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I hope the next 25’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.
4 THOUGHTS
1. Openings and Limitations
“Any framework, method, or label you impose on yourself is just as likely to be a limitation as an opening.”
– Rick Rubin, The Creative Act
Here’s an excellent idea to contemplate: Are you using any methods (with breathing or elsewhere) that may actually be serving as a limitation? Or, are there any areas of your life where adopting a new method might serve as an opening?
2. Weathering Life’s Storms Gracefully
“We can learn to say to life, ‘It doesn’t matter what you bring today. If you bring something pleasant, I will flourish; if you bring something unpleasant, I will still flourish.’…We can face whatever comes to us calmly and courageously, knowing we have the flexibility to weather any storm gracefully. This is living in freedom, the ultimate goal of training the mind.
– Eknath Easwaran, Conquest of Mind
And I’d say it’s also the ultimate goal of training the breath. By using our breath to increase the adaptability of our nervous system and mind, we learn to weather all of life’s storms more gracefully 🙏
3. How Slow, Conscious Breathing Heals
“What conscious breathing can do is…help shift our nervous system into what is called the healing response…Conscious breathing can enhance levels of sensitivity in our nervous system to handle and manage stress, and to support the restoration of balance. Conscious breathing can create enduring states of focus, presence, and mindful observation, so that life’s challenging situations do not completely highjack us, allowing a greater degree of control. While we cannot control life, we can learn to shape our response to it; conscious breathing is a valuable tool to support that.”
– Eddie Stern, Healing Through Breathing
That sums it up nicely (and goes perfectly with Thought #2 above) 👏
4. A Good Laugh
As I like to say, laughter is the most therapeutic breathing exercise. Scroll through these breathing memes (sound on) to get your daily dose of healing 😊
1 Quote
“Laughter without love is cold and cruel. Laughter with love is joy and happiness.
Labour without love is drudgery. Labour with love is bliss.
Listening without love is empty sound. With love, it’s understanding.””
1 Answer
Category: Spontaneous Breath Exercise
Answer: Although adults, babies, and animals do this spontaneously, we still don’t know precisely why we do it.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is yawn?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
How to Train (and change) Your Mind
Breathing exercises train your mind.
Wisdom meditations change your mind.
Used together, they help you discover who you are and become the person you want to be.
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!
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.