THE BIG IDEAS The Healing Power of the Breath

Pill or 20 Minutes?
Simple Techniques to Reduce Stress and Anxiety, Enhance
What’ll it be?!
Concentration, and Balance Your Emotions
BY RICHARD P. BROWN & PATRICIA L. GERBARG · SHAMBHALA © 2012 · 176 PAGES
Breath = Portal
Into mind-body system.

Coherent Breathing
Find resonant rate. 10x HRV. “Throughout history, great healers have discovered the power of breathing to
enhance the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of their people. Once secret
Resistance Breathing
Victory over mind via breath. and sacred, breath practices are now available to everyone. We invite you on
Worry Centers a journey through our book and the Healing Power of the Breath CD to learn
Turn off via Vagus. simple, natural methods to become calmer, overcome stress, boost energy, focus
Total Breath your mind, enhance physical fitness, sleep peacefully, and feel closer to those you
Coherent + Resistant + Moving. love. We will teach you core breathing techniques, explain how they work, and
show you how to use them to meet the many challenges you face.

The human body has the power to heal itself from the cellular level up. We
regenerate our body tissues every day. ...

Studies are revealing that by changing the patterns of breathing it is possible

to restore balance to stress response systems, calm an agitated mind, relieve
symptoms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), improve physical
health and endurance, elevate performance, and enhance relationships. The
scientific bases for such powerful effects of breathing practices will be presented as
we show how to use them in many aspects of your daily life.”

~ Richard P. Brown & Patricia L. Gerbarg from The Healing Power of the Breath

Richard Brown and Patricia Gerbarg are medical doctors, clinical psychiatrists and university
professors. They also happen to be two of the world’s leading breath experts—integrating
“What do Mahatma Gandhi, Western science and ancient breath techniques derived from yoga, qigong, Coherent Breathing,
the martial artist Bruce and Open-Focus meditation. (Oh, and they’re married. Power couple. :)
Lee, Buddhist meditators, I got this book in preparation for Optimal Breathing 101 after I changed my life integrating some
Christian Monks, Hawaiian simple suggestions from Patrick McKeown’s great book The Oxygen Advantage.
kahunas, and Russian Special
As I said in our Notes on Belisa Vranich’s Breathe, I’m so moved by my own personal
Forces have in common? They
experiences with optimizing my breathing that our list of fundies has gone from Eat Move Sleep
all used breathing to enhance
to BREATHE Eat Move Sleep (+ Focus).
their physical, mental, and
Although I haven’t listened to it yet, this book comes with a CD that has a number of guided
spiritual well-being.”
meditations. What I most enjoyed about the book, in addition to the simple powerful breathing
~ Richard P. Brown & Patricia L.
techniques the author’s share, is the rigor with which they explore the scientific underpinnings of
Gerbarg
*why* optimizing our breathing is so beneficial to, as the sub-title suggests, reducing stress and
anxiety, enhancing concentration, and balancing your emotions.

If you’re looking for a practical guide to optimizing your breathing written by two psychiatrists
backing up their ideas with science, I think you’ll dig it. (Get a copy here.)

As always, the book is packed with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share some of my favorites so
let’s jump straight in!

1 PhilosophersNotes | The Healing Power of the Breath

 PILL OR 20 MINUTES?
“When the mind is agitated, “While breath practices have the power to heal, they require your activate participation in order

change the pattern of the

to be effective. Some people find it easier to quickly take a pill than to set aside twenty minutes
of time to practice breathing every day. However, if you prefer to activate the natural healing
breath.”
processes within your body, to reconnect with your true self, and to experience more meaningful
~ Patanjali
relationships—treasures not found in a pill bottle—then this book is for you. With a little time
and effort you will soon be able to harness the power of the breath to enhance your health and
happiness.”

What will it be?

A quick pop of the pill or dedicating 20 minutes a day to optimizing your breathing?

Already optimizing? Awesome.

If not...

*insert (potentially) whiny voice*

“20 minutes? How will I find that?!” (hah)

Well, first off, we’ll be able to count this breath work as your meditation time if you like.

Secondly, if you haven’t carved out the 20 minutes for meditation yet: COME ON!! What are you
waiting for? :)

Seriously. If your excuse is you’re just too busy to find the time, then let’s find the time. Unless
you’re one of the 4 people on the planet who has so Optimized their every moment that they
productively use every second of every day, my hunch is you have a few extra less-than-
optimized-minutes lying around.

Where are they?

I will trade this __________________ for Optimizing my life via breath work/meditation.

Fantastic. #highfives. etc.

(Habits 101 for help installing the habit!)

BREATH = OUR PORTAL TO THE MIND-BODY SYSTEM

“Moving the breath relaxes “In the previous chapter we introduced you to the soothing, relaxing, restoring part of
and refreshes, like an internal the nervous system, known to scientists as the parasympathetic nervous system. This
massage and shower.” counterbalances the activating, energy-burning part called the sympathetic nervous system. The
activating part gets us ready to do things we need to do as well as to respond to threat or danger
~ Dr. Richard P. Brown
by releasing adrenaline, speeding up the heart, increasing the respiratory rate, raising the blood
pressure, and redistributing blood flow to the muscles of the arms and legs. This get-ready-for-
action system burns a lot of energy, releases free radicals (small particles that damage cells), and
increases inflammatory processes. The soothing, recharging part, the parasympathetic nervous
system, slows down the heart, slows respiration, calms the mind, restores energy reserves,
repairs cells, and reduces inflammation. We need both systems, but for a healthy mind and body,
we need them to be in balance.”

That’s really powerful.

Quick re-cap of what’s going on behind-the-scenes: Our body has two nervous systems: the
parasympathetic and the sympathetic.

The parasympathetic nervous system is soothing, relaxing and restorative. It counterbalances

the activating, energy-burning sympathetic nervous system.

2 PhilosophersNotes | The Healing Power of the Breath

 We need to make sure those two are balanced.
“For healthy people who If we don’t have enough of the soothing stuff going on, the otherwise manageable stress of our
have mild to moderate stress, lives quickly becomes an overwhelming amount of stress that leads to mental and emotional
twenty minutes of Total fatigue, anxiety, depression, burnout and all the other not-so-fun stuff we’re looking to avoid.
Breath practice once a day is
Tal Ben-Shahar comes to mind. In The Pursuit of Perfect he tells us: “The problem in today’s
usually sufficient. However,
corporate world, as well as in many other realms, is not hard work; the problem is insufficient
during periods of greater
recovery.”
stress, it helps to practice
Ah. It’s not that we work too hard per se. It’s that we don’t RECOVER enough. (I’ve always loved
twice a day.”
that distinction.)
~ Richard P. Brown & Patricia L.
Gerbarg We need to oscillate (and make waves) or the stress load will become intolerable.

In Toughness Training for Life, Jim Loehr puts it this way: “Making waves is another term
for the same concept of balance between the stress and recovery cycles we’ve been discussing.
Whether we express it as day and night, peaks and valleys, or ebb and flow, the recurring
themes of toughening always involve dynamic movement, expansion of challenge, change,
growth, oscillation, and rhythm alternating with rest and recovery.”

All of that is to say: our parasympathetic (recovery wave) and sympathetic (crush it wave) need
to be balanced. And... Breathing right is one of the most powerful ways to make that happen.

In fact, it’s the portal to the mind-body system—it’s the most direct way to influence our brains.

“Of all the automatic functions of the body, only one can be easily controlled voluntarily—
breathing. By voluntarily changing the rate, depth, and pattern of breathing, we can change
the messages being sent from the body’s respiratory system to the brain. In this way, breathing
techniques provide a portal to the autonomic communication network through which we can, by
changing our breathing patterns, send specific messages to the brain using the language of the
body, a language the brain understands and to which it responds. Messages from the respiratory
system have rapid, powerful effects on major brain centers involved in thought, emotion, and
behavior. For instance, if we feel anxious, just a few minutes of Coherent Breathing can calm our
worried mind and foster more rational, rather than impulsive, decision-making.”

Breathe.

Coherently.

And calm your mind...

COHERENT BREATHING
“Coherent Breathing is a simple way to increase heart-rate variability and balance the stress-
response systems. When scientists tested people at all possible breathing rates, they found
that there is an ideal breath rate for each person, somewhere between three and a half and
six breaths per minute for adults using equal time for breathing in and breathing out, a sweet
spot where HRV is maximized and the electrical rhythms of the heart, lungs, and brain become
synchronized. Modern researchers have called this the resonant rate, but this phenomenon has
been known for centuries by religious adepts in many cultures. For example, when Zen Buddhist
monks enter deep meditation, called zazen, they breathe at six breaths per minute. The Italian
cardiologist Luciano Bernardi discovered that traditional chanting of the Latin Hail Mary occurs
at six breaths per minute. ...

Coherent Breathing is breathing at a rate of five breaths per minute, around the middle of the
resonant breathing range. ... Breathing at a rate that is close to one’s ideal resonant rate can
induce a tenfold improvement in HRV. For people who are over six feet tall, the ideal resonant
rate is three to three and half breaths per minute.”

PhilosophersNotes | The Healing Power of the Breath 3

 Coherent Breathing. That’s where it’s at.
“By increasing parasympathetic
activity and decreasing Fascinating research shows that breathing at our “resonant rate” can induce a 10x improvement
sympathetic activity, in our heart-rate variability—one of the best predictors of our overall well-being.
Coherent Breathing balances (TENx. That’s staggering.)
and stabilizes the stress-
So, basic parameters: 5 breaths per minute. (If you’re over 6 feet tall (like me), then aim for
response system, helping you
closer to 3.5 breaths per minute.)
to react more appropriately
rather than with excess fear, That’s it.

anger, or feelings of helpless Breathe into your belly. Relax your shoulders. 3-5 breaths per minute. 20 minutes per day.
immobility. The increased
And, drop into that zone throughout the day whenever you’re feeling it.
parasympathetic activity
calms the mind, slows the Shockingly powerful results.

heart, lowers blood pressure, P.S. The book comes with a CD to help guide you through the timing for your Coherent
reduces inflammation, Breathing. You can also get an app that will help you pace your breathing.
and strengthens stress
Last month Mark Divine was up visiting and walked us through a great box-breathing guided
resilience.”
meditation. It was amazing. (Wish we recorded it!) He used a little app. I asked him for his recs.
~ Richard P. Brown & Patricia L.
Here’s what he says: Two options: Unbeatable Mind Box Breathing app built by David DeSouza
Gerbarg
+ Saagara’s Pranayama Universal Breathing app.

(I promised Mark a “Hooyah!” of thanks in this Note. Commander: “Hooyah!”)

... Coherent Breathing is the base of the program. Then we can add some other breathing
techniques to arrive at what they call the “Total Breath.” Let’s take a look at a couple more
techniques.

RESISTANCE BREATHING (AKA VICTORY OVER MIND VIA BREATH)

“Resistance Breathing refers to various techniques used to create resistance to the flow of air
and thereby enhance the effects of Coherent Breathing. Resistance Breathing slightly increases
pressure in the lungs, which heightens stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system,
the soothing, recharging part of the nervous system. Also, when the respiratory muscles have
to work harder against resistance, they become stronger over time. Taking slower and deeper
breaths also opens more of the lungs alveoli, the tiny air-filled sacs through which oxygen enters
the blood and carbon dioxide is expelled. The results are healthier lungs and better oxygenation.
This is especially important for people who are prone to respiratory infections, pneumonia, or
who have had atelectasis (collapse of lung tissue).”

Resistance Breathing.

It’s kinda like going to the gym for your lungs.

In Breathe, we chatted about the importance of working out the most important under-
appreciated muscle in your body: your diaphragm.

Now, it’s time to work out those little air-filled sacs with the coolest name ever: alveolis!!

Put on your lung warmers and let’s hit the Breath Gym!

Step 1. Breathe through your nose. This alone “creates a little more resistance to air-flow than
breathing through the mouth.”

(I know I’m repeating myself, but check out the Notes on The Oxygen Advantage and go slap
that piece of tape over your mouth at night as you train yourself to exclusively breathe through
your nose. I promise: a) it will look ridiculous and b) it will deliver results.)

4 PhilosophersNotes | The Healing Power of the Breath

 Step 2. Either breathe out pursed lips or get ready for a little ocean breathing!

If you’ve done a bit of yoga, you might be familiar with this style. In Sanskrit, it’s called ujjayi.
In addition to being fun to say (pronounced oo-jai), that word has the most ridiculously great
meaning ever.

It literally means: “Victory over the mind through the breath.”

Check out the book + CD or Google ujjayi breath for more!

(This article is pretty good.)

TURN OFF THE WORRY CENTERS VIA THE VAGUS NERVES

“And as we let our own light “One of the ways that Coherent Breathing and Resistance Breathing work is by turning off the
shine, we unconsciously give ‘worry centers’ of the brain. These forms of breathing stimulate the vagus nerves, the main
other people permission to do pathways of the parasympathetic nervous systems. These pathways ascend to relay stations
the same.” in the brainstem and extend via the thalamus to the cerebral cortex, where they quiet the
excess thinking activity. At the same time, other branches of the pathway enter the centers of
~ Marianne Williamson
emotion regulation in the prefrontal cortex and in the limbic system, including the amygdala
and hippocampus, where they help reduce anxiety and emotional overreactivity. The tendency
to calm both the intellect and the emotions may account for the rapid effects of these breath
practices in reducing negative thoughts and emotions, such as excessive worry and anxiety.”

The vagus nerves.

In Love 2.0, Barbara Fredrickson gives us a tour of the biological underpinnings of creating
more micro-moments of positivity resonance in our lives (aka Love).

One of the key facets is having what she calls a “higher vagal tone.”

One of the best ways to boost that vagal tone?

Breathing well.

Here’s Barbara: “That’s because people with higher vagal tone, science has shown, are more
flexible across a whole host of domains—physical, mental, and social. They simply adapt better
to their ever- shifting circumstances, albeit completely at nonconscious levels. Physically,
they regulate their internal bodily processes more efficiently, like their glucose levels and
inflammation. Mentally they’re better able to regulate their attention and emotions, even their
behavior. Socially, they’re especially skillful in navigating interpersonal interactions and in
forging positive connections with others. By definition, then, they experience more micro-
moments of love. It’s as though the agility of the conduit between the brains and the hearts—as
reflected in their high vagal tone—allows them to be exquisitely agile, attuned, and flexible as
they navigate the ups and downs of day-to-day life and social exchanges. High vagal tone,
then, can be taken as high loving potential.”

Breathe coherently and love more?

I’ll take it!

THE TOTAL BREATH

“Let’s briefly review what you have learned about the core breathing practices, the Total Breath,
and the Complete Practice. The core breathing practices are Coherent Breathing, Resistance
Breathing, and Breath Moving. Coherent Breathing uses the Healing Power of the Breath CD
track to maintain a rate of five to six breaths per minute. Resistance Breathing creates a soft
ocean sound by partial obstruction of the flow of air. During Breath Moving, attention is focused
on moving the breath through the body areas that need healing or on creating circuits that move

PhilosophersNotes | The Healing Power of the Breath 5

 the breath imaginatively between two places in the body—for example, between the top of the
“Remember, it takes time head and the base of the spine. The Total Breath is achieved by bringing all three breath forms—
to rebalance the stress- Coherent Breathing, Resistance Breathing, and Breath Moving—to produce the Total Breath.
Three breath forms are combined into one not only to save time but also to boost the therapeutic
response system and it takes
effects on stress resilience and the body’s regulatory system.”
time to rewire old patterns
of emotional response. You Coherent Breathing = 3-5 breaths per minute. Remember our potential 10x improvement in
need to put aside the endless heart-rate variability by simply slowing down our breathing? Relax. Breathe. Deeply. Slowly.
distractions and tasks of Resistance Breathing = like a little weight training for the alveolis.
your busy life so that you
Breath Moving = a little qigong action we didn’t get to where you imagine energy moving in your
can focus attention on what
body.
goes on inside you. ”
Put it all together and you have the Total Breath.
~ Richard P. Brown & Patricia L.
Gerbarg We’ve barely scratched the surface of the various breathing techniques and research studies
demonstrating the efficacy of breathing on our stress levels. If you’re looking to learn more, get
the book and/or visit their site at www.breath-body-mind.com.

For now, how about a minute of Coherent Breathing?

It’s as simple as 5 nice, deep, relaxing breaths!

Brian Johnson,
Chief Philosopher

If you liked this Note, About the Author of “The Healing Power of the Breath”
you’ll probably like… RICHARD P. BROWN & PATRICIA L. GERBARG

The Oxygen Advantage

Dr. Richard P. Brown is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at
Breathe Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons where he obtained
Unbeatable Mind his medical degree 1977. He completed Psychiatry Residency and a fellowship
in Psychobiology and Psychopharmacology at New York Hospital, Cornell
Anxiety Free
University Medical College. Connect: breath-body-mind.com.
Mindsight
Patricia L. Gerbarg, MD, is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at New York
The Art of Mental Training
Medical College and maintains a private practice, and facilitates research on
Creativity on Demand mind-body treatments for anxiety, PTSD, and stress-related medical conditions.
She has lectured on integrative treatments in psychiatry at the American
Psychiatric Association, and other professional conferences.

About the Author of This Note

BRIAN JOHNSON

Brian Johnson loves helping people optimize their lives as he studies, embodies
and teaches the fundamentals of optimal living—integrating ancient wisdom
+ modern science + common sense + virtue + mastery + fun. Learn more and
optimize your life at optimize.me.

6 PhilosophersNotes | The Healing Power of the Breath