Nicholas Heath

August 18, 2025

weekly email, Batch 9

New Breath Paper, How to Live Well, and Positive Forces of the Mind

Nicholas Heath

August 18, 2025

weekly email, Batch 9

Reading Time: 1 min 56 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Improving Thought Patterns and Stress Resilience

“While various techniques may yield different short-term psychophysiological effects, their distinctive long-term significance diminishes over time. It is systematic, consistent practice that enables individuals to recognize and interrupt habitual, maladaptive thought patterns and increase overall stress resilience.”
- Siebieszuk et al. (2025), Medical Sciences

I’m still working my way through this brand new paper, but wanted to share this wonderful quote. It’s a great reminder that, regardless of the exact method you use, it is the consistent practice that is most important for improving stress resilience and overall health 👏

2. An Intense Beam, Pointed at the Right Things

“Concentration is a gathering together of all the positive forces of the mind and tightly focusing them into an intense beam. Mastering concentration means learning to aim that beam and keep it directed where we want it. This kind of concentration is strong and energetic, yet gentle, and it does not wander away…We then learn to point the beam at the right things, the really fruitful things within the mind.”
- Bhante Gunaratana, Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English

This is the power of meditation, breathing, and their allied practices. We learn to direct the positive forces of the mind toward the right things, allowing us to better shape our lives to match our vision of who we want to be 🙏

3. Talent Does Not Ensure Success

“Talent does not ensure success. Nor does talent derail your performance, but a distracted mind does.”
- Dr. Dana Sinclair, Dialed In

That’s a perfect complement to the previous thought, and it highlights a critical insight: It’s often our mental state, not our talent, that determines our performance. This is one reason why Dr. Sinclair also says, “Know that the most important skill for performing with excellence is to breathe and find calm, even just a little.”

4. How to Get Started with Breathwork

“When you are designing a new habit, you are really designing for consistency. And for that result, you’ll find that simplicity is the key. Or as I like to teach my students: Simplicity changes behavior.”
- BJ Fogg, Tiny Habits

I put together a new eBook to help you start and maintain a breath practice—which may be the most important habit of all. It’s simple, science-based, and easy to follow. You can pick it up today for just $17.

1 Quote

“Perhaps living well is not about having all the answers. Living well may be more about pursuing unanswerable questions in good company.””

— Rachel Naomi Remen, MD

1 GOOD BOOK

Dialed In by Dr. Dana Sinclair

My good friend and mentor Paul Hunt (whose MBSR course I occasionally share) recommended this one to me. It’s fantastic: Super practical and filled with many gems on the power of 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. yeah, I’m living the DREAM

Get My New eBooks

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.

Nicholas Heath

August 11, 2025

weekly email, Batch 9

Breathwalking, Coffee Beans, and the Positive Impact of Celebration

Nicholas Heath

August 11, 2025

weekly email, Batch 9

Reading Time: 2 min 18 sec

I hope the next 28’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Why Breathing Gets Top Priority in the Brain

“If there is anything amiss with our breathing, the brain needs to know quickly to take action immediately. For instance, if the airway is obstructed by a piece of food, the brain has only three or four minutes to respond and restore respiration for survival. So, respiratory messages have top priority when it comes to getting the brain’s attention.”
- Richard Brown, MD, Patricia Gerbarg, MD, The Healing Power of the Breath

Of course, we all know this intuitively. But what makes it so powerful is that, of all the body’s automatic functions, breathing is the only one we control at will. So, by consciously changing our breath, we rapidly influence the signals sent to the brain.

2. SKY Breathing Course for Recovery

My good friend, Colleen Loehr, MD, is co-hosting another SKY class for addiction recovery. The course teaches the SKY breath practice as well as valuable cognitive reframing tools. It’s open to anyone in recovery from any addiction and also to family and friends of those struggling through it.

While I haven’t taken this one, I have taken a SKY breath course and loved it. Even if you don’t have an addiction, you will find the practice helpful for general wellness.

Learn about SKY Recovery (background & video)

If you have any questions, you can email Colleen at: colleen.loehr@artofliving.org

3. Breath, Walking, and Attention for a Healthy Life

“Three keys release that vitality for our use: breath, walking, and attention. All three used together is Breathwalk—the science and art of combining conscious breath and walking into elegant and effective patterns for a healthy, happy, and spirited life.”
- Breathwalk: Breathing Your Way to a Revitalized Body, Mind, and Spirit

“Breathwalking” is a simple practice with ancient roots. And it’s straightforward: you simply match your breaths with your steps. The starting ratio they recommend is inhaling for 4 steps and exhaling for 4 steps. But play around with different ratios depending on your comfort, pace, and terrain 🙏

4. This Will Be Ranked Alongside Mindfulness and Gratitude

“Celebration will one day be ranked alongside mindfulness and gratitude as daily practices that contribute most to our overall happiness and well-being. If you learn just one thing from my entire book, I hope it’s this: Celebrate your tiny successes. This one small shift in your life can have a massive impact.”
- BJ Fogg, Ph.D., Tiny Habits

If the person who built the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford says celebration is the most critical concept from his book, then it’s worth a shot. So, the next time you make a small, positive change—one conscious breath, one kind act, one mindful step—be sure to harness the positive impacts of a mini celebration.

1 Quote

“True freedom isn’t in having complete control of our minds but in the ability to be unattached to what happens in it.””

— Joseph Nguyen

1 GOOD BOOK

The Coffee Bean by Jon Gordon and Damon West

I read this book this past Friday afternoon. It’s so good. Given that coffee is more important to me than oxygen 😂, I’m not sure how it took me this long to hear about it. It’s super short, so I won’t spoil it—just do yourself a favor and pick it up.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. you might need this tomorrow

Get My New Digital 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

Learn more here.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

Nicholas Heath

August 4, 2025

weekly email, Batch 9

You Can Do This Today, a New 2025 Study, and Positive Reinforcement

Nicholas Heath

August 4, 2025

weekly email, Batch 9

Reading Time: 1 min 58 sec

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Something You Can Do Today (that may really help)

A 2025 study published in Nature Scientific Reports found that just 30 seconds of slow breathing (6-second inhale, 6-second exhale) reduced heart rate and anticipatory anxiety when participants were presented with uncertainty.

As the authors said, “It may be that slow breathing prepares the individual physically and psychologically for future anxious events.”

So next time you’re waiting for something stressful, try three slow breaths. It certainly won’t solve everything, but sometimes the simplest tools are the most effective.

2. A New Study Shows that Slow Breathing Protects Against Future Stressors

“These findings highlight the practical potential of SB [slow breathing] as an accessible and cost-effective intervention for mitigating anxiety and preventing stress response escalation.”
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2025)

To piggyback on #1, this study, published just 3 weeks ago, found that 5 minutes of slow breathing (4-second inhale, 6-second exhale) helped protect against future stressors.

In their words: “This highlights the potential of SB as a proactive strategy for building resilience against acute emotional challenges.” 👏

3. The Path to Peace

“The path to peace is not to pursue certainty but to relax into uncertainty. To surrender to the ebbs and flows of life and accept things as they are instead of how you think they should be. It's not about trying to force things to happen a certain way but about trusting that you will be okay no matter what happens.”
- Joseph Nguyen, Don’t Believe Everything You Think

Amen to that 🙏

4. This Feeling Can Reinforce Behavior

“In my lab at Stanford some years ago, we wanted to see if using humor was an effective way to promote recycling. We rigged a recycling bin so people would hear a funny audio clip from The Simpsons every time they put something in…When people used this bin, they were surprised and amused. Some people looked for errant scraps of paper to put into the bin to hear more funny clips. Other people removed things from our bin and put them back in…A positive feeling from humor can reinforce behavior.”
- BJ Fogg, Ph.D., Tiny Habits

How good is that? It begs the question: How might we use humor and positive feelings to reinforce our breathing and/or meditation habit (or, for that matter, any habit at all)?

1 Quote

“It is needful periodically to put aside the things of time so as to seek the timeless, to isolate ourselves from the outward world so as to seek an inward one.””

— Paul Brunton

1 GOOD BOOK

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg, Ph.D.

This is my favorite book on habits. It truly changed my life about 4 years ago. When it comes to breathing, meditation, or anything else that makes us better, the practices are usually straightforward. The hardest part is consistency. This book makes that part easy.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. hanging out as adults

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

Learn more here.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

Nicholas Heath

October 25, 2021

weekly email

The Joy of Breathwork is _________, and The 3 Best Ways to be Consistent

Nicholas Heath

October 25, 2021

weekly email

Listen Instead of Reading

4 Thoughts

1. The Joy of Breathwork is _________

If you’ve read any books on breathwork, or heard any podcasts, or taken any classes, you’ve inevitably heard some incredible stories of healing.

People use different breathing methods to help various health conditions under different settings. They all seem to work, and there’s no one-size-fits-all.

It highlights a simple yet profound truth: The joy of breathwork is breathing.

***

Quote that inspired this thought: “I realized: These were tears of joy, and the joy of movement is moving.” - Kelly McGonigal, PhD, The Joy of Movem ent

2. The 3 Best Ways to be Consistent with Your Breathing Practice

“A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.”
– Anthon y Trol lope

1. Start very tiny. Even if it's 1 breath or 30 seconds. Just pick something so small you can't fail.

2. Do it at the same time every day. Pick a consistent cue (e.g., brushing your teeth, etc.) that will trigger your tiny practice.

3. Celebrate. This is most important. Do something silly that you find rewarding (fist bump, etc.). Celebration releases dopamine, which will trick your brain into looking forward to your practice.

***

P.S. Here’s my celebration: “That’s like me to do another breathing session!”

P.P.S. These concepts come from the excellent book Tiny Habit s.

3. Marginal Gains: Why Being Consistent Matters

“It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis. … Meanwhile, improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable—sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run.”
- Jam es Clear

And there’s why being consistent is so important. Those tiny 1% gains are far more meaningful in the long run than they might at first seem. As my favorite teacher Bri an Johnson says, “when you aggregate and compound enough of those tiny little incremental optimizations MAGIC happens.” 🙏

***

Related Quote: “Any practice, whether spiritual, physical, or artistic, only begins to pay off when it is done with regularity and sincerity.” - Eddie Stern, One Simple Thi ng

4. The Pleiotropic Benefits of Breathing

“Eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, and managing stress will always be the foundational pillars of health and wellness. One reason for this is that these interventions are what scientists call pleiotropic—they provide a wide range of benefits that aren’t limited to a particular health condition.”
– Chris Kresser

Breathwork is also pleiotropic: it provides wide-ranging benefits, which aren’t limited to one health condition. (That’s also why it often seems like a panacea.)

Combining this idea with Thoughts 2 & 3, we see why breathing is the compound interest of health and wellness: When done consistently, the marginal gains from its wide-ranging, “pleiotropic” benefits aggregate into magic.

Sounds good to me : )

1 QUOTE

“The breath is something that is readily available to us simply because we are human beings. We do not need anything else to qualify. How marvelous!”
- The Tibetan Yoga of Breath

1 ANSWER

Category: Nasal Breathing

Answer: Nitric oxide, which is one of the most important benefits of nasal breathing, is produced in this region of the upper airways.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are the paranasal sinuses?

In good breath,

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

P.S. Nothing like cha nging your appea rance

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

Each Monday, I curate and synthesize information from scientific journals, books, articles, and podcasts to share 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy!") related to breathing. It’s a fun way to learn something new each week.

Nicholas Heath

March 29, 2021

weekly email

How Breathing Makes Everything Possible

Nicholas Heath

March 29, 2021

weekly email

Listen to this post in 5 minutes:

Greetings,

Here are four thoughts, one quote, and one answer for this week. Enjoy!

4 Thoughts

1. Breathing Makes Everything Possible

“That oxygen, life, and lungs all came into our world in relatively close succession is no coincidence. Only with oxygen and some means of extracting it are all things possible—thinking, moving, eating, speaking, and loving. Life and the breath are synonymous.”
- Michael J. Stephen, MD, Breath Taking

I often feel crazy. The more I learn about breathing, the more I feel like I must be falling for a big trick. It seems as if all of life’s problems come back to the breath. It really just seems too simple to be true.

Then, I read a beautiful quote like this. One that succinctly states just how breathing, quite literally, makes everything possible. And it reminds me that it is, in fact, the opposite: It’s not crazy that all of life’s problems come back to the breath. It would be crazy if they didn’t.

2. Lesser-Known Ways Nose Breathing Helps Diabetes

You probably know how indispensable nose breathing is by now. But there are other lesser-known reasons it is particularly helpful in diabetes.

In this recent article, I examine nasal breathing through the lens of diabetic complications, nasal and systemic nitric oxide, stress, and sleep.

It’s a different perspective, and I hope you learn something new about nose breathing, whether you have diabetes or not.

If you don’t have time to read it, here are a few take-home messages:

People with diabetes have reduced blood flow, reduced tissue oxygenation, and less bioavailable nitric oxide.
Nasal breathing increases blood flow, improves tissue oxygenation, and might increase an essential form of bioactive nitric oxide.

3. Take a Deep Breath (American Physiological Society)

“That’s the wonderful thing about it. There are no side effects. It’s cheap. And everyone has had the experience of taking a single deep breath—you take one, and you feel it; it’s relaxing.”
- Jack Feldman, PhD, Distinguished Professor in Neurobiology at UCLA

This one started out slow, but wow, there was so much good information, especially in the last section on “Slow Breathing and the Brain.”

Enjoy the excellent read:

Take a Deep Breath: Featured article from the January 2021 issue of The Physiologist Magazine

4. Why Most Breathing Advice for Beginners is Wrong

"Yes, in our hyperachieving, go-getter world, I’m telling you to lower the bar. Not because I don’t want you to achieve great things, but because I know that you need to start small in order to achieve them."
- BJ Fogg, Tiny Habits

Though well-meaning, most advice for starting a breath practice is wrong.

We’re told we need to do twenty minutes in the morning, twenty minutes before bed, and maybe six additional breathing "check-ins" throughout the day. It’s overwhelming just to think about it.

Sure, if your motivation is high, this approach might work. But it also might set you up for failure, instead of setting you up for long-term growth.

To make it stick, behavior change scientists say we need to start small. For example, starting with 1 minute is more valuable than starting with 1 hour.

And ironically, starting small is the only way to go big. As BJ tells us, "Over the last twenty years, I’ve found that the only consistent, sustainable way to grow big is to start small." Conversely, starting big often leads to giving up.

So let’s lower our breathing bars, start small, and create breathing habits that set us, and those we teach, up for lasting success.

1 Quote

“Oxygen is the life force, the source of life’s infinite possibilities.”
- Michael J. Stephen, MD, Breath Taking

1 Answer

Answer: Over a lifetime, the average nose hair grows this long.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is over 6 feet?

This is the same resource as last week, but this is too ridiculous not to share : )

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. The dmv be like…

Nicholas Heath

March 15, 2021

weekly email

Oxygen and The Most Effective Antioxidant

Nicholas Heath

March 15, 2021

weekly email

Most of my friends make fun of my bedtime (7:45 or 8:00 p.m.). In thought #4, you’ll learn how I’m trying to change that, at least until November…

With that said, here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for the week.

Enjoy!

4 THOUGHTS

1. Grow and Multiply Your Breathing Practice

"When it comes to the process of scaling habits, there are two general categories: habits that grow and habits that multiply."
- BJ Fogg, Tiny Habits

Some habits might grow organically: flossing one tooth might grow into every tooth. Others might not: eating an avocado a day might be enough. But, this might multiply into using olive oil instead of a sugary dressing at lunch.

With breathing, it usually grows first.

You might start with just two minutes. This might grow into 5, 15, or 30+ minutes a day. Then at some point, you will naturally find the right growth limit for you.

Then it multiplies.

By creating a breathing practice that makes you feel good, you might begin eating healthier, exercising more, and sleeping better. You might also multiply your breathing practice by incorporating it into other areas of your life—like breath walking or nose breathing during exercise.

But it always happens in a way that’s right for you.

Luckily, there is no one right way to do this. Breathing can be (and is) applied in all domains of life. The best part is watching it grow and multiply in whatever way is right for you on your way to becoming the person you want to be.

2. The Most Effective (and biggest) Antioxidant

"In this regard, we can reasonably view the gigantism discussed in Chapter 5 as an antioxidant response. The increase in body size compensates for the higher external oxygen levels."
- Nick Lane, Oxygen

Oxidative stress is a major issue for people with diabetes. So, discussions on antioxidants always interest me. This one was somewhat crazy, though.

To start, Nick Lane argues that, if we flip our perspective, our circulatory system can be seen as a way of limiting oxygen delivery:

"Our elegant circulatory system, which is usually presented as a means of distributing oxygen to individual cells, can be seen equally as a means of restricting, or at least regulating, oxygen delivery to the correct amount."

His argument is supported by the fact that our cells and mitochondria function best at an oxygen "concentration of less than 0.3% of atmospheric oxygen." Thus, our bodies and circulatory system act to reduce atmospheric oxygen by ~99.7%.

Stated differently, our bodies essentially work as giant antioxidants.

"The development of multicellular organisms can even be considered an antioxidant response, which has the effect of lowering oxygen levels inside individual cells."

He even provides historical evidence that as oxygen levels rise, some species get bigger (hence the headline quote on gigantism). But they don’t get bigger because there is more oxygen for energy; they get bigger to protect them from it.

My mind hurts now too.

But the point is that our bodies were perfectly designed to deliver the right amount of oxygen to the cells—not too much, not too little. Problems arise when we disrupt that beautiful balance.

3. Slow Breathing Enhances Decision-Making

"The 5-2-7 pattern breathing exercise improved decision-making performance and prevented stress under overwhelming psychological pressure."
- Inc. This 2-Minute Breathing Exercise Can Help You Make Better Decisions, According to a New Study

Here is an excellent article from Inc. on how slow breathing can help you make better decisions (based off a 2019 study).

I especially appreciated the practical advice they provided on how you might apply these findings in real life in the "Putting it into practice" section. Enjoy!

4. American Academy of Sleep and Multiplying Habits

"It is, therefore, the position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that these seasonal time changes should be abolished in favor of a fixed, national, year-round standard time."
- Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine

Because nasal breathing at night changed my life, I am fascinated with sleep. So I take statements like this from sleep experts quite seriously. But it’s one thing to read an article and get inspired; it’s another to take action.

So this year, I have decided to try ignoring Daylight Savings Time.

This is something I can try in my life. My job allows me to come in later and stay later. And our daughter will be happy to have her sleep schedule unchanged.

I hope you’ll join me.

Not with the time change, but with whatever is firing you up these days. Here’s to multiplying our habits on our way to becoming the people we want to be.

P.S. My bedtime will now be a more reasonable 8:45 or 9:00 p.m. : )

1 QUOTE

"Man was created of the Earth, and lives by virtue of the air; for there is in the air a secret food of life…whose invisible congealed spirit is better than the whole earth."
- Michael Sendivogius (1604)

1 ANSWER

Answer: Although considered the "elixir of life," this gas was not discovered until the 1770s.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is oxygen?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Fitness is my passion.

Nicholas Heath

February 15, 2021

weekly email

Breathing’s Indirect and Unseen Benefits

Nicholas Heath

February 15, 2021

weekly email

Welcome to another edition of The Breathing 411:

Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for you to consider this week. Enjoy!

4 THOUGHTS

1. The Science of Breathing’s Indirect Benefits

Last week we learned that breathing is the only true compounding health habit. However, I believe the real magic occurs when breathing begins improving other areas of our lives. I’ve never had a reasonable explanation for these "indirect effects." They just seemed to happen. But now I do, thanks to Tiny Habits.

In this excellent book, behavioral scientist BJ Fogg shows us how tiny changes in one area of your life can lead to massive changes in others. It all comes down to a simple equation: B = MAP

A Behavior happens when Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt all come together. Makes sense. But the significant breakthrough Fogg discovered is the curved (nonlinear) relationship for when action occurs (adapted from his book below):

In this hypothetical example, we see how a breathing practice might help you exercise by increasing your motivation and physical ability (e.g., better sleep and oxygenation). The exercise prompt is now above the action line, and you exercise.

This is behavioral science, not physics. So there are no exact numbers for "motivation" or "ability." It will be unique from person-to-person. But this is where the real magic of compounding occurs. We move beyond just breathing, and begin fulfilling our own individual goals and ambitions.

P.S. Some examples from my life:

Walking 100 miles.
Having more energy to manage my diabetes.
Waking up before 4 a.m. every day for breathing research.

2. Health is What You Don’t See

"But the truth is that wealth is what you don't see. Wealth is the nice cars not purchased. The diamonds not bought. The watches not worn, the clothes forgone and the first-class upgrade declined."
- Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

Similarly, health is what you don’t see. It’s the cold you didn’t get, the late night you didn’t have, the stress you didn’t experience, the breathlessness you didn’t have after a brisk walk to catch your flight.

This is why the benefits of a long-term breathing practice might not be immediately apparent. You can’t measure the number of health issues that breathing helped you avoid. But that makes them no less important.

3. Longer Exhalations Are An Easy Way to Hack Your Vagus Nerve

"Just two minutes of deep breathing with longer exhalation engages the vagus nerve, increases HRV, and improves decision-making."
- Christopher Bergland, Psychology Today

Here’s another gem from Psychology Today on slow breathing, stress, and the vagus nerve. I may or may not have visualized "squirting some stress-busting vagusstoff" onto my heart when I took my next slow breath : )

4. Breath Matching

Rather than focus on any specific method, focus on your goals: to reduce anxiety, to increase focus, to improve autonomic function, to fall asleep, and on and on.

Then, based on those aspirations, find the right match. For combatting anxiety, you might choose extended exhales. For focus, you might pick box breathing.

But it’s not about the method; it’s about the outcome you wish to experience.

1 QUOTE

"Life and respiration are complementary. There is nothing living which does not breathe nor anything breathing which does not live."
- William Harvey, 1653, Lectures on the Whole of Anatomy

1 ANSWER

Answer: More than 60% of primary care physician visits are related to this condition.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is stress?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Really made me stop and think