Reading Time: 1 min 46 sec
I hope the next 21-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.
4 THOUGHTS
1. Humming’s Marvelous Beneficial Effects
“Humming is easy, and it has marvelous beneficial effects, from lowering blood pressure and heart rate to stimulating the release of vital hormones such as melatonin and nitric oxide. These positive results have been scientifically validated, and they promote not just physical health but happiness and a general sense of well-being.”
- Jonathan Goldman & Andi Goldman,
The Humming Effect
Just a quick reminder to hum this week to enhance your happiness and well-being.
2. How Meditation Makes Life 2-3x Better
“People get to live their lives on a scale two or three times bigger than they otherwise would have been. That’s a large claim, but the mechanism is quite simple: meditation elevates a person’s base level of focus…If you’re consistently two or three times more focused in each moment of life, then you’re living two or three times bigger, two or three times richer.”
- Shinzen Young, The Science of Enlightenment
A great reminder that contemplative practices help us live fuller lives simply because they allow us to experience more of life.
3. Unique Powers of Mental and Emotional Regulation
“Even if you’ve never given it a moment’s thought, breath control is instinctively recognizable as not only a human-only skill but also as one that is intimately linked to our unique powers of mental and emotional self-regulation.”
- Caroline Williams, Move
This highlights a profound insight: We all intuitively know that breath control is linked to our ability to self-regulate mentally and emotionally. The challenge (and opportunity) is remembering to use it.
4. Most People Have No Idea of This
“There’s a nice story about some people who were on a raft off the coast of Brazil perishing from thirst. They had no idea that the water they were floating on was fresh water. The river was coming out into the sea with such force that it went out for a couple of miles, so they had fresh water right there where they were. But they had no idea. In the same way, we’re surrounded with joy, with happiness, with love. Most people have no idea of this whatsoever.”
- Anthony de Mello, Awareness
👏👏👏
1 Quote
“Breath awareness is one method that can help you develop full attention to otherwise easily overlooked moments of daily life.””
1 GOOD BOOK
Three Steps to Awakening by Larry Rosenberg
This is a great book on breath and meditation. The first two steps (Breath Awareness and Breath as an Anchor) are full of wisdom on the power of breathing, both literally and metaphorically. Definitely worth reading.
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. wrap it up
Treat Yourself to Less Stress & Better Breathing
The Breathing App for Diabetes is FREE Until Jan. 1
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.