and Presence

  • Physically, wherever you find your breath, you find yourself.

  • Spiritually, whenever you find your breath, you find your self.

Extra Thought: Top 5 Breathing Exercises to Practice Daily (and the Best Times to Do Them)

I wrote another guest blog for ResBiotic. I hope this one is super practical and can help you or someone you know get started with breathing. Enjoy!

Top 5 Breathing Exercises to Practice Daily (And the Best Times to Do Them)



1 QUOTE

“This illustrates the most empowering point of all. The key to our own experience lies within our bodies all the time.”
— The Tibetan Yoga of Breath

1 ANSWER

Category: The Lungs

Answer: The alveoli have a mixture of lipids and proteins called this, which prevent them from collapsing during low lung volume.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is surfactant?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. thanks for buying this gum

Available Now:

THE BREATHING FOR DIABETES SELF-PACED WORKSHOP

If you like geeking out on breathing, or just want to live an overall healthier life, I’m confident you’ll love the workshop (diabetes or not).

By the end of the workshop, you’ll have:

  • The ideal breathing rate for you.

  • A daily practice plan designed around human behavior science rather than discipline and “motivation.”

  • A tool to reduce stress and calm your nervous system anytime, any place.

Plus, you get:

  • A 40-min Wim Hof and Diabetes Mini Masterclass.

    • If you’re interested in the WHM, I think you’ll find a lot of information in here you’ve probably never seen before—like why you should only practice it in the morning and why you don’t have to hold your breath to get the same results.

  • A PDF of 100 inspiring breathing quotes.

  • A Breath Matching worksheet to grow your practice.

  • A simple 10-day plan for implementing what you learn.

And if you don't like it, it’s 100% refundable, so you have nothing to lose.

 
 

* 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.

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

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.

 
 

Rock Climbing, Stress & Growth, and How to be Present (not just breathing)

 
 

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4 Thoughts


1. Breathing & Rock Climbing: Falling and Recovering as We Climb Life’s Mountain

As rock climbers ascend a mountain face, they periodically clip into a new anchor higher on the wall. But no matter how high they get, they still take heavy falls and get slapped into the mountainside.

Critically, though, they’re a little higher up when they recover.

That’s what breathing (or anything you use for better living) does. We’re still going to fall. It’s still going to hurt really bad. But when we recover, we’ll be a little higher up life’s mountain than the last time we tumbled.

***

P.S. This was inspired by this +1: Higher Highs and Higher Lows

2. Stress & Growth: Lobsters and their Shells

“For the lobster, stress literally leads to growth—if the lobster did not feel stressed in the small shell, it would not know to get a bigger one and be able to continue growing. Stress provides you with the same opportunity to grow. If you don’t experience stress, you don’t move forward, you don’t challenge yourself, and you don’t get the opportunity to live a fulfilling, meaningful life.”

- Inna Khazan, Ph.D., Biofeedback and Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Speaking of falling, that stress can actually be a good thing. Like lobsters, we need stress to grow, to “live a fulfilling, meaningful life.”

Stress—> Breathe—> Recover—> Grow—> Repeat Forever 💪🏋️‍♀️

3. Using Breathing Techniques as Needed to Access Different States

“The breathing practices can energize you or slow you down. They can heighten your ability to examine things in an analytical way or heighten your ability to move your awareness inwardly to support your innate ability to be contemplative and serene, to sense who you are in an interior way.”

- Eddie Stern, One Simple Thing

Last week, Emma Seppälä reminded us that breathing is the most accessible tool we have. Here, Eddie reminds us just how powerful it is for changing our state.

Want to be analytical? Contemplative? Energized? Serene?

It’s all there, right under our noses : )

4. How to Easily Access Presence (with or w/o breathing)

“But learning new skills is also one of the best ways to enhance awareness of the present moment […] New situations kill the mental clutter. In newness, we’re forced into presence and focus.”*

- Michael Easter, The Comfort Crisis

This might be why our first breathing practice, our first meditation, or the first wave we surfed was so life-changing. In that novelty, we found presence.

So to access presence, embrace newness. Try a new breathing method. Listen to a new song. Try a different yoga class. Lift a new weight.

Of course, consistency is key, but we can deliberately use newness to access a more present state of mind and periodically reinvigorate our spirit.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“Sometimes carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement.”

- Albert Camus

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Stress and Growth

Answer: This is the name given to positive psychological changes that occur after stressful and challenging events.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is post-traumatic growth?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. My toxic trait is…

 
 
 

* 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.

 
 

The Science of Presence, Beating Gravity, and How to Sleep Like a Pro

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 

Greetings,

Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for this week.

I hope you enjoy it!

 
 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. How to Sleep Like a Pro: Nose, 4-4-6-2, Repeat

“Breathe deeply and regularly…Try to breathe through your nose, keeping your mouth closed if at all possible. The more you breathe through your nose, the easier you will find it to breathe through your nose. In other words, use it or lose it.”

- Dr. Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe, Learn Like a Pro

I didn’t expect to find anything about breathing in a book called “Learn Like a Pro,” which is geared mainly toward college students. But, to learn well, you need to sleep well. Enter: the power of the breath.

And their advice for falling asleep? Inhale for 4 sec, hold for 4 sec, exhale for 6 sec, hold for 2 sec. “This type of breathing balances both the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your body and allows you to relax more deeply.”

It’s just so awesome to see slow nasal breathing make its way into random places like this. If put into practice, these few sentences could change a student’s life forever. Simply amazing.

Here’s to sleeping (and learning) like a pro, tonight.

***

P.S. I’ve been having a little self-induced stress insomnia recently (such is life), so it was perfect timing for this passage.

Related: Self-Regulation of Breathing as an Adjunctive Treatment of Insomnia

2. Beating Gravity with Your Nose

“The results presented in this work provide evidence that the development of a substantial production of NO in the upper airways of humans may be an important part of our adaptation to life on two legs to ameliorate the influence of gravity on pulmonary blood flow distribution.”

- Nasal nitric oxide and regulation of human pulmonary blood flow in the upright position

Translation: Nasal nitric oxide might have been an evolutionary adaptation to counteract gravity, allowing us to sit and walk upright. 🤯

Gravity moves blood flow toward the base of the lungs. Nitric oxide, however, redistributes blood flow help better utilize the massive surface area of the lungs. This allows us to get more oxygen in the upright position.

So go take a walk, breathe through your nose, oxygenate your body, and enjoy this gift evolution has given us.

***

Related Quote: “Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack.” - Henry Miller

3. Psychology Today: “The Simplest Stress Management Skill”

“It may seem incredible that such a simple exercise can make a huge difference in a person’s ability to feel less stressed.”

- Dianne Grande, Ph.D., The Simplest Stress Management Skill

Of course, that “simple exercise” is slow deep breathing : )

This quick and excellent article touches on the vagus nerve and equal versus extended exhalations. It also provides some straightforward and practical guidelines for a “minimum effective dose” of slow breathing. Enjoy!

4. The Making of the Present Moment

“Your experience of the present moment is based on the activity of your nervous system at that moment. ”

- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Neurodharma

We are always in the moment. As Howard Cohn says, “In truth, we are always present. We only imagine ourselves to be in one place or another.”

So what “presence” really refers to is experiencing our current moment. And as Dr. Hanson reminds us, our experience of any moment is just our nervous system at that moment. And the fastest way to access that? Our breath.

So experience your breath to experience presence. Or better yet, change your breath, change your nervous system, and use this science and physiology of presence to make your own moments.

***

Related Quote: “Breathe and you dwell in the here and now.” - Annabel Laity

Related Quote: “As such, the state of the autonomic nervous system underlies all psychological and physiological functioning, whether we are conscious of it or not. However, there is a bridge between our conscious mind and the subconscious action of the autonomic nervous system – breathing.” - The New Science of Breath

 
 
 
 

1 Quote

“Everything I have earned today was at least partially a result of breathing.  My best performance.  My emotional control. My ability to endure.  Breathing gave me all of this.”

- Rickson Gracie, Breathe: A Life in Flow

P.S. I listened to Breathe, so I apologize if the punctuation is incorrect.

 
 
 
 

1 Answer

Category: Breathing in the Womb

Answer: Babies are supplied oxygen in the womb through this tube-like structure.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the umbilical cord?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. it comes very naturally

 
 
 

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

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.