Tag Archives: parasympathetic nervous system

BOOK: “Breath” by James Nestor

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Breath: The New Science of a Lost ArtBreath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author’s Book Site

In this book, James Nestor takes an immersion journalism approach to reporting on the art and science of better breathing. In addition to participating in trainings on particular breathwork (e.g. Tummo / Wim Hof, Buteyko breathing, Sudarshan Kriya, the DeRose method, etc.,) he participates in a scientific studying involving closing off his nostrils for a few weeks and then systematically nose breathing for a few more. (The first half of which he describes as torturous.) In between discussions of his own experiences, he explores both ancient breathwork teachings and the discoveries of modern science.

While there’s not really anything new in this book, it does a good job of presenting the information in a clear and readable form. In truth, it would be hard to say something both profound and new on the subject, given that yogis, tantrics, Daoists, and others have been systematically observing and altering breath for centuries to improve health, concentration, and emotional poise. Even the seemingly modern systems are by-and-large variants of the old ways (e.g. Wim Hof breathwork adapts the Tummo of Vajrayana Buddhism, DeRose worked from ancient yoga teachings, and Andrew Weil’s 4-7-8 breathing is pretty much the 1:2:2 vrtti pranayama that yogi’s have practiced for centuries.) Still, despite the basic information in the book being widely available, there remains a crisis of bad breathing and the cascade of ill-health that results, therefrom, and so it is a valuable book. (The key takeaways are: nose breathe, breathe slowly and deeply, hyperventilate only consciously and occasionally, and elongate exhalation to facilitate relaxation.)

The newest information to me, personally, was that of Chapter 7, which dealt with the role that shifting to softer, cooked foods played in humanity’s proclivity for breathing problems. Chapter 1, which deals with humankind’s unique breathing issues, also provides insight into why people have so many problems with something so fundamental to life as breathing. Nestor also presented some of the breath-relevant insights of Albert Szent-Györgyi, a Nobel-winning biochemist whose work offered some insight into the connection between electrons and both cancer and aging. So, in addition to some nice reminders and references, I did learn a thing or two as well.

This is a fine overview of breath and how to improve it for better living, and I’d recommend it for anyone looking to learn more on the subject.

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PROMPT: Negative Feelings

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Daily writing prompt
What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?
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Feel them, but don’t feed them. By that I mean take time to be aware of the feelings, but do not let the mind go into its default mode of fixation upon the object informing these sensations and worst-case scenario building. Give the feelings your attention but recognize that you influence your experience of the world and don’t give the mind free reign to build an illusory scenario that it accepts as its reality. (i.e. Remember what Mark Twain said, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”)

The biggest problem with negative feelings is that the go-to modern strategy is attempted distraction (by vice, by entertainment, by activity, etc.) this leads the body to turn up the heat. If you give the sensations your attention without adding value judgements, it becomes impossible to obsess. For yoga practitioners who’ve done Yoga Nidra (Yogic sleep) the experience will be familiar. One often begins by being attentive to sounds, by giving the sounds attention without judgement, your mind starts to lose interest and it becomes harder for those sounds to distract you throughout the practice. This approach to negative feelings is much the same.

Also, breathwork that extends the exhalation component of breath will shift the balance toward rest and digest activity.

Ultimately, realize that these feelings are just sensations your body and brain use to turn your attention in certain directions. They have no more power than that, other than what one grants them. They are not identical to — or inextricably linked with — the events of the world that triggered them, and — therefore — you get to be the master of, and not the slave to, your feelings.

The next time you find yourself getting bogged down by a negative feeling, give the feeling a minute or two of pure undivided attention, and then think, “This is a wonderful opportunity to learn how my body and mind work.” See what happens.

BOOK REVIEW: Why Do People Get Ill? by Darian Leader and David Corfield

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Why Do People Get Ill?Why Do People Get Ill? by David Corfield

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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This book’s title might suggest that it’s about the germ theory of disease or genetic anomalies, but it’s actually about why some people exposed to germs or carcinogens don’t get ill, while other people become ill at the drop of the hat—even when they have no exposure to the immediate cause of illness. (e.g. A Japanese study found that hypersensitive subjects had skin reactions when exposed to a harmless leaf when they were told that it was from a lacquer tree [i.e. that it was mildly toxic.]) It’s well established that stress plays a role in one’s level of health. Of course, it’s not merely the presence of stress, but the nature of it and how it’s dealt with that matter. Our bodies are supremely skilled at conquering invaders and repairing damage as long as our parasympathetic nervous system is engaged sufficiently for our body to do the work of fighting infection and healing. Leader and Corfield’s core argument is that it’s how we worry rather than what we worry about (or even whether we worry) that influences proclivity to become ill. More specifically, the authors propose that the inability to communicate feelings can play a significant role in one’s propensity for illness.

The authors review many interesting studies from medical literature. For example, rhinovirus may be a necessary condition for a cold, but it’s not a sufficient condition. In other words, many exposed individuals never become symptomatic. The same has been shown for tuberculosis, malaria, and a host of other ailments. (It may be true for all ailments.) Another fascinating study found that sporadic bombing in London’s suburbs correlated with higher ulcer rates than the constant bombardment in the city. This suggested that the predictability of a stressor was important vis-a-vis its health effects—apparently more important than the presence or severity of the stressor. Also, there are the many studies about the correlation between certain times / events and disease onset (the most well-known of these is that the most frequent time of death from heart attack is between 8 and 9 in the morning on a Monday.)

Leader and Corfield make a compelling argument in support of their thesis that’s rooted in an extensive review of the scientific literature on the quirky complexities of illness. I’m not certain that I’m completely convinced that what they believe is most important is what is in reality most important. (To be fair, it’s not a matter of deficiency of approach so much as the complexity of disease onset and the difficulty of establishing a hierarchy of importance.) However, the beautiful part of the scientific approach is that even if one doesn’t buy the authors’ arguments hook-line-and-sinker, the book is still a valuable read because it presents a great deal of research–as well as some interesting food for thought on the present state of the medical establishment. I suspect the authors didn’t win many friends with medical doctors, given the strong critique they present. Leader and Corfield point out, what most of us have long suspected, that the money-makers in healthcare are expensive pharmaceuticals and surgery, and that this has created a dangerous incentive. Of course, the authors’ point is that this has undermined the value that psychological approaches might have, but the same could be said to be true for postural realignment therapies or other neglected approaches to treatment. The last chapter is a searing critique of the state of the medical profession that suggests that doctors are disproportionately ill-conditioned to listen to patients and to get to the root causes of their ailments.

The book’s organization is reasonable, but could have been improved. There’s a great chapter on the immune system, but it’s chapter 11 of 15 chapters. It would have been useful to move that text closer to the front of the book so that readers would have access to this primer as they considered why the solution might be found internally rather than in the medicines and surgeries that they are conditioned to believe are in virtually all cases necessary.

Of course, I understand that the authors’ thrust is on the psychological rather than the biological/physiological front, and this undoubtedly played into the organizational decisions. It may be true that the book isn’t about how a body can knock out ailments, but why it occasionally fails to; however, understanding how we defeat illness is an important part of the backstory.

There are important chapters on heart conditions and cancer. These are important not only because those diseases are major killers, but because these are the nasty diseases that many will be skeptical of the relevance of mind-body factors. In other words, many will accept that our attitude and approach to stress may be relevant in whether one breaks out in hives, catches the flu, or gets an ulcer—but may not except that a force as powerful as cancer can be swayed by one’s mindset and behaviors.

I’d recommend this book for anyone interested in how good health can be fostered.

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