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.”
👏👏👏
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.””
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!
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.