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The Power of Proper Breathing, the 1st Step, and a Huge Morale Booster

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Reading Time: 1 min 48 sec

I hope the next 22’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. The Power of Proper Breathing

“Proper breathing can help you cope with stress, sleep better, be less angry or moody, and refresh your energy. It can slow your heart rate and reduce your blood pressure. This isn’t speculation: There is excellent medical and psychological research on how breathwork not only influences our immune response and eases chronic pain but can also help maintain and restore health in general, both physical and mental.”

– Dr. Dana Sinclair, Dialed In

Just another awesome quote from Dr. Sinclair on the power of breathing 👏

2. The First Step for Letting Go of Thinking

Joseph Nguyen describes “thinking” as the judgments we have about our thoughts. He tells us that thoughts are neutral; it’s our thinking—our opinions of those thoughts—that creates suffering

To alleviate it, here is his first step for letting go of thinking:

“The first step is to pause and begin taking deep breaths to help calm our nervous systems. Deep breaths pull our focus away from the thinking mind and into our bodies, anchoring us in the present moment. This allows us to become aware of our emotions and also detach from them.”

- Don’t Believe Everything You Think

3. Make Your Practice Enjoyable

“Too often, people approach meditation as though they were taking medicine—it tastes bad, but they grin and bear it because it’s supposed to be good for them. Instead, make meditation into a pleasurable activity. If you’re at ease and happy, you will be more successful than if you’re tense and straining.”

- The Mind Illuminated

I’ve shared this one before, but it’s an always-welcome reminder to make our practice enjoyable. Let’s not grin and bear it; let’s find ways to make it fun and pleasurable 👏

4. Two Random Thoughts: Lightheartedness and Universal Healing

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

2. The most healing and universally used breathing exercise is laughter.

1 Quote

“Humor, on the other hand, picks everyone up. It is a huge morale booster. Laughing at yourself and the absurdity of life and your own goofy choices gets the endorphins flowing and the adrenaline pumping.””
— David Goggins

1 GOOD BOOK

Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation by Alan Watts

This book offers a nice mix of philosophy and practical wisdom on meditation and breathing. I highly recommend the audio version, as it allows you to hear Watts speak, which brings life and humor to the words.

P.S. Oh, and I discovered my life motto in it 😊: “I may be sincere, but never serious, because I don’t think the universe is serious.”

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!


P.S. absolutely despicable


Get My New Guidebook: The Anxious Person’s Breath Manual

Science-Backed Breathing Protocols for Stress, Anxiety, and Overwhelm That Actually Work

This isn’t another “just breathe” guide. Every technique is backed by rigorous research showing that these breathing exercises:

  • Reduce anxiety as effectively as CBT

  • Activate your vagus nerve (your body’s built-in relaxation switch)

  • Work immediately but compound over time

  • Require no special equipment or meditation experience

Learn more and get the guide here.

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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The #1 Most Important Skill, Activation Ritual, and Vitality and Resilience

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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. The One Skill to Get Good At

“Remember, above all, breathing is the one skill to get good at!”

– Dr. Dana Sinclair, Dialed In

Dr. Sinclair has two PhDs, one in sport psychology and another in developmental psychopathology. She works with athletes from the NFL, MLB, NBA, and other sports. She also works with executives, surgeons, students, and beyond. The #1 thing she teaches all of them, regardless of their profession? Breathing. As she says, it’s “the one skill to get good at!”

2. Find Your Activation Ritual

“An activation ritual is a morning routine that helps them get into a state of non-thinking and flow. It can be any activity or routine that helps you feel grounded and allows you to practice getting into a state of non-thinking. Examples might be exercising, meditating, performing breathwork, praying, journaling, or making tea. It does not matter what the activity is as long as it helps you feel centered.”

- Joseph Nguyen, Don’t Believe Everything You Think

I’m a huge man of morning practice, but calling it an “activation ritual” makes it that much better. So, if you don’t already have one, here’s your gentle nudge to ensure you’re taking time each morning to start your day off right 🙏

3. More Vitality and Resilience in the Face of Stress

“Slowing down the mind means not only achieving better quality but actually getting more done. A smooth-running flow of thought saves a lot of wear and tear on the nervous system, which means more vitality and resilience in the face of stress.”

- Eknath Easwaran, Conquest of Mind

Here’s more support for having an “activation ritual” each morning. When we take time to slow down our minds first thing, it gives us more vitality and resilience against the rest of the day’s inevitable stressors.

4. Finding the Universal and Eternal

“Principles are universal and eternal; tactics are temporary and fleeting. The key is to study what is true and never changing, and you will always remain grounded no matter what you experience in life. If you want to find the truth, look for simplicity. The truth is always simple.”

– Joseph Nguyen, The Art of Creating

Amen to that 🙏

1 Quote

“You don’t need a course in silence or relaxation to be able simply to pause. Silence can be anywhere, anytime—it’s just in front of your nose.””
— Erling Kagge

1 GOOD BOOK

Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen

James Clear had this book on his list of three books he’d recommend to new graduates. And now I know why…it’s so good. It’s short, easy to read, and full of wisdom. It’s a perfect introduction to the world of contemplative practices.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!


P.S. my kind of resilience


NEW: The Anxious Person’s Breath Manual

Science-Backed Breathing Protocols for Stress, Anxiety, and Overwhelm That Actually Work

This isn’t another “just breathe” guide. Every technique is backed by rigorous research showing that these breathing exercises:

  • Reduce anxiety as effectively as CBT

  • Activate your vagus nerve (your body’s built-in relaxation switch)

  • Work immediately but compound over time

  • Require no special equipment or meditation experience

Learn more and get the guide here.

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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Conscious Breathing for Body & Mind, Truth, and How to Save Your Own Life

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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. You Can’t Do This and Still Be Upset

“But when you are in control of your emotional state, your breaths are regular. They are in through your nose: slower, softer, and quiet. You can’t be in control of your breathing and still be upset! Breathing properly helps you manage your tension and emotions, so you can cope with the pressure you will face.”

– Dr. Dana Sinclair, Dialed In

That is all 👏

2. Conscious Breathing Makes a Full-Body Announcement

Here is a wonderful reminder of the power of conscious breathing versus our regular automatic breathing:

“The customary breath you take is on the order of two or three seconds in duration. This is normal, natural, automatic, and does a fine job of keeping you alive…When you consciously decide to breathe more slowly and deeply, you alert your body to the fact that you want it to behave differently. You are not just changing your breathing pattern, you are making a full-body announcement that you are entering into a different relationship with your mind and your body.”

- Eric Maisel, Ph.D., Ten Zen Seconds

3. How to Save Your Own Life

“We know that people who have lived through extreme stress tend to live shorter lives. The stress wears and tears on the body. However, among a group of people who had gone through such extreme stress, a sub-group lived long and healthy lives. What was protecting them? It was that they were engaged in altruistic activities in their life. In other words, acting in service to others erases the impact that a severe life stressor may have had on your health and body. When you show compassion to others, it saves your own life.”

– Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., Sovereign

Here is an always-needed reminder that showing compassion toward others can actually save our life. Maybe the Buddha was onto something with loving-kindness meditation after all…

4. Thorns or Flowers

“The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.”

- Anthony de Mello, Awareness

If you’ve been trying to do something—personally or professionally—and it just doesn’t seem to be working, consider this: Maybe you’ve been raining in the marsh, and now it’s time to find a garden 🌻

1 Quote

“If you want to find the truth, look for simplicity.””
— Joseph Nguyen

1 GOOD BOOK

Hidden Potential by Adam Grant

My good friend Mary Hunt recommended this one to me (check out her coaching here). I’ve taken a break from these types of books lately to mainly read about meditation and breathing, but this one was amazing. It’s a joy to read, full of studies, stories, and practical wisdom that you can immediately start applying.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!


P.S. what if there is no placebo effect?


NEW: The Anxious Person’s Breath Manual

Science-Backed Breathing Protocols for Stress, Anxiety, and Overwhelm That Actually Work

This isn’t another “just breathe” guide. Every technique is backed by rigorous research showing that these breathing exercises:

  • Reduce anxiety as effectively as CBT

  • Activate your vagus nerve (your body’s built-in relaxation switch)

  • Work immediately but compound over time

  • Require no special equipment or meditation experience

Learn more and get the guide here.

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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3 Great Science Quotes, Slowing Down, and Finding Beauty in Imperfection

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Reading Time: 1 min 45 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Slowing Down Makes You Faster

“Emotional control rules your ability to get results under pressure. The foundation of emotional control is a calmer, clearer mind…If you can slow down, you can mitigate a bad mood and settle your feelings of stress and worry. Quieting your thoughts means you'll argue less, hold back snap decisions, tamp down a rising temper, and stay focused on the task in front of you for longer. Slowing down actually gets you where you want to be faster and better.”

– Dr. Dana Sinclair, Dialed In

​

And one of the best ways to slow down? Conscious, slow breathing, of course 😊

2. Two Great Quotes from Science Papers

1. “The respiratory-neural connection seems to have particularly strong effects on emotions: slow respiration protocols like resonance respiration exert a relaxing and calming effect, while faster respiration tends to induce anxiety states.” - Neuroscience Bulletin (2023)

2. “Parasympathetic dominance can occur through slowing and/or controlling breath…Most contemplative practices share the commonality of slowed breathing, either intentionally, or as a consequence of the calming practice.” - Psychological Review (2024)

3. One More Great Quote Worth Reading

“The growth in scientific interest into breathwork parallels its explosion in public visibility in the media and popularity across the general population: while it is hard to estimate precisely how many people regularly practice breathwork techniques, there are likely to be tens of millions of breathwork practitioners worldwide.”

- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (2023)

👏👏👏

4. Finding the Beauty in Imperfection

“According to legend, a young man once sought out a master to teach him the Japanese tea ceremony. The master tested him by asking him to clean up a garden. The young man removed the weeds and raked the leaves until the grounds were pristine. As he reviewed his flawless work, he decided something was missing. He walked over to a cherry tree and shook it so that some flower petals fell to the ground. By finding the beauty in imperfection, he showed he was ready to become a master.”

– Adam Grant, Hidden Potential

1 Quote

“By ‘expecting nothing’ you are not ‘giving up.’ Far from it! You are making a decision to focus on what needs to be done rather than on outcomes.””
— Eric Maisel, Ph.D.

1 GOOD BOOK

Instructions for Spiritual Living by Paul Brunton

I was surprised how much I liked this book. Despite its rather terrible name, Brunton avoids cookie-cutter advice and instead offers genuine wisdom and practical advice on using contemplative practices to lead a better 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. seriously, well done


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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Helping the Mind-Body System, Give Yourself a Break, & Share What You Learn

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Reading Time: 2 min 2 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing as a First Line of Defense

“We propose that the ANS [autonomic nervous system] is modulated by breathing so that in sympathetic dominant states like stress and anxiety, slow-deep breathing techniques and meditation can shift sympathetic dominance to parasympathetic dominance…We propose that these breathing techniques could be used as first-line and supplemental treatments for stress, anxiety, depression, and some emotional disorders.”

– Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback (2015)

​

I’m revisiting some old papers as part of a project I’m working on and came back across this gem. I think it’s safe to say that, a decade later, research has backed up this proposal 👏

2. Helping Nearly Every Part of Your Mind-Body System

​

“The reduction of stress is like the great leveler because the messages and substances produced by the relaxation response are sent throughout the body systemically—they go basically everywhere. When you move your body out from the stress response and into the relaxation response, it is good for your heart, but also good for digestion, your pancreas, your brain, and basically every part of your mind-body complex.”

– Eddie Stern, Healing Through Breathing

And this is why the stress-reducing benefits of slow breathing (see Thought #1) are so helpful for so many different health problems 👏

3. It’s a Mistake to Rely on a Single Approach

“…it's a mistake to rely on a single guide. No one else knows your exact journey. But if you collect directions from multiple guides, they can sometimes combine to reveal routes you didn’t see. The more uncertain the path and the higher the peak, the greater the range of guides you’ll need. The challenge is to piece the various tips together into a route that works for you.”

– Adam Grant, Hidden Potential

This is perfect advice for our contemplative practices, too 🙏

4. Circulate What You Learn for the Use of Others

“I follow the practice and counsel of an old Greek monk, Callistus Telicudes, who wrote: ‘One ought not to keep what is learned by Meditation, but one should make notes of it and circulate the writings for the use of others.’ This is why I communicate these inner experiences to those who might be helped, to those who might receive more vision of and more belief in life itself.”

– Paul Brunton, Instructions for Spiritual Living

This applies not only to meditation, but to every aspect of life. You never know when something you share might help someone else piece together a route that works for them 🙏

1 Quote

“Laugh at yourself once in awhile; give yourself a break.””
— Greg Evans

1 GOOD BOOK

How Bad Do You Want It? by Matt Fitzgerald

A detour from our usual breathing and meditation books, this was one of my all-time favorites on the mind, written through the lens of endurance sports. It’s filled with inspiring stories and fascinating science that’ll have you rethink what you’re capable of.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!


P.S. my two new favorite words


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 to Dissolve Problems, Breathing for Anxiety, and As I Breathe, I Hope

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Reading Time: 1 min 55 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing for Anxiety

“This indicates that respiratory interventions may offer a promising anxiety intervention approach in psychiatric and non-psychiatric samples who do not have access to, are unwilling to engage in, or have not experienced symptom alleviation from other gold-standard interventions. Moreover, respiratory interventions are highly disseminable and can easily be incorporated into primary care settings, and/or administered remotely.”

– Leyro et al. (2021)

​

👏👏👏

2. Concepts Are Frozen, Reality Flows

​

“Let’s suppose…I want you to get the feel of what the flow of a river is like and I bring it to you in a bucket. The moment I put it into a bucket, it has stopped flowing. The moment you put things into a concept, they stop flowing; they become static, dead…Concepts are always frozen. Reality flows.”

– Anthony de Mello, Awareness

A perfect reminder for our contemplative practices.

Any concept we try to impose on them—how they initially felt, what we think they “should” feel like based on others’ experiences, etc.—is static. It’s like trying to convey a river’s power with a bucket of water.

Better to simply jump in.

3. Regular Walks for Slow Breathing

“As our meditation deepens, our concentration increases, and our breathing rhythm slows down, we shall find the answer to many of our physical problems. In order to facilitate this slowing of the breathing rhythm, it is helpful to have regular walks every day...”

– Eknath Easwaran, The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living

A great reminder that movement & stillness go hand in hand. Regular exercise—like a daily walk—supports overall wellness and helps to naturally slow our breath, making it easier to settle into (and get the healing benefits of) any contemplative practice 🙏

4. As I Breathe, I Hope

“When we observe our loved ones sleeping, old or young, human or pet, we are instinctively drawn to their breath. There is something essential in it we are all attuned to, something we both automatically and unconsciously equate with life. Each time we check on each other, we are validating the words of the Roman philosopher Cicero, dum spiro, spero, ‘As I breathe, I hope.’”

– Michael J. Stephen, Breath Taking

Just a great passage, one that occasionally pops into my head when I check on my daughter at night 🙏

1 Quote

“If laughter cannot solve your problems, it will definitely dissolve them.””
— Madan Kataria, MD

1 GOOD BOOK

Breath Taking by Micheal J Stephen, MD

I loved this book because it’s not about “breathwork” but about “the breath.” I’ve joked that Dr. Stephen is the Feynman of the lungs, weaving poetic quotes into rigorous and fascinating scientific discussion. My favorite chapters were the Prologue, 1–4, and 12. It’s a great read for anyone interested in breathing.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!


P.S. “that’s a great question”


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 to Measure Progress, Cognitive Regulator, and Awareness, Awareness…

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Reading Time: 2 min 9 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breath as a Central Regulator of Cognition

“Collectively, the emerging consensus view from both animal and human neuroimaging studies places the breath, and its role in modulating neuronal rhythms, as a central regulator of higher order cognition. Through olfactory, somatosensory, and interoceptive pathways, respiration can be seen as a global rhythm that regulates how and when we process stimuli arising in the body and the world.”

- Psychological Review (2022)

That is all 🧠

2. On Finding What Works for You

“We must smile indulgently at those who insist that their particular method is the only effective one, as we must smile tolerantly also at those who limit truth to their small conception of it. … A method or technique that is good for one person may not be good for another. And the methods that well suited the ancient mind may be ill suited to the modern one.”

- Paul Brunton, Instructions for Spiritual Living

An excellent reminder that there’s no one-size-fits-all in contemplative practice. If you’re feeling stuck or unmotivated, it could simply mean you’re using methods that don’t fit who you are right now (or the world we live in today) 🙏

P.S. The art (and challenge) is knowing when we’re being undisciplined versus when we need a new approach…only we can discern that.

3. On Measuring Progress

“I’m not impressed by supernatural experiences; I look for changes in character and conduct. How selfless can you be? Can you restrain your senses when necessary? Can you go against your self-will when it benefits those around you? How long is your span of attention? These are the signs of progress in meditation.”

– Eknath Easwaran, Passage Meditation

I’ve shared this one before, but since I return to it often myself (usually to realize how little progress I’ve made 😂), I thought it was worth sharing again. It’s a perfect way to gauge progress in any breathing or meditation practice.

4. This Is Too Brief…Can You Expand on It a Bit?

“There’s the story of the disciple who goes to the master and says, ‘Could you give me a word of wisdom that would guide me through my days?’

It was the master’s day of silence, so he picked up a pad and wrote one word, ‘Awareness’, and gave it to the traveler.

When the traveler saw that, he said, ‘This is too brief. Can you expand on it a bit?’

So the master took the pad back, pleasantly, and wrote, ‘Awareness, awareness, awareness.’”

– Anthony de Mello, Awareness

1 Quote

“To an extent, we are always aware of everything going on around us—except that we are not. Somewhere in the brain, a decision is made about what to focus on and what to ignore.””
— Kam Knight

1 GOOD BOOK

The Healing Power of the Breath by Richard Brown, MD, and Patricia Gerbarg, MD

This is one of my all-time favorite books on breathing. It blends the essential science of breath with clear, practical instructions (and is just a joy to read). Brown and Gerbarg are truly a gift to the world of breathing and psychiatry.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!


P.S. unfortunately I am also in there


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.

 
,

Brain Syncing Study, Mind Rhythms, and Being Inspired by Spirit

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Reading Time: 1 min 56 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Slow Breathing Syncs Respiration, Brain, and Heart

“Here, we show for the first time, that decelerated breathing at a rate of 6 cycles/minute has a strong influence on the slow cortical potentials (SCPs) of the brain. At this rate a maximum synchrony between breathing, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (heart rate variability), and the SCPs occur.”

- Journal of Breath Research (2019)

SCPs are shifts in electrical brain activity that reflect its baseline excitability. This study showed that slow breathing quickly influenced SCPs, bringing them into sync with our respiration and heart rhythm. It’s another neat example of how our breathing rate can harmonize many of our body’s systems.

2. The Rhythm of the Mind

“Another change which takes place in deepening meditation is the slowing down of the breathing rhythm. According to the great mystics, especially in Hinduism and Buddhism, the breathing rhythm is closely connected with the rhythm of the mind. We know, for example, that as we are getting angry, the rhythm of the mind changes…our breathing becomes stertorous.”

– Eknath Easwaran, The Bhagavad Gita fro Daily Living

That passage is a perfect follow-up to our previous thought. It shows that while science reveals the mechanisms (things like SCPs, breath-brain harmony, and others), ancient wisdom reveals the practical meaning. Both views support the path to a meaningful life 👏

3. Being Inspired by the Spirit

“If we would be inspired by the Spirit at all times and in all places, we must first let it inspire us at set times and in set places. This is one justification of meditation. For all inspiration rises out of the inward deeps of our nature. We cannot compel it, but we can invite it.”

- Paul Brunton, Instructions for Spiritual Living

What better way to (literally and metaphorically) be “inspired by the Spirit” at set times and in set places than through a regular breath or meditation practice? With time, patience, and consistency, this “planned inspiration” begins flowing at all times and in all places 🙏

4. Did the Fall Hurt You?

“There’s the story of Paddy, who fell off the scaffolding and got a good bump. They asked, ‘Did the fall hurt you, Paddy?’ And he said, ‘No, it was the stop that hurt, not the fall.’”

– Anthony de Mello, Awareness

1 Quote

“When your intentions are clear and strong, the appropriate actions naturally follow.””
— The Mind Illuminated

1 GOOD BOOK

The Mind Illuminated by John Yates, Ph.D., Matthew Immergut, Ph.D., and Jeremy Graves

This is an incredible book on the stages of meditation. I absolutely loved the first half or so…after that, a lot of it was beyond my understanding (simply because I haven’t progressed that far in my practice). However, I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the mind and its transformations through meditation.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!


P.S. we all can dream


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.

 
,

Breath-Body-Brain, Easily Plant Trees, and the Heroic Heart

,

Reading Time: 2 min 11 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing 201: The Breath-Body-Brain Link

  1. The motions involved in breathing physically move your entire body. (Fun aside, this is why fMRI scans need to remove breathing “noise,” and part of why archers often shoot at the end of an exhale: to avoid movement.)

  2. Your brain is constantly monitoring these bodily movements, so brain activity naturally synchronizes with each breath.

  3. This breath-body-brain connection may help your brain coordinate movement and sensory perception (like seeing and touching) with your breathing rhythm. Thus, breathing may help your body and brain work together more smoothly.

P.S. If you want to learn how to use this knowledge for better cognitive health, check out the upcoming Breathing for Better Brain Health workshop 🧠

2. Plant Trees While You Breathe or Meditate

My good friend, Colleen Loehr, MD, recently introduced me to the Sattva meditation app. It has an awesome feature: For every 10-day streak you have, they will plant a tree.

It’s a perfect way to link our practice to something tangible (aside from the never-ending benefits we get personally).

Sattva for iPhone

Sattva for Android

P.S. I love Insight Timer (I have an 875-day streak my ego won’t let me let go of 😂), so I simply started running both apps during my morning practice. I’ve planted two trees so far 🌳🌳

3. Slow Breathing is to Meditation What…

“When you are already happy, there is no effort in trying to smile. But when things are slowly beginning to look a little blue, when morale is sagging at the edges and people around you are beginning to irritate you, that is the time to start smiling. In the very act of smiling there seems to be some secret switch that is turned on, and somewhere inside a little fountain of joy begins to play.”

– Eknath Easwaran, The Bhagavad Gita fro Daily Living

I’ve playfully said before that “Slow breathing is to meditation what smiling is to facial expressions.” They both work fast, but sometimes a smile is an easier place to start when irritated 😊

4. An Enjoyable Way to Reshape Your Brain This Week

“Every time you take in the good, you build a little bit of neural structure. Doing this a few times a day—for months and even years—will gradually change your brain, and how you feel and act, in far-reaching ways.”

- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Buddha’s Brain

“Taking in the good” sounds like a perfect practice to try this week (and every week) 😊

1 Quote

“This self is not some fixed body, it’s constantly changing. Every time we take a breath we’re changing. Our consciousness is always changing, too. All the chemical and physical processes in our body are also constantly changing. And yet, everything temporarily takes a form.””
— Kosho Uchiyama

1 GOOD BOOK

The Heroic Heart by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

I got this book solely because it had the best title ever, lol, and I ended up absolutely loving it. This quote sums up its core message perfectly: “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.”

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!


P.S. mid-year reset: let’s see where this takes me



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.

 
,

Breathing 201, A Better Form of Meditation, and What Wisdom Actually Is

,

Reading Time: 2 min 6 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing 201: The Nose-Brain Link

  1. Nasal airflow stimulates the olfactory bulb, which is not only associated with smell but also regulates brain rhythms.

  2. The olfactory bulb can directly communicate with the amygdala, hippocampus, and other brain regions involved in emotion, memory, and cognitive function.

  3. Thus, nasal breathing—especially if it’s slow and rhythmic—can help to synchronize brainwaves across these regions, which can aid in emotional and cognitive functioning.

P.S. Note that this is simplified and there are several other pathways working simultaneously: cerebrospinal fluid flow and brain blood flow are being impacted, heart-brain connections may be amplified, among others. But this a good general idea of the nose-brain connection.

2. Which Descends Deep into Our Lungs

“We are all sitting here, breathing in and breathing out the same air. I cannot say, “Excuse me, I don’t want you breathing my air!” Even if we were the bitterest enemies, fighting and shouting at each other, we are actually intimately connected because we are breathing in and breathing out the same air, which descends deep into our lungs.”

– Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, The Heroic Heart

Just our periodic reminder that breathing not only gives us direct access to our nervous system, brain waves, and emotional state—it also connects us (literally and figuratively) to every living thing on this planet 👏

3. A Better form of Meditation than Sitting

“Joshu Sasaki, a Zen master from Los Angeles, tells his students to stand up and laugh for five minutes every morning because that’s a better form of meditation than sitting for a long time getting sore legs.”

– Alan Watts, Still The Mind

Ha! While I enjoy sitting and getting sore legs, this is a perfect reminder that finding time to laugh (even if only at ourselves) should be considered a critical part of any contemplative practice 🙏

4. What’s the Life Task Here?

“The question can be a startlingly powerful one, particularly when you find yourself torn between options, or between external pressures and your own ambitions, or unable, for any other reason, to figure out what to do next: What’s the life task here? Never mind what you want. What does life want?”

- Oliver Burkeman, Meditations for Mortals

That sounds like the perfect practice in awareness (or “mindful living”). When we face a decision and don’t what what to do next, we can ask: What is the life task here? What does life want? It’s surprising how obvious the answer can be sometimes…

1 Quote

“Wisdom is making room for the unknown. The mystical. The creative. As you do that, your mind enters a state of wonder and contemplation. Instead of being weighed down by small petty concerns, it opens up and gains perspective.””
— Emma Seppälä, Ph.D.

1 GOOD BOOK

Do Walk by Libby DeLana

This one instantly became my favorite book on walking. It’s short, easy to read, and overflowing with wisdom on the power of walking. I can’t recommend it enough, and I hope it inspires you to walk more like it did me.

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 total go with the flow person



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.

 
,

Nose vs. Vagus, Meditation for a Meaningful Life, and Trust Brings Calm

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Reading Time: 2 min 0 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing for Better Brain Health Workshop

A reminder that I am teaming up with Eddie Stern to bring back the Breathing for Better Brain Health workshop on June 8th. In it, you’ll learn the science of how breathing affects our brains, plus practical ways of applying that wisdom. And since it’s Eddie and me on the same Zoom, you will get lots of humor, Q&A, and random tangents.

Click here to learn more and save your spot.

2. Meditation, Puzzle Pieces, and a More Meaningful Life Image

“This is what meditation enables us to do. In meditation we take an inspiring ideal…and set it before us morning and evening…An ideal like this gives us a picture to keep our eyes on throughout the choices of the day, so that little by little we can rearrange the pieces of our lives.”

- Eknath Easwaran, Climbing the Blue Mountain

I’ve recently taken a wholehearted plunge into practicing Passage Meditation. And although I shortened the passage, this analogy from Easwaran sums it up perfectly: Just like you need the picture on a puzzle box to know how to start, meditating on an inspiring passage gives you a clear ideal to guide your day. As life hands you pieces—stressors, setbacks, successes, failures—you can more easily fit them into a meaningful life image 👏

3. The Nose vs. the Vagus Nerve

“The emerging scenario strongly suggests that the effects of SNB [slow nasal breathing], beyond the relative contribution of vagal stimulation, are mainly ascribable to olfactory epithelium stimulation.”

- Zaccaro et al. (2022)

Here’s another paper I’ve shared before that’s worth revisiting. It’s a fascinating study showing that the nose may be just as vital as the vagus nerve for getting the physiological and psychological benefits of slow breathing.

Check out this post that describes it in detail. We’ll also go over it in detail in the workshop.

4. Trust is Synonymous with Calm

“Trust is actually synonymous with calm.”

– Paul Loomans, I’ve Got Time

A wonderful reminder that if you can be a source of trust for others, it will help them feel calm. And if you can be a source of trust for yourself, it will help you feel calm, which is why breathing and meditation are so helpful for relaxing the nervous system.

1 Quote

“‘Is there a life after death?’
…
Nobody seems to be grappling with the problem of: Is there a life before death?”
— Anthony de Mello

1 GOOD BOOK

Awareness by Anthony de Mello

This is one of my favorites in the recent past. De Mello’s wisdom was genuinely life-changing for me. Also, I highly recommend the audiobook version—he’s hilarious, and reading the words doesn’t do it justice. (I often randomly put it on while walking because it’s so funny and full of wisdom that it never gets old.) I hope you’ll check it out!

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!



P.S. one step above the Irish goodbye



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.

 
,

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

,

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

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.

 
,

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

,

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.

 
,

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.

 
,

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.

 
,

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

,

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.

 
,

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.

 
,

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.