Today, I want to address a topic that may sound esoteric at first glance: breathing techniques. I invite you to keep reading, as I will demonstrate how millennia-old wisdom on breathing has been transformed into scientific insights; and how the application of breathing techniques can positively impact health and performance.
Private Top-10 All-Time Favorites Book List
The inspiration to write about this topic came from a good acquaintance who is highly read and an ambitious athlete. Last Christmas, I gave him and many other friends the book "Breath" by James Nestor. (After I had read it myself and tried out the techniques). Here is my acquaintance's feedback: "I have a top-10 list of books that have changed my life. This book has replaced an absolute classic on my list!"
What's so exciting about the topic of breathing?
Science author James Nestor explains in "Breath" how we humans have unlearned proper breathing—a vital but often medically neglected physical automatism—over the millennia of our existence, with many negative consequences for our mental and physical health. He also explains—confirmed by many scientific studies and a medically supervised self-experiment—how relearning various breathing techniques are healing and health-promoting: for our cardiovascular system, the metabolism, ENT to name just a few areas). Also fascinating is the realization that ancient cultures knew and practiced what science has long overlooked.
Business Connection 1: Health as a Success Factor
It is astonishing that the demonstrably health-promoting effect of proper breathing techniques receives so little attention in our performance-driven society. Aren't we all dependent on our health (which we often undervalue) to be productive and thus successful? Shouldn't we as leaders, project managers, and family people care about our own health and that of employees, family members, and friends? Sharing knowledge about breathing techniques could be a very simple but highly effective measure.
Business Connection 2: Breathing for Better Decisions
In addition to physical health, breathing techniques also have lasting effects on mental health. Navy Seals and firefighters, for example, learn the "Boxed Breathing" technique (see below) to keep a cool head in stressful situations and reduce the overall perception of stress. This is important to make the best decisions in delicate situations with high opportunity costs and risk.
How often do we make decisions under stress in everyday work? How many decisions must we make without sufficient information, but with certain risks for the "recipients" of the decision? If we consider decision-making as a creative activity that has conscious and unconscious effects on employees, the environment, and society (see Newsletter #2), then we should not make decisions in a stressed state. Here too, breathing techniques help: 5 minutes of Boxed Breathing can reduce heart rate, calm the mind, and ultimately provide a fresher perspective on the options available. If one were to calculate the costs and effects of poor decisions, 5 minutes of valuable time would be a reasonable investment to come to a better decision. My recommendation: just try it out and observe the effects!