Key Point: I’m using this very cool brainwave headband/application brain technology (I ran into at Singularity University,) called Muse! Why? Keep reading.
We are progressing way beyond the idea that meditation is new age hocus pocus. I don’t know one serious leader who isn’t at least thinking about mindfulness/meditation/breathing, and most likely at the very minimum, experimenting. As I’ve written before, this must be humorously entertaining to those of traditional cultures who have been practicing meditation for eons. Now, new research regarding the benefits of breathing/meditation is plentiful. And a recent article by Moran Cerf reports that breathing actuality changes the brain:
“Breathing is traditionally thought of as an automatic process driven by the brainstem—the part of the brain controlling such life-sustaining functions as heartbeat and sleeping patterns. But new and unique research, involving recordings made directly from within the brains of humans undergoing neurosurgery, shows that breathing can also change your brain. Simply put, changes in breathing—for example, breathing at different paces or paying careful attention to the breaths—were shown to engage different parts of the brain…
The research findings show that the advice to ‘take a deep breath’ may not just be a cliché. Exercises involving volitional breathing appear to alter the connectivity between parts of the brain.”
Holotropic Breathwork is also gaining traction. It is an approach to self-exploration and healing that integrates insights from modern consciousness research, anthropology, various depth psychologies, and transpersonal psychology. It’s a combination of meditation and breathing techniques and something interesting is emerging in this category.
Of course, some fitness gurus also rely on breathing techniques to contribute to their fitness strategy and overall promotion of well being. Wim Hof is one guy getting a lot of attention in this area, and getting amazing results with people by applying a very unique breathing/meditation practice integral to his fitness framework. Learn more about the “Iceman” from a previous blog I wrote.
Back to the Muse. I have tried to do meditation on my own, and discovered that I could benefit from a personal meditation assistant to keep me motivated and disciplined. I found that assistant in this brain technology. It guides one to a calm mind. My readers know that I am not in the business of promoting any product, and I have no commercial arrangements with any. However, the Muse is so helpful because it uses brain sensing technology to measure whether your mind is calm or active and translates those signals into guiding sounds. I will keep you posted on the personal results I’m getting. I’m also looking into applying Wim Hof’s breathing/cold/fitness program.
Personal Leadership Moves:
- Everyone of us (scientifically proven), can benefit from calming the mind through meditation/breathing techniques. Start your meditation/breathing practice ASAP. If you need a little help, try an app like Headspace, or perhaps if you need a little more assistance, try Muse.
- Explore the benefit of various breathing techniques as they relate to fitness including the Wim Hof method. It’s more than a bunch of bologna.
- Also explore the use of “cold” therapy, highly touted by smart and impactful people like Tony Robbins and Tim Ferriss, who plunge into very cold pools with regularity. So do world class athletes. (Geez, for those of us that are Canadians this seems like psychological terrorism, haha).
Just breathe (perhaps in the cold) in personal leadership,
Lorne
One Millennial View: Yeah, “brain stacks” are certainly hot (and cold) right now. I’ve heard all about Bulletproof coffee, MCT oil, Alphabrain, probiotics, cryotherapy, Wim Hof’s cold breathing methods and some of these other methods that might have some real merit… Some others (like micro-dosing), could be problematic. One thing’s for sure, meditation is by far the most cost friendly.
– Garrett
Edited and published by Garrett Rubis