Natural Meditation

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This is Astonishing, Heart & Brain, and Your Mind Can Change Your Life

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Reading Time: 1 min 40 sec

I hope the next 20-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Slow Breathing Synchronizes Heart and Brain Rhythms

Here is Leah Lagos, Psy.D., explaining a study where participants breathed at 6 breaths a minute for 5 minutes:

“They found that when subjects were in resonance, the resonance-induced oscillations seen in the heart were also observed in all nine brain regions. Their conclusion: Paced breathing at 0.1 Hz leads to large fluctuations in the diameter of blood vessels and, ultimately, improves the level of oxygenation of the brain, which aids cognitive and emotional control.”

- Heart Breath Mind

It’s another excellent reminder of the power of slow breathing to positively impact the heart, brain, and mind.

2. We Have More Control Over Our Biology Than We Might Think

“By manipulating our breath, body, awareness, feelings, and thoughts, we can decrease tension and stress. We can evoke or suppress specific emotions and focus our thoughts in ways that biologically influence other parts of the brain. From a neuroscientific perspective, this is astonishing…”

- Andrew Newberg, MD, and Mark Waldman, How God Changes Your Brain

A motivating reminder that, using voluntary control over our breath, body, and mind, we can positively influence essentially all aspects of our lives 👏

3. Your Mind Can Change Your Brain (and your life)

“The bottom-line, scientific take-home message is that you can use the focus of your mind to change your brain, to liberate your potential, and to improve your physiological well-being, your mental well-being, and your relational well-being.”

- Daniel Siegel, MD, The Mindful Brain

Building on the previous thought, we see just how powerful contemplative practices are for our overall well-being 🙏

4. Ready to Put This Into Practice?

If you’re ready to put Thoughts 1-3 into practice, check out my digital guide, The Anxious Person’s Breath Manual. Based on 400+ studies, it’ll help you apply science-backed breathing techniques to reduce stress, build resilience, and live an overall healthier life.

Get instant access.

1 Quote

“But when the going gets tough, the tough get sitting. This is precisely the time to apply our deepest skills and widest perspective—not to evade or deny the hard situation, but, on the contrary, to see it with clear eyes.””
— Dean Sluyter

1 GOOD BOOK

Heart Breath Mind by Leah Lagos, Psy.D.

This is an excellent read on the power of slow breathing to train our hearts for better performance and less stress. If you’re into optimal performance—or just love applied breath science—definitely 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. me vs. my phone


Get One of My Digital Guidebooks


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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10 Zen Seconds, Breathe It Out, and the Power of Recreation

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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. Breathe It Out: A Simple and Effective Technique

“It is so important to Breathe It Out. This is the one exercise that I ask all my clients to rely on as an in-the-moment go-to strategy…Here it is in its simplicity: Breathe through your nose, breathe slower (which means less), exhale fully, and loosen your shoulders. Do it for a minute, or even ten seconds—it will help.”

- Dr. Dana Sinclair, Dialed In

That’s about as simple as it gets for quick results. As Dr. Sinclair also says, “One cycle of this breathing can be enough to settle you…It literally only takes seconds.” Give it a try and see how you feel 👏

2. Ten Zen Seconds

The ending of the above passage reminded me of the book Ten Zen Seconds, and this excellent (and similar) passage from it:

“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, Ten Zen Seconds

3. How Meditation Gives You More Energy

“A swami in India was once asked by a student about the phenomenal level of his energy. ‘You hardly sleep,’ she said. ‘Where does this boundless flow of energy come from?’

‘Just imagine,’ he replied, ‘how much energy you would have if you didn’t worry, or complain, or judge, or defend, or resist!’”

- Natural Meditation

Ha! That’s a great parable for how meditation energizes us. Even if we only slightly reduced how much time we spend on worrying, resisting, and complaining, think of how much energy we’d gain.

4. The Power of Recreation

I heard someone say that instead of pronouncing it “rec-re-a-tion,” we might think of it as “re-creation.” While technically different words, it’s a great metaphor. Every time we do something just for fun, we’re “re-creating” ourselves—restoring and renewing who we are. A perfect reminder that play and leisure are essential in living mindfully 🙏

1 Quote

“It is a very enjoyable thing to be oneself, to stop acting. Only after considerable progress in meditation do we discover what consummate actors we are.””
— Eknath Easwaran

1 GOOD BOOK

52 Ways to Walk by Annabel Streets

I loved this book. It’s a perfect blend of science and practical wisdom on all aspects of walking. Several chapters even discuss the benefits of controlled, nasal breathing while out on a stroll. It’s definitely an excellent read if you enjoy a good walk.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!



P.S. advanced meditation technique


CFD 4-Week Program

While I try to keep my newsletter family-friendly 😂, I wanted to share this Calm the F Down (CFD) program with you. It’s a 4-week breath course that will help you reduce stress and develop a better relationship with anxiety in your body.

The instructor, Brittany, is an IG friend with a really cool educational background and life story. Check it out and see if her approach resonates!

It starts this Sunday (October 12), so sign up soon!

Learn more here.


Get One of My Digital Guidebooks


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 Rest Your Brain, How to Deal with Problems, and Less is More

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Reading Time: 1 min 40 sec

I hope the next 20-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. How to Give Your Overactive Brain a Rest

“Slower regulated breathing has a calming effect on both your body and mind, and it also decreases metabolic activity in different parts of the brain. This is very important because our frontal lobe tends to be overly active. It uses up a lot of energy that is needed to efficiently run other neural mechanisms, and so we need to give this part of the brain a rest.”

- Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Waldman, How God Changes Your Brain

Slow, regulated breathing gives our overactive brain a rest by decreasing its metabolic activity. In other words, if you want to replenish your brain, slow your breathing 🧠

2. How to Deal with Problems: Flip These Two

“Other people's problems seem so unreal; ours seem so real. See if you can flip these two.”

- Dean Sluyter, Natural Meditation

Whenever we’re stressed over life, let’s use mindfulness to remember this simple passage and practice 🙏

3. Simplify to Exaggerate: Why Doing Less Gets You Further

“There is a guiding principle that applies to all communications, but to presentations in particular: Simplify to exaggerate. Think fewer words, fewer slides, fewer visuals—destroy anything that distracts from the essential points.”

- Smart Brevity

This also applies perfectly to our contemplative practices: simplify to exaggerate. The simpler and easier your practice is, the more effective it will be 🙏

4. Escape the Quicksand in Your Mind

“We can also compare thinking to quicksand. The more we fight our thinking, the more we get caught up in it, amplifying our negative emotions and worsening them.”

- Joseph Nguyen, Don’t Believe Everything You Think

Remember: Thoughts happen naturally. Thinking about those thoughts (which usually involves rumination, judgment, or criticism), however, is optional. It’s like quicksand that will keep pulling you in the more you fight.

1 Quote

“Thinking uses up a lot of neural energy, but slow, deep breathing replenishes it.””
— Andrew Newberg, MD, and Mark Waldman

1 GOOD BOOK

Falling Upward by Richard Rohr

This is one of my all-time favorites. It’s not about breathing or meditation per se, but full of wisdom for living a mindful and fulfilling life. Can’t recommend this one enough.

P.S. I’m linking to the original version because I think new editions of masterpieces can mask the author’s raw voice. But, there’s an updated version & foreword if you prefer that.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!



P.S. the final stage of enlightenment



Get One of My Digital Guidebooks


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 Science Is In, Why Breathing is First, and a Better Metric of Success

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Reading Time: 1 min 34 sec

I hope the next 19’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Why Your Brain Puts Breathing First

“Over thousands of years of evolution, fast and powerful pathways between the respiratory system and the brain have been established. If breathing stops, death occurs within minutes, and so the brain prioritizes messages from the lungs above all others.”

– Charley Morley, Wake Up to Sleep

That perfectly summarizes why breathing works: “the brain prioritizes messages from the lungs above all others.”

Let’s be sure to send our brains positive signals, today.

2. The Meditation Paradox: Too Busy NOT to Practice

“Most excuses fall somewhere in between: ‘It’s not in tune with my personal journey this month’ or ‘Big project this week...so much buzzing around in my head...I’ll meditate when things lighten up.’ Nope. Things will lighten up when you meditate.”

- Dean Sluyter, Natural Meditation

Reminds me of the famous quip attributed to Gandhi: “I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.”

3. The Science Is In: Breath Is Medicine

Here are two powerful sentences from a book chapter in A Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response:

“Controlled respiration is one of the oldest and certainly the single, most efficient acute intervention for the mitigation and treatment of excessive stress.”

“Any clinician treating patients who manifest excessive stress syndromes should consider controlled respiration as a potentially suitable intervention for virtually all patients.”

4. A Better Metric That Reveals Your True Success

“When we admire great thinkers, doers, and leaders, we often focus narrowly on their performance. That leads us to elevate the people who have accomplished the most and overlook the ones who have achieved the most with the least. The true measure of your potential is not the height of the peak you’ve reached, but how far you’ve climbed to get there.”

- Adam Grant, Hidden Potential

1 Quote

“Breathing involves a continual oscillation between exhaling and inhaling, offering ourselves to the world at one moment and drawing the world into ourselves at the next.””
— David Abram

1 GOOD BOOK

Natural Meditation by Dean Sluyter

I just finished this one and loved it. Simple, natural techniques alongside deep (yet super relatable) wisdom. It’s meditation for regular people.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!



P.S. so i know u are safe ❤️



Get One of My Digital Guidebooks


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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Feeling Better, Thoughts, and the Most Reliable Rhythm in Our Lives

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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. Feeling Better, in Both Mind and Body

“One of the essential techniques that I distill from this body of knowledge about pranayama is that the qualities of breath that you want to develop are to make it deeper, slower, quieter, and more regular.”

– Andrew Weil, MD, Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing

Dr. Weil goes on to say: “When your breathing is deeper, slower, quieter, and more regular, you are feeling better, in both mind and body. Your nervous system is functioning more smoothly, and all your organs are operating more harmoniously as a result.”

Sounds like a good deal to me 🙏

2. Thoughts Don’t Matter

“Thoughts are just thoughts, just mental sounds…you'll never, ever succeed in blocking out the thoughts. No one does: not the Buddha, not the Dalai Lama, not the Zen or yoga teacher who looks so peaceful. What they have succeeded in doing is giving up trying: they’ve succeeded in noticing that thoughts don’t matter.”

- Dean Sluyter, Natural Meditation

I love that perspective. It reminds me of what my good friend Eddie Stern is fond of saying: our mind thinks thoughts just like our heart beats. We don’t try to stop our heart from beating, so let’s not try to stop our mind from thinking.

A better approach? Give up trying and realize that “thoughts don’t matter.” 👏

3. Moving for Mindfulness

Three quotes to ponder:

“We need to move to be still, and only from that place of stillness can we move well.” - Caroline Williams

“Without a balance between physical activity and meditation, for instance, we may become irritable or restless. Exercise can help to solve some of the problems that come as you descend in consciousness.” - Eknath Easwaran

“The entire purpose of the human brain is to produce movement. Movement is the only way we have of interacting with the world.” - Daniel Wolpert, Ph.D.

4. Ocean Breathing

“Many people also resonate with the soothing sound of rhythmic ocean waves—it affects our breathing, slowing it down and encouraging deeper breaths than the shallow and insufficiently oxygenated breathing that is our habit.”

- Elissa Epel, Ph.D., The Stress Prescription

One way to take advantage of this is to listen to the sound of water during your breathing or meditation practice. It’s a simple & effective way to combine your breath with the sound of water, which will naturally make it deeper, slower, quieter, and more regular 🌊

1 Quote

“Our breath, like our heartbeat, is the most reliable rhythm in our lives. When we become attuned to this constant rhythm, our breath can gradually teach us to come back to the original silence of the mind.””
— Donna Farhi

Thanks to Daniella DeVarney at Our Breath Collective for sharing this one with me 🙏

1 GOOD BOOK

The Stress Prescription by Elissa Epel, Ph.D.

This is an excellent book if you’re dealing with stress and uncertainty—who isn’t? It’s filled with several great breathing gems and other simple practices for, as the subtitle says, “more joy and ease.”

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 hero



Get One of My New Digital Guidebooks


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 Get the Most Benefits, Slow Breathing, and Joy is Our Gravity

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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. How Slow Breathing Helps the Body Thrive

“The practices of slow breathing and relaxation benefit the heart and respiratory system in many ways. The baroreceptors become more responsive to changes in blood pressure, the heart rate becomes more lively and elastic, the vagus nerve more reactive, and the autonomic nervous system shifts away from fight and flight toward less stress—which supports social interaction and enables the body to thrive.”

- Patrick McKeown, The Breathing Cure

Just an excellent overview of the benefits of slow breathing and relaxation for enhancing overall physical and mental health 👏

2. How to Get the Most Benefits for Body & Mind

Three quotes to ponder:

“The mind and body will always restore balance and harmony naturally when we get out of the way.” - Joseph Nguyen

“Interestingly enough, it is just when we forget about the body that it functions at its best.” - Eknath Easwaran

“In learning breath practices the most important thing to remember is to relax…Self-judgment adds another layer of stress. The less you judge yourself, the easier it will be to relax and experience the benefits.” - Richard Brown, MD, and Patricia Gerbarg, MD

3. Joy is Our Gravity

“Joy is our gravity. No one has to tell us to concentrate on something we like. We don’t worry about whether our mind wanders. Sure, it does occasionally, but it keeps coming back, pulled by the power of attraction, of enjoyment, of joy.”

- Dean Sluyter, Natural Meditation

When it comes to attention, “Joy is our gravity.” That’s a perfect reminder to ensure we’re setting up our breath or meditation practice to be enjoyable—whatever that means for you. When it’s fun & delightful, we’ll keep coming back, pulled by its inherent gravity.

4. Making Our Life into a Meditation

“Making one’s life into a meditation is different from using meditation to escape from life…If the temporary dissolution of self were all that was needed, problems would not be so tenacious. Even watching television would be therapeutic.”

– Mark Epstein, MD, Advice Not Given

That reminded me of this equally inspiring gem from Eknath Easwaran: “So try to remember every day that you are participating in meditation even at breakfast, at work, at school, in the garden, everywhere.”

1 Quote

“The breath is deeply connected to our neurological functioning and thus to our states of consciousness.””
— Dean Sluyter

1 GOOD BOOK

Take Your Time by Eknath Easwaran

This is one of the first books I read by Easwaran, and the one that immediately made him my favorite teacher (I’ve now read 10 of his books!). It’s so good. If you’re like me and always rushing, always “ready for the next thing,” I highly recommend it.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!



P.S. the 6 means 30



Get One of My New Digital Guidebooks


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.