James Nestor, Breath : the new science of a lost art, [2020]
p.204
Modern medicine, they said, was amazingly efficient at cutting out and stitching up parts of the body in emergencies, but sadly deficient at treating milder, chronic systemic maladies -- the asthma, headaches, stress, and autoimmune issues that most of the modern population contends with.
p.205
These doctors explained, in so many words and in so many ways, that a middle-aged man complaining of work stress, irritable bowels, depression, and an occasional tingling in his fingers wasn't going to get the same attention as a patient with kidney failure. He'd be prescribed a blood pressure medication and an anti depressant and sent on his way. The role of the modern doctor was to put out fires, not blow away smoke.
Nobody was happy with this arrangement: doctors were frustrated that they had neither the time nor the support to prevent and treat milder chronic problems, while patients were learning that their cases weren't dire enough for the attention they sought.
this is one of the reasons I believe so many people, and so many medical researchers, have come to breathing.
Like all Eastern medicines, breathing techniques are best suited to serve as preventative maintenance, a way to retain balance in the body so that milder problems don't blossom into more serious health issues. Should we lose that balance from time to time, breathing can often bring it back.
“More than sixty years of research on living systems has convinced me that our body is much more nearly perfect than the endless list of ailments suggests,” wrote Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi. “Its short coming are due less to its in born imperfections than to our abusing it.”
Szent-Gyorgyi was talking about sicknesses of our own making, or, as anthropologist Robert Corruccini has called them, “diseases of civilization.” Nine out of ten of the top killers, such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke are caused by the food we eat, water we drink, houses we live in, and offices we work in. They are disease humanity created.
While some of us may be genetically predisposed toward one disease or another, that doesn't mean we're predestined to get these conditions. Genes can be turned off just as they can be turned on. What switches them are inputs in the environment. Improving diet and exercise and removing toxins and stressors from the home and workplace have a profound and lasting effect on the prevention and treatment of the majority of modern, chronic diseases.
p.206
Breathing is a missing pillar of health.
“If I had to limit my advice to healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe better,” wrote Andrew Weil, the famed doctor.
James Nestor, Breath : the new science of a lost art, [2020]
____________________________________
Thich Nhat Hanh, The miracle of mindfulness : an introduction to the practice of meditation., translated by Mobi Ho, [1975, 1976]
p.16
In a buddhist monastery, everyone learns to use breath as a tool to stop mental dispersion and to build up concentration power. Concentration power is the strength which comes from practicing mindfulness. It is the concentration which can help one obtain the Great awakening. When a worker takes hold of his own breath, he has already become awakened. In order to maintain mindfulness throughout a long period, we must continue to watch our breath.
‘’•─“”
pp.22─23
Suppose there is a towering wall from the top of which one can see vast distances ── but there is no apparent means to climb it, only a thin piece of thread hanging over the top and coming down both sides. A clever person will tie a thicker string onto one end of the thread, walk over to the other side of the wall, then pull on the thread bringing the string to the other side. Then he [or she or it or they] will tie the end of the string to a strong rope and pull the rope over. When the rope has reached the bottom of one side and is secured on the other side, the wall can be easily scaled.
Our breath is such a fragile piece of thread. But once we know how to use it, it can become a wondrous tool to help us surmount situations which would otherwise seem hopeless.
(The miracle of mindfulness./ Thích Nhāt Hanh., translation of Phép la cua su tinh thuc., isbn 978-0-8070-1239-0 (pbk.), 1. meditation (buddhism), 2. buddhist meditations., BQ5618.V5N4813 1987, 294.3'433, 87-42582,
copyright 1975, 1976 by Thích Nhāt Hanh.
preface and English translation copyright 1975, 1976, 1987 by Mobi Ho
afterword copyright 1976 by James Forest
artwork copyright by Vo-Dinh Mai, beacon press, boston, )
____________________________________
p.204
Modern medicine, they said, was amazingly efficient at cutting out and stitching up parts of the body in emergencies, but sadly deficient at treating milder, chronic systemic maladies -- the asthma, headaches, stress, and autoimmune issues that most of the modern population contends with.
p.205
These doctors explained, in so many words and in so many ways, that a middle-aged man complaining of work stress, irritable bowels, depression, and an occasional tingling in his fingers wasn't going to get the same attention as a patient with kidney failure. He'd be prescribed a blood pressure medication and an anti depressant and sent on his way. The role of the modern doctor was to put out fires, not blow away smoke.
Nobody was happy with this arrangement: doctors were frustrated that they had neither the time nor the support to prevent and treat milder chronic problems, while patients were learning that their cases weren't dire enough for the attention they sought.
this is one of the reasons I believe so many people, and so many medical researchers, have come to breathing.
Like all Eastern medicines, breathing techniques are best suited to serve as preventative maintenance, a way to retain balance in the body so that milder problems don't blossom into more serious health issues. Should we lose that balance from time to time, breathing can often bring it back.
“More than sixty years of research on living systems has convinced me that our body is much more nearly perfect than the endless list of ailments suggests,” wrote Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi. “Its short coming are due less to its in born imperfections than to our abusing it.”
Szent-Gyorgyi was talking about sicknesses of our own making, or, as anthropologist Robert Corruccini has called them, “diseases of civilization.” Nine out of ten of the top killers, such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke are caused by the food we eat, water we drink, houses we live in, and offices we work in. They are disease humanity created.
While some of us may be genetically predisposed toward one disease or another, that doesn't mean we're predestined to get these conditions. Genes can be turned off just as they can be turned on. What switches them are inputs in the environment. Improving diet and exercise and removing toxins and stressors from the home and workplace have a profound and lasting effect on the prevention and treatment of the majority of modern, chronic diseases.
p.206
Breathing is a missing pillar of health.
“If I had to limit my advice to healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe better,” wrote Andrew Weil, the famed doctor.
James Nestor, Breath : the new science of a lost art, [2020]
____________________________________
Thich Nhat Hanh, The miracle of mindfulness : an introduction to the practice of meditation., translated by Mobi Ho, [1975, 1976]
p.16
In a buddhist monastery, everyone learns to use breath as a tool to stop mental dispersion and to build up concentration power. Concentration power is the strength which comes from practicing mindfulness. It is the concentration which can help one obtain the Great awakening. When a worker takes hold of his own breath, he has already become awakened. In order to maintain mindfulness throughout a long period, we must continue to watch our breath.
‘’•─“”
pp.22─23
Suppose there is a towering wall from the top of which one can see vast distances ── but there is no apparent means to climb it, only a thin piece of thread hanging over the top and coming down both sides. A clever person will tie a thicker string onto one end of the thread, walk over to the other side of the wall, then pull on the thread bringing the string to the other side. Then he [or she or it or they] will tie the end of the string to a strong rope and pull the rope over. When the rope has reached the bottom of one side and is secured on the other side, the wall can be easily scaled.
Our breath is such a fragile piece of thread. But once we know how to use it, it can become a wondrous tool to help us surmount situations which would otherwise seem hopeless.
(The miracle of mindfulness./ Thích Nhāt Hanh., translation of Phép la cua su tinh thuc., isbn 978-0-8070-1239-0 (pbk.), 1. meditation (buddhism), 2. buddhist meditations., BQ5618.V5N4813 1987, 294.3'433, 87-42582,
copyright 1975, 1976 by Thích Nhāt Hanh.
preface and English translation copyright 1975, 1976, 1987 by Mobi Ho
afterword copyright 1976 by James Forest
artwork copyright by Vo-Dinh Mai, beacon press, boston, )
____________________________________
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