zen

My Ghostwriter, Cost-Free, and the Best Gift We Can Give Others


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Reading Time: 1 min 32 sec

I hope the next 23’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.



4 THOUGHTS

1. Universally Accessible, Scalable, and Cost-Free

“Breathing practices, when used in isolation, have the advantage of being universally accessible, scalable, and cost-free. They are not limited by access to healthcare services nor burdened by side effects and put potential treatment tools in the hands of the individual.”

Bentley et al. (2023), Brain Sciences

That’s so good. I have nothing to add but a few of these 👏👏👏

2. Breathing, Mental States, and Longevity

“All creatures consume vital energy. In the ancient Hindu tradition, it is said that we come into life with a given supply of this energy, enough to power a certain number of breathing cycles. …

If this theory is true, it may help to explain why these ancient sages claim a close connection between mental states and longevity. Our breathing rhythm, the measure of how fast our reserves of vital energy are being consumed, is regulated in part by our state of mind. Security, compassion, patience, forgiveness – all these are accompanied, if you observe closely, by a relatively slow breathing rhythm and heart rate. Positive states of mind like these conserve energy and lengthen the life span, leaving a reserve of resilience and resistance for facing challenges.”

– Eknath Easwaran, Original Goodness

3. Ghostwriter

Breathing is the ghostwriter of our lives, subtly influencing our mental states, our energy and outlook, and our overall sense of connection and belonging in this world.

4. Now as I Understand Things Properly

“A Zen monk said, ‘Before I began to practice, mountains were mountains, and rivers were rivers. During many years of practice, mountains stopped being mountains and rivers stopped being rivers. Now as I understand things properly, mountains are mountains, and rivers are rivers.’”

- Thich Nhat Hanh


1 Quote

The only thing we have to bring to community is ourselves, so the contemplative process of recovering our true selves in solitude is never selfish. It is ultimately the best gift we can give to others.”
— Parker Palmer

1 Answer

Category: The Diaphragm

Answer: Several factors, including a small muscle fibre size and abundance of capillaries, make the diaphragm less susceptible to this, allowing it to work continuously.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is fatigue?


In good breath,

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

P.S. I had 33 open while writing this email

Nurture Your True Self

Everything you read in this newsletter comes from the Breath Learning Center. So, if you enjoy this newsletter, check it out. It’s cheap and full of life-changing wisdom and practices for discovering your true self. Start Today.

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.


Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.


 

Movement, Heart and Lung Vacation, and My Teacher is Best


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Reading Time: 1 min 34 sec

I hope the next 24’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.



4 THOUGHTS

1. The Most Empirically Supported Way

“The most empirically supported way that contemplative practices confer their psychological and physiological benefits is by lowering threat arousal through shifting the autonomic nervous system to parasympathetic dominance via slowed and/or regulated breathing.

- Crosswell et al. (2024), Psychological Review

Of course, contemplative practices go beyond breathing, drawing upon mind and body to uniquely benefit each person who practices.

But, this is a powerful scientific statement. It reminds us that because breath is both our spirit—the essence of our being—and our direct connection to the nervous system, it plays a key role (intentionally or unintentionally) in all contemplative practice 🙏

2. Give Your Heart and Lungs a Vacation by Practicing This

“In other words, patience is not only a mental virtue; it is an asset even for physical health. I’m sure you are aware of the way your heart races when you get impatient. Perhaps you have noticed, too, that your breathing becomes faster and more shallow. Doesn’t it seem reasonable that if you can strengthen your patience to such a degree that other people’s behavior never upsets you, your heart, lungs, and nervous system will be on vacation?”

– Eknath Easwaran, Original Goodness

That does seem reasonable : ) Here’s to cultivating a little more patience so that we may give our hearts, lungs, and nervous systems a vacation every day 🙏

3. Movement

Physical activity moves your body.

A breath practice moves your spirit.

And reading timeless wisdom moves your soul.

They all need movement to stay energized and robust.

4. My Teacher is the Best

“One Zen student said, ‘My teacher is the best. He can go days without eating.’

The second said, ‘My teacher has so much self-control, he can go days without sleeping.’

The third said, ‘My teacher is so wise that he eats when he’s hungry and sleeps when he’s tired.’”


1 Quote

When we begin to take up breathing practices, we temporarily make an involuntary, life-sustaining function voluntary, and in that can make dramatic shifts to our state of mind and the state of our nervous system.”
— Eddie Stern

1 Answer

Category: The Diaphragm

Answer: To facilitate communication of vital information, the diaphragm has three major ones of these.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What are three major openings?


In good breath,

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

P.S. worrying works!

Nurture Your True Self

“Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.”

– Miles Davis

Learn to think, speak, and act in alignment with the person you want to be. Start Today.

P.S. Along with the pay-what-you-can option, I also just added a 2-day pass to make it more accessible 🙏

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.


Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.


 

Soul Physiology, Laughter Heals, and a Great Zen Master


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If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊


Enjoy These Posts?

Donate to support my research.


Reading Time: 1 min 41 sec

I hope the next 25’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.



4 THOUGHTS

1. Nurturing Our Body and Soul’s Physiology

1. The way we nurture our body’s physiology is through breathing.

2. The way we nurture our soul’s physiology is through love.

Thus, we can perform a breath practice followed by loving-kindness meditation as a simple yet deeply restoring way to start each day 🙏

2. A Technical (yet elegant) Reminder of the Power of the Breath

“The parasympathetic and sympathetic systems are tonically active, with efferent pathways extending from the brainstem and hypothalamus to all major peripheral organs and afferent nerves from the lungs, airways, and heart, projecting to the brainstem and to the hypothalamus and higher order neural regions. Because of this anatomical connectivity, changes in breathing rate are quickly signaled to the brain, allowing the brain to interpret that the body is in a relaxed, calm state, and safe state.”

- Crosswell et al. 2024

Be sure to take advantage of this “anatomical connectivity” this week 🙏

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the Science 411 on this one too.

3. There is No Hedonic Adaptation to This

“You might have thought that when we more often experience awe in the wonders of life, those wonders lose their power. This is known as the law of hedonic adaptation, that certain pleasures…diminish with their increased occurrence. Not so with awe. The more we practice awe, the richer it gets.”

– Dacher Keltner, Awe: The New Science of…

“The more we practice awe, the richer it gets.” This excellent idea explains why daily practices like breathing, meditation, time in nature, or reading timeless wisdom never lose their potency.

Each of these brings awe, connecting us closer to our true selves, and there is no hedonic adaptation to that 🙏

4. A Great Zen Master Was Once Asked

“A great Zen master renowned for his wisdom was once asked, ‘What’s the most remarkable thing you’ve learned in all of your years of meditation and study?’ He answered, ‘The most remarkable thing is that we’re all going to die but we live each day as though it weren’t so.’”

– Ronald Siegel, Psy.D., The Mindfulness Solution


1 Quote

Wholehearted, ready laughter heals, encourages, relaxes anyone within hearing distance.”
— Eugenia Price

1 Answer

Category: Heart-Brain Connection

Answer: The heart might be able to communicate with the brain through the vagus nerve via the firing of these, sometimes referred to as “the little brain of the heart.”

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What are intrinsic cardiac neurons?


In good breath,

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

P.S. Alright Sam has command of the board

Discover Your True Self

“Paradoxically, it takes time to become what we already are.”

– Rick Hanson, PhD

Learn to think, speak, and act in alignment with the person you want to be. Start Today.

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.


Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.