Reading Time: 1 min 45 sec
I hope the next 21-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.
4 THOUGHTS
1. Slow Breathing Helps Across Various Conditions
“The results of this review provide evidence that HRVB and PB [paced breathing] at approximately six breaths per minute have positive effects on a variety of physical, behavioral, and cognitive conditions. The overall effect sizes are modest but highly significant, suggesting that these methods may not be sufficient for treating any one problem but may be useful as a complementary intervention…The method is easy to learn and can easily be used along with other forms of intervention, with rare side effects.”
- Lehrer et al. (2020), Appl. Psychophysiol. Biofeedback
A powerful but grounded takeaway from a meta-analysis showing that slow breathing helps across many areas of health and performance 👏
2. The Body is Created and Sustained by the Breath
“The flow of breath, then, is constantly helping to shape the pattern of energy flow that underlies and sustains the physical body. If we can grasp the significance of this, if we can understand the crucial way in which the energizing effects of the breath support the metabolic processes of different parts of the body, we can begin to understand how the physical aspects and activities of our body are created by and dependent on the process of breathing.”
In other words, the body is created and sustained by the breath. This helps explain why breathing has such wide-reaching effects.
3. A Well-Trained Mind Can Resist Stress
“A person whose mind is well trained can manage in the midst of a stressful environment. Noise and pollution will take their toll on the body, but vitality and resistance will remain high. By contrast, a person whose mind is out of control can suffer from stress while lying on a quiet beach in Saint-Tropez.”
- Eknath Easwaran, Original Goodness
Just an excellent reminder: a well-trained mind remains resilient to stress, while an untrained mind can find stress anywhere (I know I’m guilty of this 🤦♂️).
4. Spiral Back Into Control
Contemplative practices allow you to spiral back into control, for a change.
1 Quote
“We spend so much time looking outward for validation that we don’t develop the incredible strengths that already lie within.” ”
1 GOOD BOOK
How To Be Better At (Almost) Everything by Pat Flynn
Does this have a cheesy title? Yes. But is it still one of my favorites of all time? Definitely. I read it about 6 years ago, and it had a huge impact on my life. If you love learning, make sure you check this one out 👏
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. are you ok?
Wisdom Meditation: Bridging the Second Gap
Wisdom Meditation is a simple, science-grounded practice designed to change how you actually live. In just 12 minutes a day, it helps you encode wisdom into your nervous system so calm, clarity, and better choices show up in real life.
Treat Yourself to Less Stress & Better Breathing
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.