4 Tiny Thoughts, 3 Ways to Success, and What the Buddha Lost

1. One Reason Your Breathing Changes when You Observe It

“You might notice that as soon as you begin to observe your breath, it changes a little. Perhaps it gets a little longer, or fuller. That’s ok. It’s the nature of the observer and the observed, that whatever you observe responds to you, changes, or lets you know what it needs.”

– Eddie Stern, Healing Through Breathing

I’ve never been able to “observe my breath without changing it.” This is one of the best passages I’ve found on why that happens 🙏

2. Don’t Fake a Smile, Activate One

“I don’t like to think of this exercise as faking or forcing a smile, but rather as activating a smile. When we activate a smile, a neurological reaction takes place that lifts our mood and makes everything seem less foreboding.”

– Annabel Streets, 52 Ways to Walk

I love this reframing of ‘activating’ over ‘faking,’ which we can use across domains:

• Activate a smile; don’t fake it.

• Activate some slow breathing; don’t fake it.

• Activate gratitude; don’t fake it.

It reminds us that these are natural states, literally hardwired into our bodies and minds for growth and restoration. We shouldn’t fake them; we should activate them.

3. The Buddha Gained ‘Nothing at All’ through Meditation

“Someone once asked the Buddha skeptically, ‘What have you gained through meditation?’

The Buddha replied, ‘Nothing at all.’

‘Then, Blessed One, what good is it?’

‘Let me tell you what I lost through meditation: sickness, anger, depression, insecurity, the burden of old age, the fear of death. That is the good of meditation…”

– Eknath Easwaran, The Dhammapada​

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This is one of the biggest paradoxes of breathing and meditation practices. While we often focus on what we’ll get, the things we lose are usually most important. 🙏

4. Four Tiny Thoughts

1. Breathing exercises are like brain-canceling headphones.

2. By practicing mindfulness, you become a thought meteorologist.

3. Laughter is the only breathing exercise transcending age and cultural boundaries, present everywhere, appreciated by everyone.

4. It may sound paradoxical, but the point of a breathing practice is to no longer need a breathing practice.

"There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind."

— — Fred Rogers

Category: Nasal Breathing and Speech

Answer: This muscular organ helps maintain nasal breathing while also being critical to speech.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is the tongue?

In good breath,

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

P.S. me neither

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