How to Actually Increase Well-Being, Waves, and the Power of Breathwalk

4 THOUGHTS

1. Without Wind, There Would Be No Waves

Imagine if we tried to understand ocean waves by studying the internal makeup of the water (without first examining the winds).

Yet we often try to understand the body by looking at all its intricate details (without first examining the breath).

Without winds, there would be no waves to study. Without breath, there would be no body to marvel.

2. The Well-Being Equation

In this eloquent equation (created by philosopher Arne Næss), “glow” refers to passion or fervor. It’s squared. This means a slight increase in glow will drown out increases in physical and mental pain.

It’s a nice reminder that, instead of always focusing on what’s bad, sometimes it’s better to simply create more good 🙏

3. There’s Something about Breathwalking

“There's something about walking to the rhythm of one's own breath, as if we can walk on and on, into the horizon and beyond.”
- Annabel Streets, 52 Ways to Walk

This book had an excellent chapter on the power of breathwalking (called “Afghan walking”). The above quote summarizes it nicely: By synchronizing our breath and steps, we feel we can walk forever.

Give it a try next time you walk around the office or to and from your car: Inhale 4 steps, exhale 4 steps (or whatever pace is comfortable for you). Simple yet extremely powerful.

4. One Could Spend a Lifetime

“Hence it is that one can spend decades, or even a lifetime, delving into the subtleties and implications of the process of breathing.”
– Science of Breath

Thank you for joining me on this seemingly endless journey 🙏

1 Quote

"So the problem is not so much to see what nobody has yet seen, as to think what nobody has yet thought concerning that which everybody sees."
— — Arthur Schopenhauer

1 Answer