weekly email

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Brain Blood Flow, Humming Bee Breathing, and an Unhurried Life

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Reading Time: 1 min 58 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing 101: How Breathing Affects Brain Blood Flow

1. CO₂ crosses the blood-brain barrier and reacts with water in the CSF to form H⁺ and bicarbonate.

2. The increased H⁺ lowers pH which, through a cascade of cellular and molecular pathways, relaxes the blood vessels.

3. This increases brain blood flow to ensure adequate oxygen delivery to the brain. The reverse is true for low CO₂.

Thus, when we overbreathe, we lower CO₂ and reduce brain blood flow; when we breathe light and slow, the opposite happens, and we increase brain blood flow.

2. Testing Progress on the Spiritual Path

“One of the ways to test our progress on the spiritual path is to see how much we are able to free ourselves from the oppressive pressure of time. The clock is the most eloquent symbol of the tyranny of time.”

– Eknath Easwaran, The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living

This one felt like a spiritual slap in the face 😬 because, despite all my practice, I still catch myself rushing through the day, ruled by the microwave clock. The subtle shift Easwaran is pointing to is not that we escape time, but rather that we free ourselves from the pressure of time. To move with ease, no matter how busy we are. That’s progress.

3. The Science-Backed Benefits of Humming Bee Breathing

“The findings indicated that bhramari pranayama has a positive impact on psychological, cardiovascular and pulmonary health…It is…associated with lower levels of stress, anxiety, depression, sympathetic activity and blood pressure, and higher levels of attention, quality of sleep, parasympathetic activity, vagal activity and pulmonary functioning.

- Chetry et al. (2024)

That’s an impressive list. And while I’ve shared this study before, I recently put together a simple post that sums it up. I thought you might enjoy revisiting it like I did. Click here to check it out.

4. Some Great Advice for the Week

“So look for those little ways in the flow of life to feel a bit more relaxed, protected, strong, and at ease…and a little more grateful, glad, and successful…and a little more cared about and caring, and a little more loved and loving…The more often and deeply you do this, the greater the results.”

- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Neurodharma

1 Quote

“A simple, unhurried life can be full of wisdom and beauty.””
— Eknath Easwaran Williams

1 GOOD BOOK

The Well-Lived Life by Gladys McGarey, MD

I’ve been raving about this book for over a year now—it’s one of my all-time favorites. I’ve received more messages from readers that this book changed their life than any other I’ve shared. Dr. McGarey was 102 when she wrote it, and you can truly feel her wisdom in every sentence. (She has since passed away, back in September, at the age of 103.) I can’t recommend this one enough.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!



P.S. a modern-day Descartes




SKY Recovery Program

My dear friend Colleen Loehr, MD, is co-teaching an online course for the SKY Recovery Program from June 7th to 9th. The course is open to anyone—people in recovery and people who have a friend or loved one with an addiction problem. The fee is only $95, so it’s an inexpensive way to learn the SKY technique for recovery and addiction. Click here to learn more about it. 🙏


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.

 
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CO2 & Breath Regulation, a Fulfilling Life, and a Great Book on Movement

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Reading Time: 2 min 11 sec

I hope the next 26’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing 101: The Role of CO2 in Breath Regulation

1. CO₂ crosses the blood-brain barrier and reacts with water in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) to form hydrogen ions (H⁺) and bicarbonate.

2. Then, this rise in H⁺ lowers pH, stimulating central chemoreceptors in the brainstem.

3. These chemoreceptors send signals to the brain’s respiratory centers to activate the phrenic nerve, causing the diaphragm to contract, initiating an inhale.

It’s a rather neat and beautiful system 👏

2. A Fulfilling and Accomplished Life

“Yet everyday experience, along with centuries of philosophical reflection, attests to the fact that a fulfilling and accomplished life isn’t a matter of exerting ever more control. It’s not about making things more predictable and secure, until you can finally relax. … The greatest achievements often involve remaining open to serendipity, seizing unplanned opportunities, or riding unexpected bursts of motivation.”

– Oliver Burkeman, Meditations for Mortals

This is the essence of awareness (or “mindful living”): not trying to control every outcome, but instead remaining open to what life offers 👏.

3. Take Your Time in the Morning

“It’s much more pleasant for both you and the day you’re beginning to do the opposite - namely, to take your time in the morning. In many spiritual traditions, this is seen as an ideal time for meditation or looking inward. Such a moment of calm and stillness affects the rest of the day.”

- Paul Loomans, I’ve Got Time

I’m a huge fan of practicing breathing & meditation first thing upon waking, and this passage highlights why. It reminds me of this equally-powerful excerpt from my favorite teacher, Eknath Easwaran:

“The pace you set first thing in the morning is likely to stay with you through the day. If you get up early and set a calm, unhurried pace, it is much easier to resist getting speeded up later on as the pressures of the day close in on you. This simple step has profound effects.” 👏

4. How Long Until Awakening?

“A disciple asks a Zen master: ‘How long does it take to be able to experience Awakening?’

‘Maybe 20 years,’ answers the master.

‘And if I am in a hurry?’ asks the disciple again.

‘In that case, it is 50 years,’ concludes the master.”

- Steven Laureys, MD, The No-Nonsense Meditation Book

I think this is the 3rd time I’ve shared this passage. It’s one of my favorites and never gets old—full of wisdom and always brings a laugh.

1 Quote

“Despite centuries of reports from followers of Eastern traditions that slow breathing can improve focus, bring a sense of calm when we might otherwise lose it and even whisk us away to an altered state of consciousness, most of us still don’t take time out from our busy lives to prioritize this simplest and most unobtrusive of body movements.””
— Caroline Williams

1 GOOD BOOK

Move by Caroline Williams

Here’s another book I can’t recommend enough. If you’re curious about how movement affects your mind, it’s a must-read. Williams even has a whole chapter on breathing—the most fundamental movement—which is worth getting the book for by itself. Check it out if it sounds interesting!

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. how to not get “Sunday scaries”

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.

 
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Breathing 101, Feel-Good Hormones, and A Book I Really Loved

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Reading Time: 1 min 54 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing 101: The Neuroendocrine Link

1. Slow breathing activates the calming branch of the nervous system, sending signals of safety to the brain.

2. In response, the brain dampens the hormonal stress response, which lowers stress hormones like cortisol.

This is an excellent example of the neuroendocrine system at work: the breath influences the nervous system, the nervous system influences the brain, and then the brain regulates hormonal activity.

2. Worrier Gets Things Exactly Backwards

“You could say the worrier gets things exactly backwards. He’s so terrified that he might not be able to rely on his inner resources, later on, when he reaches a bridge that needs crossing, that he makes superhuman efforts to bring the future under his control right now. In fact he should devote less energy to manipulating the future, and have more faith in his capacity to handle things once the challenge actually arrives.”

– Oliver Burkeman, Meditations for Mortals

This one needs no commentary from me. But I will add a slight touch of humor, which I found in Anthony de Mello’s Awareness: “Who says that worrying doesn’t help? It certainly does. Every time I worry about something, it doesn’t happen!”

3. How Slow, Diaphragmatic Breathing Increases Feel-Good Hormones

“The vagus nerve is our our biggest parasympathetic nerve and the biggest place of innervation is our diaphragm. So, when we take nice, easy, deep breaths, that's going to feed back to our brain that all is good with the world. [It] increases acetylcholine and then that increases, in turn, our feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine. [It’s] basically a natural Prozac.”

- Michael J Stephen, MD

Here’s that neuroendocrine feedback loop (described in Thought #1) in action. And while we often talk about it “reducing stress hormones,” this is a powerful reminder that it also increases feel-good ones, too 👏

4. Constantly Somewhere Else

“But we’re constantly somewhere else. As somebody said, ‘My favorite place is somewhere else.’”

- Anthony de Mello, Awareness

Here is another insight wrapped in humor from this book. It reminds me of this opposite but equally true gem: “In truth we are always present. We only imagine ourselves to be in one place or another.” – Howard Cohn

1 Quote

“Breath happens, but the curious thing is that you can get with the breath, and in getting with it, extraordinary things can happen.””
— Alan Watts

1 GOOD BOOK

Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

I can’t recommend this one enough. Reading the introduction was my favorite part, as it felt like Burkeman was expressing thoughts I’ve had but never known how to articulate. I’ve never felt so much resonance with a book. Check it out if it sounds interesting to you!

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. this may be my calling

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.

 
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Healing Through Breathing, Breath and E-motions, and How to Go East

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Reading Time: 1 min 46 sec

I hope the next 21’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing, and Energy in Motion

“So what can help us when rational thought can’t? In our cerebrally oriented life, many of us have forgotten one critical piece: the role of our body to help our mind. Because emotion is energy in motion, if we want to regain our ability to think clearly, it helps to process emotional energy through the body. And the fastest-acting way to do that is via breathing.”

– Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., Sovereign

“Emotion is energy in motion.” That’s so good (maybe we should spell it e-motion?). It’s a great reminder that emotions need movement and, perhaps unsurprisingly to us, that one of the best movements of all for processing them is breathing 👏

2. How We Know Slow Breathing Activates the Vagus Nerve

“The results of this study reveal that for participants at rest, respiration-driven changes in HRV power (RSA) are vagally mediated. … These findings raise the possibility that mind-body techniques that use slow breathing at rest exert their breathing-related relaxation effects through vagal mechanisms.”

– Kromenacker et al. (2018)

I was revisiting this study while putting together a presentation and thought it was worth resharing. The researchers used medications to separately block the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, allowing them to isolate which branch was responsible for changes in HRV during slow breathing. It was a really neat study.

Here’s an Instagram post I made a couple years ago that summarizes its core methods and findings 🙏

3. Three Random Breathing Thoughts

Breath is both a miniature model of life and the whole of life itself.

Rather than measuring ourselves by how long we practice each day, maybe a more meaningful metric is how little we need to practice to maintain our mental and physical wellness.

The greatest skill in breathing (like in life) is knowing when to go with the flow—and when to deliberately change it.

4. Want to Go East?

“If you want to go east, don't go west.”

– Sri Ramakrishna

Just a perfect reminder that, to achieve our goals, it’s often the things we don’t do that set us in the right direction.

1 Quote

“Beyond the mountains, more mountains””
— Haitian Proverb

1 GOOD BOOK

Healing Through Breathing by Eddie Stern

This is a short, practical guide to the power of breathing for healing our bodies and minds. It blends science with ancient wisdom to offer plenty of simple yet powerful advice. It also includes guided breathing to get you started. Can’t recommend it enough. (Note: It is only on Audible.)

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. Apologies for my delayed response

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.

 
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Art Of Being Wise, Not Most People, and Deep Psycho-Physical Changes

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Reading Time: 1 min 41 sec

I hope the next 20’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Most People Don’t Realize This

“…most people don’t realize the profound potential the breath has for mental health.

How we breathe impacts our heart rate, blood pressure, emotions, and memory. Our breathing patterns influence the function of many critical areas of the brain. Breathing influences how we perceive the world, think, pay attention, remember, and feel.

Our neurons respond to the rhythm of our breath: When we alter our breathing, we can control the activity of our brain cells. Research shows you can rapidly change your emotions using just your breath.”

– Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., Sovereign

Of course, if you’re reading this, you’re not most people—and you probably know most of this. But it’s always refreshing to read it from a slightly different perspective 👏

2. Try to Be Better?

“It is easier to try to be better than you are than to be who you are.”

– Marion Woodman, found in Meditations for Mortals

What a perfect reminder: Instead of always striving to improve ourselves, we can instead seek to simply be ourselves. That is, after all, what breathing, meditation, and mindfulness are all about 🙏

3. Deep Physical and Psychological Changes

“As the breath is the link between the body and mind, it can intervene in the activities of either level. With increased awareness and control of the subtle aspects of breathing, these interventions can affect deep physical and psychological changes.”

– John Clarke, MD, Science of Breath

I’ve shared this one before, but it’s an excellent reminder: Because the breath connects body and mind, it can elicit powerful changes in both.

4. Enjoying the Symphony

“Do you want to enjoy a melody? Do you want to enjoy a symphony? Don’t hold on to a few bars of the music. Don’t hold on to a couple of notes. Let them pass, let them flow. The whole enjoyment of a symphony lies in your readiness to allow the notes to pass.”

– Anthony de Mello, Awareness

Same with life 🎵

1 Quote

“The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.””
— William James

1 GOOD BOOK

Passage Meditation by Eknath Easwaran

If you’re tired of reading the same old things about meditation, here’s an approach I can almost promise you haven’t encountered. And even if you don’t adopt Easwaran’s 8-point program, his profound yet practical wisdom is sure to change how you think and live 🙏

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. Imagine hating on me and…

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.

 
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Your Quiet Center, Being Better, and the Great Secret of Long Life

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Reading Time: 2 min 5 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Aligning with Your Quiet, Still Center

“Approached consciously and with awareness, your breath also helps you relax, release stress, and align yourself with your quiet, still center. You can be anywhere, with any kind of stress or chaos, and your breath will always be there like the tides, moving in and out, connecting your mind to your body, and vice versa.”

– George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete

Just our periodic reminder of the power of the breath. Let’s make sure we use this power to align with our “quiet, still center” whenever we need it 🙏

2. It’s All Minor Tinkering Compared with This

“All the blandishments of modern sports science—altitude tents and heart-rate-variability tracking and bioengineered sports drinks and so on—amount to minor tinkering compared to the more elemental task of pushing your mind and body in training, day after day, for years.”

– Michael Joyner, found in Endure

This is about sports, but I think the same is true for contemplative practice. It’s informative (and honestly, just plain fun) to read all the science, track HRV, measure CO2, and so on. But all of this is just minor tinkering compared to the fundamental practice of sitting with our breath, day after day, for years upon years (upon years).

3. However You View It, It Works

“Whether you believe that this is evidence of a greater spiritual power or a global consciousness that we can connect with, given enough dedication, or whether you think of it as a biological phenomenon that makes you feel good, the important thing here is that, thanks to the way that your brainwaves synchronize with the rate at which you breathe, anyone can access this feeling for free. All you have to do is take control of your diaphragm and the intercostal muscles between your ribs.”

– Caroline Williams, Move

Yet another incredible benefit of breathing: Whether we view it through spirituality, science, or something in between, what ultimately matters is that it works. All we have to do is “take control of our diaphragm and intercostal muscles” and feel the benefits for ourselves 👏

4. The Great Secret of Long Life

“I will laugh and my life will be lengthened, for this is the great secret of long life.”

- Og Mandino

Just our weekly reminder that laughing (and not taking things too seriously) will always be the best breathing and mindfulness practice around 🙏

1 Quote

“It is easier to try to be better than you are than to be who you are.””
— Marion Woodman

1 GOOD BOOK

Peak Mind by Amishi Jha, Ph.D.

This is an incredible book on attention and mindfulness from one of the world’s leading researchers on the topics. If you want to learn how attention actually works—and how to train it—this is a must-read.

P.S. My friend & mentor Paul Hunt recommended this book to me a couple of years ago—thanks, Paul! If you’d like to deepen your mindfulness practice, check out his MBSR course starting April 15.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. I liked doing those…

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.

 
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MBSR Course, Reducing Anxiety, and a Funny Quote about Negative Feelings

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Reading Time: 1 min 54 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. MBSR 8-Week Course Starting Soon

“Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.”

- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D

My good friend, mentor, and all-around awesome human Paul Hunt is leading an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course starting on April 15th.

MBSR is a world-renowned program that changed Paul’s life, so now he shares it out of genuine care and passion. He even offers a pay-what-you-can option to ensure finances don’t hold you back.

If you’ve ever been curious about learning MBSR, this is a perfect way to begin.

Click Here to Learn More

2. Less Caught Up in the Noise of the World

“When you’ve immersed yourself in meditation, silence, breathing, and wisdom, then you’ll find it is so much easier not to get caught up in the noise of the world, the agendas, stories, and opinions. And even when you do get caught, you’re rarely fully entangled because there’s a part of you that notices you’re getting caught. So you can extricate yourself more easily.”

– Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., Sovereign

Just a reminder that when you immerse yourself “in meditation, silence, breathing, and wisdom” (like what we do here 😊), you become naturally shielded from the world’s noise. And with that security, you find a little sense of sovereignty.

3. Slow Breathing Helps Anticipatory Anxiety

“Through slow breathing exercises, participants’ responses to the emotional stimuli of an impending uncertain threat were diminished. It may be that slow breathing prepares the individual physically and psychologically for future anxious events.”

– Nature Scientific Reports (2025)​

​

​A new study found that just 30 seconds of slow breathing helps with anticipatory anxiety—the worry we feel before something stressful actually happens. In the experiment, slow breathing lowered self-reported anxiety, reduced heart rate, and slowed brainwaves, all of which may help the mind and body better handle uncertainty 👏

4. On Other’s Actions Controlling Your Feelings

“You’d better behave as I have decided, or I shall punish myself by having negative feelings.”

- Anthony de Mellow, Awareness

Ha! So good. Let’s do our best to stop punishing ourselves for the ways others act 😊

1 Quote

“It is easier to give up our material clutter than to shed our psychological baggage. Pride, ego, fear, and anger clutter our souls and minds in the same way that piles of clothes, furniture, and other belongings clutter our homes.””
— Satish Kumar

1 GOOD BOOK

Breath by Breath by Larry Rosenberg

Even if you’re not into meditation, this book is worth the read for all the great quotes, stories, and analogies about the breath. It’s one of the first “non-breathwork” breathing books I read many years ago that opened my eyes to the power of the breath as an analogy for life.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. Technology has gone too far

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.

 
,

I Had No Idea, 14% More Endurance, and Breathing to Help Yourself

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Reading Time: 2 min 19 sec

I hope the next 28’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. I Had No Idea the Impact

“I had no idea the impact a simple, gentle walk would have on my life. The impact comes not only from the actual physical walking but also from the discipline, the practice, the commitment. This MorningWalk has ignited my sense of curiosity, satiated my everlasting wanderlust and been the most powerful tool for inspiration in my life.”

– Libby DeLana, Do Walk

When I read this, I thought, “I could say the same about my morning breath practice.” It’s a great reminder that there’s no perfect approach: the way I feel about breathing is the same way someone else feels about walking and how another person feels about dancing or creating art. What’s important is finding what works best for you 🙏

2. Subliminal Smiles and 14% More Endurance

“As the cyclists pedaled, a screen in front of them periodically flashed images of happy or sad faces in imperceptible 16-millisecond bursts, ten to twenty times shorter than a typical blink. The cyclists who were shown sad faces rode, on average, for just over 22 minutes. Those who were shown happy faces rode for three minutes longer and reported a lower sense of effort at corresponding time points. Seeing a smiling face, even subliminally, evokes feelings of ease that bleed into your perception of how hard you’re working at other tasks.”

– Alex Hutchinson, Endure

If an imperceptible smile can help someone pedaling to exhaustion go ~14% longer, imagine what a genuine smile might do for someone you pass on the sidewalk or a store clerk having a rough day. So, let’s use this as our reminder to mindfully smile at those we encounter—it may help them more than we know 😊

3. Thoughts on Laughter (the best breathing exercise)

1. “Laughter is the soul’s health.” - James Henry Potts

2. “We need laughter in our lives. Laughter is carbonated holiness. It’s like the cavalry arriving to help us get our sense of humor back.” - Anne Lamott

3 “A person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.” - Shirley MacLaine

4. You’re Helping Yourself

“One of the most appealing aspects of a breathing practice is that you’re helping yourself. You’re not dependent on someone else. You’re in charge of your own healing. You’ve got this. You’ve got sovereignty.”

– Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., Sovereign

A great reminder that one of the most therapeutic aspects of breathing is the heightened sense of agency it cultivates. You feel in charge of your own healing, and this mindset carries into other areas of life, providing you with more sovereignty in your daily living 👏

1 Quote

“It’s quite amazing: we can control our breath, which means we can control the state of our autonomic nervous system and even our state of consciousness.””
— Elissa Epel, Ph.D.

1 GOOD BOOK

I was struggling to come up with a good trivia question this week, so I decided to switch it up with a book recommendation.

This is a children’s book about Fabi, a now 7-year-old girl, who underwent heart surgery last year. She used breathing, meditation, and prayer to face it with courage and calmness. And in true warrior fashion, she wrote a book to support other kids facing similar challenges. It’s an inspiring and humbling short story; if you have kids, consider getting a copy!

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. I would do anything…

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.

 
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How Breathing Helps the Brain: CSF and Better Retention of Motor Skills

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Reading Time: 1 min 54 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Increasing Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Flow to the Brain

“With rigorous testing, we demonstrated that the three yogic breathing patterns (slow, deep abdominal and deep diaphragmatic) immediately increased both cranially directed instantaneous CSF velocities and power of respiratory-driven CSF motion.”

– Yildiz et al. (2022)

This study found that yogic breathing increased cerebrospinal fluid flow toward the brain by 16-28%, with the most significant changes occurring during deep abdominal breathing. These findings may help explain how breathing techniques improve brain health.

Check out the study breakdown on IG.

2. Nasal Stimulation, Brain Changes, and Non-Ordinary Consciousness

“In conclusion, we found that nasal, and not mouth breathing, is able to induce a non-ordinary state of consciousness characterized at a neurophysiological level by:

1) An enhancement of power at slow frequencies (especially in the theta band) in medial prefrontal and posterior areas

2) A widespread increase of connectivity both at slow (theta) and fast (high-beta) frequencies

3) Heightened theta/high-beta coupling in medial prefrontal and posterior areas”

– Zaccaro et al. (2022)

And critically, those brain changes led participants to feel less physical and psychological tension, less anxiety, more joy, and to enter a relaxed yet fully aware altered state of consciousness during slow nasal breathing vs. slow mouth breathing.

Check out the study breakdown on IG.

3. Three Science-Based Breath-Brain Quotes

“The brain, by regulating breathing, controls its own excitability.” - Journal of Physiology (1988)

"Messages from the respiratory system have rapid, powerful effects on major brain centers involved in thought, emotion, and behavior." - Dr. Patricia Gerbarg and Dr. Richard Brown

“Respiration, being so closely coupled to heart activity and oxygen supply, is key in maintaining metabolic activity in all organs including the brain.” - Neuroscience Bulletin (2023)

4. Alternate Nostril Breathing & Motor Skill Retention

“Our results thus uncover for the first time the remarkable facilitatory effects of simple breathing practices on complex functions such as motor memory, and have important implications for sports training and neuromotor rehabilitation in which better retention of learned motor skills is highly desirable.”

- Yadav and Mutha (2016)

This one found that practicing alternate nostril breathing right after learning a motor skill significantly improved the short- and long-term retention of that skill. I highly recommend the study breakdown on IG, as this was a neat one!

1 Quote

“Humming induces brainwave entrainment, and since the sound of a hum is long and sustained, it has a calming effect on the brain.””
— Eddie Stern

1 Answer

Category: Breath-Brain Connections

Answer: Through its direct connection to this brain region, nasal breathing can indirectly influence brain activity in other regions like the amygdala and hippocampus.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the olfactory bulb?

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. just know that I also cannot tell

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.

 
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A Funny 1-Minute Story, Instant Calm, and Creating Hope & Contentment

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Reading Time: 1 min 40 sec

I hope the next 20’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

Reminder: SKY Breath Course Starts Today

There is still time to sign up for the SKY Breathing Course starting today. My good friend (and all-around wonderful person) Colleen Loehr, MD, is co-leading it, and it's bound to be a great experience. If you’re interested, check it out!

4 THOUGHTS

1. Immediately Observable Calming Effects

“Since sitting silently in meditation – as in traditional mindfulness practices – may be challenging for anxious people with high degrees of physiological arousal, breathing may be preferable because it engages the participant in a structured activity (i.e., controlled breathing) that leads to immediately observable calming effects.”

– Seppälä et al. (2014)

Just a great reminder that if you’re naturally anxious (like me), or work with people who are, breathing exercises can be an excellent alternative to traditional meditation for calming the body and mind 🙏

2. Creating a Sense of Comfort, Hope, and Contentment

“Well, here is the thing: the most generous act we can make is to take time to focus on our own wellbeing as soon as we wake up (in most cases, that is the morning). There is something about a morning ritual that creates a sense of comfort, of certainty, of hope, or contentment.”

– Libby DeLana, Do Walk

I’m a huge fan of starting the day with breathing, meditation, or [insert your favorite practice]. And while this passage is about walking, it perfectly captures why morning rituals like these are so powerful: They create “a sense of comfort, of certainty, of hope or contentment.” 👏

3. Three Breathing Ideas that Aren’t About Breathing

1. Don’t go around air expecting not to breathe.

2. If you follow your breath, you may actually end up where you’re going.

3. We can be lost in the breath, without knowing we have been breathing.

4. Humor and Wisdom: A 1-Minute Story with Insight

If you want a deep insight wrapped in humor and laughter, listen to this funny story about an unexploded bomb from Anthony de Mello (it’s about 1 min long, from 1:32:05 to 1:33:10). Enjoy!

1 Quote

“Artistry in living begins with learning to be flexible for the sake of those around us.””
— Eknath Easwaran

1 Answer

Category: Breath-Brain Connections

Answer: In one study, paced breathing stabilized oscillations in this eye measurement, which is linked to the brain’s attentional system.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is pupil diameter?

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. it’s a daily coin toss

Smarter Coaching. Stronger Practice. Lasting Impact.

Being a great coach or practitioner isn’t just about knowing more, it’s about being a Mixed Mindful Artist: applying the right knowledge in the right way.

The Breath Learning Center gives you concise, practical, and powerful tools to do this, deepening your understanding, strengthening your coaching, and transforming your practice—without fluff or overwhelm.

Get Started 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.

 
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SKY Breath Course, Tend to Your Wellbeing, and the Key to Longevity

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Reading Time: 1 min 53 sec

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


4 THOUGHTS

1. SKY Breathing Course for Better Physical and Mental Health

My great friend Colleen Loehr, MD, is co-leading a SKY breathing course for the Art of Living. This is the infamous practice that started James Nestor on his path to writing Breath.

I’ve taken a mini version of this course and loved it. Moreover, Colleen is one of the kindest humans you’ll ever encounter, so if you’ve ever wanted to learn SKY, check it out!

Learn More and Sign Up Here

2. Life Coaching for a Better Living

Speaking of incredible humans, here is another one: Mary Hunt. If you’re looking for a life coach or navigating a particularly tough time, I can’t recommend Mary enough. She has a heart you immediately know is good from one moment of interacting with her.

You all know I turn to books for my therapy 😂, but I met with Mary a little over a year ago, and her guidance was invaluable as I worked through a major life decision. Can’t recommend her enough.

Learn More about Mary Here

3. Tending to Your Own Wellbeing

“I believe we show up in the world with more clarity, intelligent energy, and self-awareness when we create the space to tend to our own wellbeing: mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.”

– Libby DeLana, Do Walk

Whether it’s a morning walk (like DeLana does) or a morning breath/meditation/etc. practice, this is a great reminder that we show up best “when we create the space to tend to our own wellbeing” first. So, make sure you’re making time for that 😊

4. The Brain Will Respond in Kind

“When we breathe slow and steady, with the abdomen rising and falling with the breath, the messages that get sent to the brain through the vagus nerve are messages of steadiness, evenness, rhythmicity, safety, and control. The brain will receive these messages, and then respond in kind, sending messages back down to the body and releasing hormones and neurotransmitters that are a response to safety.”

– Eddie Stern, Healing Through Breathing

Just a great reminder of the power of slow, gentle, deep breathing. Make sure you take advantage of this healing feedback loop today 👏

1 Quote

“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.””
— Comedian George Burns

1 Answer

Category: Lungs

Answer: These receptors are located in the smooth muscle of the bronchi and bronchioles, but not the alveoli, and can communicate with the brain via the vagus nerve.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are pulmonary stretch receptors?

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. thank you for your concern

Smarter Coaching. Stronger Practice. Lasting Impact.

Being a great coach or practitioner isn’t just about knowing more, it’s about being a Mixed Mindful Artist: applying the right knowledge in the right way.

The Breath Learning Center gives you concise, practical, and powerful tools to do this, deepening your understanding, strengthening your coaching, and transforming your practice—without fluff or overwhelm.

Get Started 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.

 
,

Great Books on Breathing, Mindfulness, and Better Living

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Today, we have a special 411 full of good books I’ve read in the past year or so. I hope you find a few you like!

P.S. If you want to support my work, you can use the Amazon affiliate links below for any that you purchase. Thanks!

Reading Time: 2 min 14 sec

I hope the next 27’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Books on Breathing and Mindfulness

Healing Through Breathing (by Eddie Stern): One of my favorite breath books in recent past. It’s only available on Audible.

Mindfulness in Plain English (by Bhante Gunaratana): I reread this for the third (!) time recently, and it finally clicked just how incredible it is. It’s a testament to needing to read books at the right time in your life.

The Mind Illuminated (by John Yates PhD and Matthew Immergut PhD): Changed everything about how I approach meditation.

The Mindfulness Solution (by Ronald Siegel, Psy.D.): Amazing blend of science, traditional wisdom, and personal experience.

2. Books on Movement

Move (by Caroline Williams): This one is so good. It also has an incredible chapter on breathing that I can’t recommend enough.

Do Walk (by Libby DeLana): Instantly became my favorite book on walking. Quick and fun to read.

52 Ways to Walk (by Annabel Streets): Also incredibly good on walking, plus a couple of chapters on breathing and walking.

3. Books on Better Living in General

Awareness (by Anthony de Mello): This one is so good. You have to get the audible version to hear him speak it and feel his wisdom and humor. I laughed out loud many times, while also having my mind blown by his insights. It’s one of my new all-time favorites.

Falling Upward (by Richard Rohr): Few authors write with genuine wisdom you can feel through their words. Rohr is one of them. This is a truly life-changing book.

Take Your Time (by Eknath Easwaran): Easwaran is my favorite teacher, and I’ve now read 7 of his books. Although they’re all phenomenal, this one is probably still my favorite.

4. Recency Bias: What I’ve Been Reading Lately

Here are my last five books from most recent backward:

Sovereign (by Emma Seppala): Just started this one and loving it so far. Thanks to C.L. for the recommendation!

Do Walk (by Libby DeLana): See above. My new favorite book on walking.

Science of Breath (by Yogi Ramacharaka): A classic I recently reread. (I’ve been told that some of this isn’t legit pranayama, but it’s a good read nonetheless.)

Concentration (by Kam Knight): Super practical, no-fluff book on how to concentrate better.

The Heroic Heart (by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo): How could I not buy this book based on the title? lol. It was an amazing outlook on compassion, and on using adversity to fuel our growth. Loved it.

P.S.

If some of these sound interesting but you don’t have time to read them, you can check out the Breath Learning Center for short, practical reviews on most of them!

1 Quote

“We read books to find out who we are.””
— Ursula K. Le Guin

1 Answer

Category: Books and Breathing

Answer: Although not usually called one, this common activity with a book could be considered a powerful breathing exercise.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is reading aloud?

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. on their way to Samadhi

Smarter Coaching. Stronger Practice. Lasting Impact.

Being a great coach or practitioner isn’t just about knowing more, it’s about being a Mixed Mindful Artist: applying the right knowledge in the right way.

The Breath Learning Center gives you concise, practical, and powerful tools to do this, deepening your understanding, strengthening your coaching, and transforming your practice—without fluff or overwhelm.

Get Started 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.

 
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Intelligent Control of Breathing, Humming, and Stopping to Think

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If you enjoy listening, you can listen to dozens of past episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible 😊

Reminder for Instructors:

Don’t forget to sign up for the free 5-day email series: Help More People by Avoiding These 5 Mistakes Holding Back Your Breathing and Mindfulness Coaching

Reading Time: 1 min 34 sec

I hope the next 19’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Intelligent Control of Breathing

“An intelligent control of our breathing power will lengthen our days upon earth by giving us increased vitality and powers of resistance, and, on the other hand, unintelligent and careless breathing will tend to shorten our days, by decreasing our vitality and laying us open to disease.”

– Yogi Ramacharaka, Science of Breath

Just a simple (but always welcomed) reminder of the power of our breath. By using it intelligently—which often means nasal, slower, deeper, and quieter—it can help us lengthen our days and support our vitality and resilience 👏

2. The Power of Humming

“Bhramari pranayama practice is found to be associated with higher levels of attention, quality of sleep, parasympathetic activity and pulmonary functioning and lower levels of stress, anxiety, depression, sympathetic activity and blood pressure across the included studies.”

- Exploring the Health Benefits of Bhramari Pranayama (2024)

This paper provides a well-rounded look at the evidence supporting bhramari as a formal breath practice. As you can see from the quote, the findings showed a wide range of impressive health benefits.

Read the full paper for more, or get my review and practical takeaways when you become a member of the Breath Learning Center.

3. Three Short Thoughts on Mindful Breathing

1. Breathing saves your life 20,000 times a day; mindfulness helps you appreciate this truth.

2. Breathing, with awareness, is gratitude.

3. The shortest definition of mindfulness is breath.

4. I Dare Not Stop…

“Someone once said, ‘I dare not stop to think, because if I did, I wouldn’t know how to get started again.’”

– Anthony de Mello, Awareness

Just a funny quote on how hard it can be to pause sometimes. But let us take it as a reminder that occasionally “stopping to think” may actually help us start back even better.

1 Quote

“The important thing is not to worry about what is going to happen to us but to create inner strength to deal with whatever does happen.””
— Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

1 Answer

Category: Lung Connections

Answer: The existence of this two-way communication system between the gut and lungs suggests that breathing-related factors may influence the gut microbiota.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the gut-lung axis?

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. little secret about me

Smarter Coaching. Stronger Practice. Lasting Impact.

Being a great coach or practitioner isn’t just about knowing more, it’s about being a Mixed Mindful Artist: applying the right knowledge in the right way.

The Breath Learning Center gives you concise, practical, and powerful tools to do this, deepening your understanding, strengthening your coaching, and transforming your practice—without fluff or overwhelm.

Get Started 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.

 
,

On Breathing, Moving & Stillness, and Taking an Instant Vacation

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If you enjoy listening, you can listen to dozens of past episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible 😊

Reminder for Coaches:

Don’t forget to sign up for the free 5-day email series: Help More People by Avoiding These 5 Mistakes Holding Back Your Breathing and Mindfulness Coaching

Reading Time: 1 min 17 sec

I hope the next 16’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. On Breathing No Longer Being Just Breathing

“Once you start meditating, breathing is no longer just breathing. When we start paying attention to our breathing on a regular basis, our relationship to it changes dramatically. As we have already seen, tuning in to it helps us to gather our often unfocused energies and center ourselves. The breath reminds us to tune in to our body and to encounter the rest of our experience with mindfulness, in this very moment.”

– Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living

2. On How Being Around Water (or nature) Enhances Your Practice

“Water’s amazing influence does not mean that it displaces other concerted efforts to reach a mindful state; rather, it adds to, enhances, and expands.”

“This is the huge advantage of water: you don’t need to meditate to take advantage of its healing effects because it meditates you.”

– Wallace J Nichols, Blue Mind

3. On Moving to Find Stillness

1. “We need to move to be still, and only from that place of stillness can we move well.” – Caroline Williams

2. “Without a balance between physical activity and meditation, for instance, we may become irritable or restless. Exercise…can help to solve some of the problems that come as you descend in consciousness.” – Eknath Easwaran

3. “In order to understand the dance, one must be still. And in order to truly understand stillness, one must dance.” – Attributed to Rumi

4. On Vacation (and the best breathing exercise)

“Laughter is an instant vacation.”

– Milton Berle

1 Quote

“As the breath goes, so goes the body.””
— Larry Rosenberg

1 Answer

Category: Lung Adaptations in Marine Mammals

Answer: To prevent decompression sickness (the “bends”) during deep dives, some marine mammals have the ability to do this to their lungs.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is collapse their lungs?

In good breath,

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

P.S. but there are downsides too

Smarter Coaching. Stronger Practice. Lasting Impact.

Being a great coach or practitioner isn’t just about knowing more, it’s about being a Mixed Mindful Artist: applying the right knowledge in the right way.

The Breath Learning Center gives you concise, practical, and powerful tools to do this, deepening your understanding, strengthening your coaching, and transforming your practice—without fluff or overwhelm.

Get Started 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.

 
,

How to Solve Complex Problems, Your Path, and Focusing on Joy

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No Audio this Week

If you enjoy listening, you can listen to dozens of past episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible 😊

Reminder for Coaches:

Don’t forget to sign up for the free 5-day email series: Help Real People Get Real Results by Avoiding These 5 Mistakes

Reading Time: 1 min 34 sec

I hope the next 19’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. On Finding Your Own Path

“You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Where there’s a way or path, it is someone else’s path; each human being is a unique phenomenon. The idea is to find your own pathway to bliss.”

– Joseph Campbell, Pathways to Bliss

2. Complex Problems, Simple Solutions

“Many fall into the trap of thinking that if they have a complex or debilitating problem, then they need a complex or difficult solution, one that takes time and energy to apply. Since they expect the solution to take effort, they overlook the easy suggestions and focus only on the difficult techniques, or those they haven’t heard or used before.

The truth is, if you have a big or complex problem, then more than likely you need a simple and easy solution—one that is easy to apply and that you are encouraged to apply.”

– Kam Knight, Concentration

A wonderful reminder that just because a problem is complex doesn’t mean the solution has to be. Most times, it’s the simple things—breathing, meditating, walking, laughing—that help the most 👏

3. Three Short Breath-Focused Quotes

1. “Be devoted to the breath and renounce everything else.”

– Eugene Cash

2. “The quality of our breath expresses our inner feelings.”

– TKV Desikachar

3. “Walk slowly! Talk little! Love breath!”

– The Primordial Breath, Volume I

4. Focus on Joy

“Why do you have to do things well? Do them enjoyably, not well.”

– Anthony de Mello, Awareness

This quote comes from a story about friends who played music—not because they were good, but because they loved it. It’s a great reminder that we don’t always need to optimize or excel at everything (including our mindful practices). Sometimes focusing on joy is best.

1 Quote

“The universe is only as large as our perception of it. When we cultivate our awareness, we are expanding the universe.””
— Rick Rubin

1 Answer

Category: The Nose

Answer: The alternating swelling and shrinking of the nasal turbinates is referred to as this.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the nasal cycle?

In good breath,

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

P.S. Grow up

Wisdom that Inspires Action, Mindfulness, and Humor

The Breathing 411 is mindfully created each week to support your journey. If you find it valuable, consider joining the Breath Learning Center. Members gain access to an ever-growing collection of book summaries, science paper reviews, and insights from the greatest teachers and thinkers, designed to help you find your unique path, connect ideas, help others, laugh, and grow as a Mixed Mindful Artist. It also includes ad-free daily emails, guided practices, and more.

Get Started 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.

 
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Free 5-Day Course, Less Inflammation, and 3 Breath-Focused Quotes

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Listen Instead of Reading

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 😊

Audio Block
Double-click here to upload or link to a .mp3. Learn more

Reading Time: 1 min 34 sec

I hope the next 19’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. A Free 5-Day Email Course for Instructors

It’s called: The Mixed Mindful Artist’s Guide: The 5 Biggest Mistakes Coaches Make with Breathing, Meditation, and Mindfulness (and How They Might Be Holding Back Your Coaching Practice).

You can sign up for it here. I hope you enjoy it!

2. Mindfulness Lowers Inflammation

“Mindfulness practice, it seems, lessens inflammation day to day, not just during meditation itself. The benefits seem to show up even with just four weeks of mindfulness practice (around thirty hours total), as well as with loving-kindness meditation…Looks like there’s biological confirmation of what meditators say: it gets easier to handle life’s upsets.”

– Daniel Goleman, Ph.D. & Richard Davidson, Ph.D., Altered Traits

Given that excess inflammation negatively impacts nearly every aspect of health, this highlights just how powerful a consistent mindfulness practice can be for overall well-being👏

3. Three Great Breath-Focused Quotes

Here are three great quotes from The Healing Power of the Breath, which is one of my all-time favorite Book 411s in the Breath Learning Center:

1. “The daily use of breath practices can turn back the tide of stress, counteract disease progression, and improve overall quality of life.”

2. “Once you establish an inner calm, you will transmit it naturally to others.”

3. “In learning breath practices the most important thing to remember is to relax…Self-judgment adds another layer of stress. The less you judge yourself, the easier it will be to relax and experience the benefits.”

4. The First Step on the Path

“Thus the first step on the Path is to know what you want, not what you ought to want. Only in this way can the pilgrim set out upon his journey fully prepared.”

– Alan Watts, Become What You Are

How good is that? It’s a great reminder that a well-lived life is not about figuring out what we “ought” or “should” want. Rather, it’s about finding our own way 👏

1 Quote

“It is an astonishing truth: there is only one person in the world I can hope to control, and that is myself.””
— Eknath Easwaran

1 Answer

Category: Breath and Brain

Answer: This relaxing (and vibrating) breathing practice has been shown to increase gamma brain waves.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is humming?

In good breath,

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

P.S. me following my path

Wisdom that Inspires Action, Mindfulness, and Humor

The Breathing 411 is mindfully created each week to support your journey. If you find it valuable, consider joining the Breath Learning Center. Members gain access to an ever-growing collection of book summaries, science paper reviews, and insights from the greatest teachers and thinkers, designed to help you find your unique path, connect ideas, help others, laugh, and grow as a Mixed Mindful Artist. It also includes ad-free daily emails, guided practices, and more.

Get Started 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.

 
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One-Second Meditation, Being Breathed, and Why Slow Breathing Works

,

Listen Instead of Reading

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 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 30 sec

I hope the next 18’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Why Slow Breathing Works

“Specifically, as slow and deep breathing is initiated during a contemplative practice, the internal state of being settles into a relaxed state with a slower heart rate. With this slowing of heart rate, a positive feedback loop is initiated: The vagus nerve sends this lowered heart rate information via afferent fibers to the brain, and after it receives these signals that imply safety from the body, the brain then turns off threat arousal activation. Now, parasympathetic activity is dominant over sympathetic activity, initiating a felt sense of peace, safety, and contentment.”

– Crosswell et al. (2024)

Just a terrific “scientific reminder” of why slow breathing works and is a crucial part of most contemplative practices that elicit deep rest 👏

2. The One-Second Meditation

“Concentrate for one second. If, at the end of this time, your mind has wandered off, concentrate for another second, and then another. Nobody ever has to concentrate for more than one second—this one.”

– Alan Watts, Become What You Are

Yep, that’s about as straightforward and low-pressure as it gets. I’ve been adopting this mindset during my practice and it’s been super helpful. If it resonates with you, give it a try and see how you feel 🙏

3. Breathing vs. Meditation, Clothing, and Lighthearted

1. Studying breathing allows me to put my years of scientific training to good use. Practicing meditation teaches me how to forget everything I learn.

2. The breath will outgrow any clothes you try to put on it.

3. There is a reason laughter is called lightheartedness and not lightheadedness.

4. Being Breathed

“One day I noticed that I wasn’t breathing—I was being breathed.”

– Byron Katie

No matter what we call it—God, prana, life force, or simply the autonomic nervous system—it’s pretty remarkable to remember that there is something in us that ensures we’re always “being breathed,” always living 👏

1 Quote

“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help.””
— May Sarton

1 Answer

Category: Lungs

Answer: Healthy lungs are typically this color.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is pink?

In good breath,

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

P.S. if you want to pull up

Wisdom that Inspires Action, Mindfulness, and Humor

The Breathing 411 is mindfully created each week to support your journey. If you find it valuable, consider joining the Breath Learning Center. Members gain access to an ever-growing collection of book summaries, science paper reviews, and insights from the greatest teachers and thinkers, designed to help you find your unique path, connect ideas, help others, laugh, and grow as a Mixed Mindful Artist. It also includes ad-free daily emails, guided practices, and more.

Get Started 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.

 
,

Inspiration, Recharging Our Batteries, and How to Float Through Life

,

Listen Instead of Reading

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 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 33 sec

I hope the next 19’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Inspiration from the Environment

“Studies of brainwaves during breathing suggested that the strongest effect of synching up with breathing rate comes on an in-breath. It sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s also true: when we breathe, we are literally taking inspiration from the environment and the subtle clues that it contains.”

– Caroline Williams, Move

How cool is that? Inhaling synchronizes our brainwaves because it’s literally our way of receiving subtle clues from the environment. This means that information coming from breathing gets special attention in the brain…which is why deliberately changing how we breathe can profoundly impact our mental and emotional states 👏

2. Recharging Our Batteries

“A lot of people also run out of energy because they forget to recharge. We need to recharge our batteries by doing retreats or other things that help us to relax, that give us pleasure and make us laugh, because we don’t want to take ourselves too seriously. We all want to lighten up, don’t we?”

– Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, The Heroic Heart

This applies not only in big ways like retreats, but perhaps even more importantly, in tiny ways—like when we have a few extra minutes to laugh, to breathe, to walk, or read. When we recharge our batteries this way, we’re better able to serve others 🙏.

3. Retreats, Frames, and How to Float Through Life

1. When life is your practice, you’re always on a retreat.

2. Any frame we put around the power of breathing won’t fit.

3. To float through life, treat laughter as your ocean.

4. Don’t Should on Yourself

“How many of us should on ourselves all the time?”

– Don Campbell, Healing Yourself with Your Own Voice

Guilty here. Let’s do our best not to “should on ourselves” this week 😊

1 Quote

“The breath helps you maintain full attention, enabling you to see with greater clarity and accuracy the true nature of all forms: everything that arises passes away.””
— Larry Rosenberg

1 Answer

Category: Lung Forces

Answer: When upright, blood flow is greatest in the lower portions the lungs (up to 5-fold greater) due at least partially to the effect of this ever-present force.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is gravity?

In good breath,

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

P.S. okay let’s not jump to conclusions

Wisdom that Inspires Action, Mindfulness, and Humor

The Breathing 411 is mindfully created each week to support your journey. If you find it valuable, consider joining the Breath Learning Center. Members gain access to an ever-growing collection of book summaries, science paper reviews, and insights from the greatest teachers and thinkers, designed to help you find your unique path, connect ideas, help others, laugh, and grow as a Mixed Mindful Artist. It also includes ad-free daily emails, guided practices, and more.

Treat yourself to a better life.

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.

 
,

Intention, 25 Breath Ideas, and Sincere but Never Serious

,

Listen Instead of Reading

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 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 37 sec

I hope the next 20’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. 25 One-Sentence Breathing Ideas for 2025

1. Don’t take ten breaths; take one breath, ten times.

2. The breath will continue to outgrow any clothing you give it.

3. You will float through life so long as you treat the breath as your ocean.

4. Don’t go around air expecting not to breathe.

Continue reading them all here.

2. Ultimately, It’s Not About Breathing

“We can form an intimate relationship with our breath, our nervous system, and thus understand on a deep level the way our mind works. Ultimately, this is not about simply breathing; it is about finding a deep connection to our inner life.”

- Eddie Stern, Healing Through Breathing

Here is an excellent reminder that breathing isn’t “just breathing.” It’s “about finding a deep connection to our inner life” so we can better understand how our bodies, minds, and souls work 👏

3. This is What Counts

“Before doing anything, we should examine the underlying motivation, because as the Buddha said, “Karma is intention.” It is not so much what we do but why we do it. … This is why when we are undertaking any action it is important for us to see as honestly as possible the underlying intention behind us performing this action of body or speech. … It isn’t just the action performed or words that we speak, but how it is said or done and with what intention. That is what counts.”

– Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, The Heroic Heart

👏👏👏

4. Sincere But Never Serious

“You must understand that I am not a serious person. I may be sincere, but never serious, because I don’t think the universe is serious. And the trouble comes into the world largely because various beings take themselves seriously, instead of playfully.”

– Alan Watts, Still the Mind

“I may be sincere, but never serious.” That might just be my new life motto. It perfectly captures the paradox of giving life our all while simultaneously laughing at ourselves and approaching it all with humor and playfulness 👏

1 Quote

“When your intentions are clear and strong, the appropriate actions naturally follow.””
— John Yates, Ph.D., and Matthew Immergut, Ph.D.

1 Answer

Category: The Nose

Answer: These are curved, bony structures inside the nose that are covered in mucus and help filter, warm, and humidify incoming air.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are nasal turbinates?

In good breath,

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

P.S. please don’t take this personally

Wisdom, Summarized for Action

The Breathing 411 is mindfully created each week to support your journey. If you find it valuable, consider joining the Breath Learning Center. Members gain access to an ever-growing collection of book summaries, science paper reviews, and insights from the greatest teachers and thinkers, designed to help you find your unique path, connect ideas, help others, and grow as a Mixed Mindful Artist. It also includes ad-free daily emails, guided practices, and more.

Treat yourself to a better life.

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.

 
,

New Mouth Tape Study, Universal Rhythm, and the Ego Hates This

,

Listen Instead of Reading

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 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 44 sec

I hope the next 21’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. New Study Published on Mouth Taping

“This is the first comprehensive literature review on nocturnal mouth-taping. It aims to ascertain what research is available that evaluates mouth-taping during sleep and to summarize this research. Additionally, it compares these research findings with the most common claims regarding mouth-taping on TikTok.”

– Fangmeyer et al. (2024)

As a fan of mouth-taping, I view this study (published earlier this month) as essential reading. It distinguishes proven benefits from anecdotal claims, offering the first review that coaches and educators can use to provide evidence-based information to those they help.

Read the full thing above, or you can get my summary and 12:40 podcast discussion as a member of the Breath Learning Center. (After you sign up just go to "Science 411s" and it will be the top one.)

2. The Universal Rhythm

“The expansion and contraction of the abdomen, lower abdomen, and chest are parts of the universal rhythm. Everything in the universe has the same rhythm of expansion and contraction just like our breath and body. All of them are rising and falling.”

– Bhante Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English

I have nothing to add but a few of these 👏👏👏

3. Going with the Flow, a Great Force, and Laughter

1. Breath control isn’t always necessary—the art is knowing when to go with the flow, and when to take control.

2. Demonstrations of breathing are small compared with the great force hidden behind them.

3. The best and most therapeutic form of mouth breathing is laughter.

4. The Ego Hates This

“It is also helpful to maintain a sense of humor, as it greatly diffuses anger and humiliation. If we can see the funny side of things then we can laugh. The ego hates to be laughed at; it takes itself very seriously, so it is important to practice not taking ourselves so seriously whenever the opportunity arises.”

– Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, The Heroic Heart

Here’s our reminder that the ego hates to be laughed at…which means we should do it every chance we get 😊

1 Quote

“In any athletic discipline, the alignment of body and breath is critical. The synchronization of what you are doing with your breathing is the whole art.””
— Alan Watts

1 Answer

Category: High Altitude

Answer: When exposed to low oxygen levels, our bodies produce more of this molecule, which promotes the release of oxygen from the hemoglobin into the tissues.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (BPG)?

In good breath,

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

P.S. Is this really all there is to life?

Breathing and Mediation Instructors:

The Breath Learning Center is a mountain of modern science and timeless wisdom. It’s summarized, organized, easy to read, and immediately actionable.

If you want to supply those you help with the best program possible, the wisdom and science in the Learning Center will be invaluable to your practice.

Click here to learn more.

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.