Weekly Way of Breath | 006 | Oct. 28, 2022

Something I watched: Normally I start with a quote, however I feel like mixing it up and coming back to a quote later. I am a huge fan of Rick Rubin. Like a massive fan! I used to be a record producer and I always looked up to Rick, and it was actually through Rick that I would explore meditation more intently. I knew he was friends with Laird Hamilton and I remember asking Laird and Gabby about Rick when I was with them a couple of weeks ago. The word they both used to describe him, Pure. What a way to be described! To the point of this, I was listening to the Joe Rogan Experience and Rick was the guest in a 3 hour podcast. It was about so many things, and there was a clip in there about changing his diet and getting in shape and it's all because of Laird Hamilton and using the sauna and ice baths. I know he doesn't touch on it, but I know that breathing is a huge piece of it. That being said the power of tools like sauna and ice baths are both fantastic tools for recovery. I also like to use them as a proving ground to test out my resilience. I always find that I am able to do so many things that normally would seem hard, after spending 20-30 minutes in either the hot or the cold. The serotonin boost is incredible too.

Joe Rogan Experience & Rick Rubin

Something I read: I finished reading a book this week called: The Mission, The Men, and Me by Pete Blaber. What I found most fascinating about this book is how he describes how the team he is in command of functions while in stressful situations. The hard conversations that have to be had in order to lead effectively. This was recommended by a new friend of mine, Dom. He shared that in order to be a great leader, you must be willing to sit back and follow. That other voices need to be the focal point sometimes too. In order to be a high performer and one that routinely finds a way to reach their highest potential, one must constantly take time to level up, consistency and discipline. I pull a lot of my teachings from military special operations, and while I did not serve, I know many who did. I had one of my brothers ask me why I have a fascination with them, and my answer is because I admire people who are elite. Most of them are the strongest mentally, physically, and emotionally. To be able to stay calm in the situations that they often find themselves in. It's not for everyone, but I enjoy learning from them.

A quote to ponder: So every morning during my morning routine I put on a motivational video while I'm having my cold shower waking up, and the video is of Kobe Bryant. I will add the video if you'd like to check it out too. while I listen to that one daily, I clicked on another from Marcus Luttrell, a former US Navy SEAL and the author of Lone Survivor. He had a quote in his video that went "Bonds are forged through adversity". While he was talking about a Seal Team, I took it from the perspective that our bonds to ourselves, our goals, and our work are forged through adversity. That iron sharpens iron. The adversity that we all face individually is what makes us stronger. Some people might view that as a very intense or hard opinion, I think differently. By standing in the fires of adversity I am able to grow stronger, while becoming a softer, kinder, soul. 

Kobe Bryant - THE MINDSET OF A WINNER

A breathing protocol: Sticking with the unintentional military theme to this blog post, the protocol I recommend testing out was designed by the US special operations community, its called Combat 3-1-6-0, to either up-regulate to give a boost of focus and concentration during intense long days, or to down-regulate the nervous system and get into a parasympathetic state during times of intense stress. How can a breath be used both ways you ask? By breathing cadence, and breathing intensity. It can also be done by the method in which you are breathing. If you are trying to up-regulate your body and mind, you might be using inhales and exhales through the mouth, while maintaining proper breathing mechanics the use of breathing through the mouth is usually saved for exhausting a build up of CO2. When your body is in a state of stress there is a natural tendency to produce and carry more CO2 in the tissues, this usually leads to super-ventilation and a triggering of the sympathetic response. The fight or flight reflex. Alternatively if you're trying to down-regulate your nervous system after a very stressful situation or environment, breathing in and out through the nose will promote the relaxation of your respiratory system. 

The protocol is as follows:

• Inhale for 3 seconds
• Hold for 1 second
• Exhale for 6 seconds
• Repeat as long as you need to achieve desired results

The whole breathing cycle is 10 seconds, try to spend a few minutes breathing nose/nose, nose/mouth, and mouth/mouth. Work up to not counting the breathing cadence, and just go by feel, then periodically check in to make sure you're on time.

Future focus: What's to come for the Group Performance Breathing sessions, a few things. Firstly, our continued focus on Hypoxia Training (Altitude Training) learning how to comfortably handle lower oxygen saturation. This will be ending next Friday, November 4th, 2022.

Our focus after that is: Cognitive focus, and utilizing Combat 3-1-6-0 more effectively, so this breathing protocol will allow for some solid practice.

I am planning on starting an evening group Performance Breathing session to help you down-regulate and unwind from your day. Tentative time is 6:00pm Pacific time/ 7:00pm Mountain/ 9:00pm Eastern time. There will be a focus on unwinding from your work day, and preparing you for sleep. It will be available on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If anyone is interested in joining please reach out to me, and I will send over the details!

Have a lovely weekend, and I'll see y'all next week!

Shea