Optimizing the Most Precious Gift We Have

My 2022 resolution revolves around something you already do approximately 17,280 to 23,040 times per day, usually unaware that you're doing it.

And no, I'm not talking about doomscrolling on Twitter or watching Tik Tok videos until your eyeballs dry up.

What I'm changing in my 2022 lifestyle already exists in yours. Plus, it's free (important for today's changing economy). And, if you can believe it, its importance precedes eating, exercising, or even sleeping - but it can either positively or negatively influence all three of those things.

Do you want to know my resolution?

This 2022, I am committing to breathing in an optimal pattern.

It's a breath I stumbled upon several years ago while in the throes of that year's resolution: a daily yoga challenge. It was clear that this particular way of breathing held immense power as it felt like no other breath practice I'd tried before.

What was it about this new breath, something the teacher simply called "resonance breathing," that left me feeling so amazing? So balanced, so... rested.

Enter: The Breath Book

Flash forward to December 30th, 2021. I'm at my local library and zeroed in on a specific book. It shouldn't be hard to find, with its neon yellow cover and title, clear as the sun in the sky on a bluebird day: Breath, The New Science of a Lost Art.

I find it among the stacks and bring it up to check out. The library worker helping me delicately turns it over in her hands like it's a rare jewel recently excavated from the Earth.

"It's always smart to start off a new year with a good book," she says. I misinterpret this to mean she's read the book before and understands the immense wisdom that lay within the two brightly colored spines.

Eager to get a prelude to what I already know is going to rock my world, I reply, "Oh, have you read this before? I've heard it's great."

She again handles the book with great care, a foreshadow that perhaps neither of us quite understand. She opens it slightly, skims a few words on the jacket cover, but never answers yes or no.

I secretly note that this librarian must have a thing for mystery.

"It sounds interesting," I say to break the awkward silence that's sprung up between us. Making it, unfortunately, more strange, I mumble my last words, "It is pretty important to breathe," before sprinting for the exit.

Back at home, I crack open the book. It takes me on a wild ride through the lungs and out again. I'll spare you the details since this is not a book review, but suffice to say that the Breath book inspired my 2022 resolution to breathe better.

The most unexpected part of the book is the description of the same resonance breath I stumbled upon years ago in my 21-day yoga challenge. Only here its proclaimed as the most optimal breath. Can you even imagine? An optimal breath pattern? And I experienced its benefits years ago without even knowing the science behind it!

That got me thinking; if there is an optimal breath pattern for life as a human, why am I not doing it more? First of all, it's free! It doesn't require me to get a gym membership, stand on a scale (thank goodness!), or even leave the house. It is a resolution that is literally available to me at any moment in my waking life.

What am I waiting for?

Enter: The Breathing App

Two years ago, when I first experienced the profundity of the resonance breath, I downloaded a very simple - and, again, free - app appropriately named The Breathing App. This app has several inhale to exhale options, but the reason I got it was to practice the 6 counts inhale/6 counts exhale (known on the app as 6:6). That's the sweet spot for me. It's also close to the 5.5 seconds inhale/5.5 seconds exhale recommended as the true optimal breath by the breath book.

I've been using this app intermittently over the past 2 years. It's been a go-to resource to calm my ever-increasing nerves, and it's never failed me yet! I turn to it when my heart is racing and my thoughts swirling. It only takes about five minutes of breathing with this app before I feel like a new person.

My experience with resonance breathing up to this point has been confined to managing myself when I'm already in the throes of anxiety: before a job interview; before a presentation or an important phone call; or while freaking out about the bazillion things there are to freak out about in modern life.

Now I'm starting to realize this app doesn't have to sit on the sidelines and wait for me to practically have an anxiety attack. It deserves more of my time and energy. So I'm taking it along with me in my 2022 resolution.

(Note: This isn't the only app that can help you attain your optimal breath. But it is the one I use. Others include Resony, Paced Breathing, and Cardiac coherence. Look around and find one that works the best for you!)

Why a Resolution to Breathe?

My resolution is simple; to consciously breathe in this resonance way, using my app, at least once per day for the entire year. Hopefully, it will turn into a lifelong habit.

The benefits of resonance breathing are vast and extend to many aspects of life. Below you can find the exact language about why this type of breathing is so impactful, taken directly from the Breathing App's webpage:

How is it possible for one breathing technique to do so much? The answer lies within our nervous system. By breathing at resonance, we enter into an even balance between the two branches of our autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic (which moves us towards activity) and the parasympathetic, which moves us towards rest.

The sympathetic branch is our accelerator and speeds us up. The parasympathetic is our braking system, which slows us down. We alternate between these two every second of the day, with each breath we take.

However, in our fast-paced, information-heavy world, we often lean towards acceleration. Spending just a few minutes consciously breathing sends signals of balance to our brain, telling us that we are ok, and brings us out from the part of our brain that makes us feel overwhelmed, into a state of calm. With resonant breathing, you learn how to apply your brake at will, rather than being sidelined by anxiety, distractedness, or excess stress.

The Most Precious Gift We Have

I hope that 2022 will see all of us attending to and caring for the most precious gift we have: the beauty of our breath. I hope it has many of us downloading our breathing app of choice and making it first and foremost on our home screens. And, more importantly, the first choice in our lives.

So move over Tik Tok and Twitter! It's time to start our days on the right foot. May your 2022 look a little more like this:

The Breathing App.

Tik Tok... Twitter.

The Breathing App.

Repeat.