Yogani

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Health & Happiness, and How to Align with Your Life Force

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Listen Instead of Reading

If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 33 sec

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


4 THOUGHTS

1. You Will Receive All Benefits in Due Course

“If we commit to a twice-daily practice and give it some time to work, the benefits will be there. The beauty in this is that no matter which of the benefits we have come looking for, we will receive all of the benefits in due course – relaxation, good health and, eventually, enlightenment too.”

- Yogani, Spinal Breathing Pranayama

I love that. And although it’s referring to spinal breathing pranayama, I think it applies to any slow breathing practice: We start with the benefits we’re after and let the others come naturally with time and persistence.

2. Playing an Infinite Game

“More to the point, Richie’s lab finds that even among the meditation adepts—all of whom have put in at least 10,000 hours of practice—expertise continues to increase steadily with the number of lifetime hours.”

- Goleman and Davidson, Altered Traits

Translation: there’s no end to contemplative practice. The more you do, the more you grow.

3. Three One-Sentence Thoughts

  1. Meditation is about stopping thinking as much as breathwork is about stopping breathing.

  2. Breathing saves your life 20,000 times a day; mindfulness helps you appreciate this truth.

  3. The greatest skill in breathing (like in life) is knowing when to go with the flow, and when to deliberately change it.

4. How to Align with Your Life Force

“On a very basic level, when we’re consciously aware of the in-breath and the out-breath—or in other words, the act of inhaling and exhaling—we infuse ourselves with that life force and anchor ourselves in our own deep center space.”

- George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete

I have nothing useful to add, except for a few of these 👏👏👏

1 Quote

“Health and happiness are about being so connected to our own life force that we feel we fit into the world around us.””
— Gladys McGarey, MD

P.S. This came from The Well-Lived Life. I’m only about a third way through, but I must say it’s incredible—an absolute must-read.

1 Answer

Category: Breath and Focus

Answer: This state (often achieved through conscious breathing) involves being wholly immersed in an activity, cultivating intense focus and creativity, and losing awareness of time and self.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is flow?

In good breath,

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

P.S. Nice book. Too bad it was…

Upcoming Workshops

Saturday, December 23:

Saturday, December 30:

Coaching

Breathing & Mindfulness 1-on-1

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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Life, Humor, and a Great Truth You Should Know about Yourself

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Listen Instead of Reading

If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 43 sec

I hope the next 26’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. An Affirmation of Life

“Breath is life. It sustains us and it is an expression of the life force within us. The fact that we are breathing is an affirmation of life.”

- Yogani, Spinal Breathing Pranayama

This is just a beautiful reminder: “The fact that we are breathing is an affirmation of life.” 👏

2. Not You: A Great Truth You Should Know about Yourself

“The first thing to remember is that the truth about anxiety and worry, even about panic, is that they are not you. They are actually only conditions that flow in and out of the present moment. Confusion arises when the intensity of these conditions leads you to begin to identify with them and become lost in a reaction to them.”

- Jeffrey Brantley, MD, Calming Your Anxious Mind

This is a primary goal of living mindfully: To recognize that emotions aren’t us, only conditions flowing in & out of the present moment.

Of course, we’ll never be perfect, but even small steps in recognizing this truth will significantly improve our well-being.

3. Kryptonite & Why Slow Breathing Complements Mindfulness Perfectly

“Attention is fragile. It can be rapidly depleted under certain circumstances…When we experience stress, threat, or poor mood—the three main things I call ‘kryptonite’ for attention—this valuable resource is drained.”

- Amishi Jha, Ph.D., Peak Mind

This is why combining slow breathing with mindfulness, or doing it just before meditation, is so powerful.

It counteracts these “attention kryptonites:” It reduces stress, improves mood, and quiets the threat regions of the brain. These changes make mindfulness more accessible physiologically.

4. Humor is an Essential Part of Life

“Humor opens closed hearts.
Humor can free us from the grip of our thoughts.
When we smile, we feel we can accept things we previously could not.
We feel we can forgive those who have wronged us.
Humor is an essential part of life.”

- Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only…

Just a reminder to seek out humor this week, as laughing will always be the most therapeutic breathing exercise.

1 Quote

“The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking one’s self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.””
— Margot Fonteyn

1 Answer

Category: Breathing Muscles

Answer: Although the diaphragm is thought to be primarily a breathing muscle, there is evidence that it plays a critical role in preventing this.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is acid reflux?

In good breath,

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


P.S. “flight sacramento receipt 2023”

Upcoming Workshops

Saturday, December 16:

Saturday, December 30:

Coaching

Breathing & Mindfulness 1-on-1

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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Mind-Body Unity, the Real Power of Breath, and a Beautiful Resilience

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Listen Instead of Reading

If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 55 sec

I hope the next 30ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. After a Breathing, Mindfulness, Yoga/etc. Session, Ask Yourself this:

“How does it feel to be like this? Does it feel natural? Is this a way you would want to continue to be in your life?”

– Rosamund Oliver

Then, if it is a way you’d like to continue to be in your life, use it as motivation to carry that feeling into the rest of your day 🙏

2. Slow Breathing: External vs. Self-Paced

You can choose a rate (say, 6 breaths a minute), use an app, breathe at that rate, and feel great. I’ve done this for years.

However, you can also let your body set the pace: you can voluntarily breathe slowly without using an external pacer.

Here’s a great explanation of why this works from Yogani. He’s talking about spinal breathing, but it applies to slow breathing in general:

“The time it takes will be different for each person. It can be different for the same person from day to day, depending on the course of purification occurring in the nervous system. It can even vary in a single spinal breathing session we are doing. Duration is a function of our inner neurobiological processes and our metabolism, which change as the processes of inner purification and opening are occurring. // In spinal breathing we comfortably favor slow deep breathing, whatever that is for us in the moment. That is what determines the duration.”

3. If Mind and Body are One, Then…

“If mind and body are one, we can do more than change the body by changing the mind; we can change the mind by changing the body.”

- Ellen Langer, Ph.D., The Mindful Body

And this is precisely the power of breathing. It’s the most direct path to realizing this mind-body unity.

Change your breathing, to change your body, to change your mind.

4. But the Real Healing Power of Breathing Lies Here

The real healing power of breathing lies in metaphor:

  • When we accept the breath as it is (mindfulness of breathing), we learn to accept life just as it is, helping us see reality more clearly.

  • When we control our breath (breathing exercises), we discover a locus of control over our body and mind in any situation.

  • And when we examine the breath with curiosity, we learn that everything—all the mundane, everyday, overlooked aspects of life—can become interesting with mindful awareness.

P.S. We deeply explore and apply these metaphors (along with the actual physical & emotional benefits of breathing) in my 8-week coaching for overcoming stressful setbacks. Email me at nick@thebreathingdiabetic.com with subject line “breath” and I’ll send you more details.

1 Quote

“Laughter is a beautiful form of resilience, one that evinces a generosity of spirit.””
— Erika Sánchez

1 Answer

Category: Involuntary Breathwork

Answer: These are repeated spasms of your diaphragm accompanied by sound from your vocal cords.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What are hiccups?

In good breath,

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


P.S. up for the October challenge?

iCalm for Focused Relaxation

If you haven’t already, try iCalm, an awesome product made by a mindful and loving company (use discount code NICK20 for 20% off).

* 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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Better Learning, Life's Lifeline, and How We Breathe is Who We Are

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Listen Instead of Reading

If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

4 THOUGHTS


1. How We Breathe is Who We Are

“Breathing is about much more than simple gas exchange or even cardiorespiratory fitness. We exhale and inhale more than twenty thousand times per day, and the way in which we do so has tremendous influence on how we move our body, and even our mental state. How we breathe, as Beth puts it, is who we are.”

- Peter Attia, MD, Outlive

I have nothing useful to add here, except a few of these 👏👏👏

P.S. The Beth mentioned was one of his colleagues, Beth Lewis.

2. Science or Prayer, Medicine or Meditation

A profound aspect of breathing is that, depending on our disposition, we can treat it like science or prayer, like diet or exercise, like medicine or meditation.

And the best part: No approach is right or wrong.

3. Alternate Nostril Breathing Improves Learning & Retention

“Our findings indicated that a single 30-minute session of deep alternate-nostril breathing significantly facilitated the retention of a newly acquired motor skill. Better retention was evident immediately, as well as 24 hours after breathing practice, suggesting that such simple practices can be exploited as an effective tool to enhance both short term and somewhat longer term retention of skilled movements.”

– Deep Breathing Practice Facilitates Retention of Newly Learned Motor Skills

I’ve shared this one before. However, I revisited it recently and thought I’d share it again.

The take-home is that we can use slow alternate nostril breathing immediately after learning a motor skill to improve that skill’s short and long-term retention.

Check out these 9 slides that describe the study with images.

4. It’s Made Simple by Simplified Controls

This is a genuinely mind-blowing analogy for all breathing practices:

“For example, consider a car. We hardly give it a second thought when we climb into a car and drive off to an appointment. … All we have to do is press on the gas pedal and hold the steering wheel, and away we go. Simple, yes? No, not simple at all, but it has been made simple by virtue of the simplified controls that enable us to effortlessly transform a volatile substance, gasoline, into a speedy and safe ride to our appointment.

Pranayama is like that. In fact, all effective spiritual practice is like that. We can take complex principles of transformation found in the human nervous system and, with a series of simple procedures, apply these for great spiritual benefit.”

- Yogani, Spinal Breathing Pranayama

1 Quote

“By developing the simple profound practice of mindful breathing, you have a lifeline that ties you to every dimension of your life.””
— Al Lee and Don Campbell

1 Answer

Category: Breathing 101

Answer: The amount of air left after a maximum exhalation, known as this, helps to ensure the alveoli do not collapse.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is residual volume?

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In good breath,

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


P.S. This is everything I hoped for

* 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.