Brienne writes

It's easier to continue the chain than to start over. Like the Homework for Life project that I started in January. I managed to do it for the whole month of June minus the first of June.  For the To-Don't list , so far, for the last week, I often ticked the only two items off my list. I found it was easy to stick to not doing two items everyday. I believe I would not have been able to do it if not for a monthly goal tracker I have in my planner. Seeing the ticks everyday (I know most people use crosses) motivates me to not break the chain.  How about blogging? Most days, I do want to write something. Often, I find I have nothing worthy of sharing with the world.  Perhaps I should at least make it a weekly activity. If not everyday, at least once a week. This week, I'll try something different. I'll choose one lesson I learnt this week.  This is what I wrote in my reflection: "Sometimes, things take years, months to connect the dots. Give it time. The Universe has...

From James Nestor's Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art , “Finding the best heart rate for exercise is easy: subtract your age from 180. The result is the maximum your body can withstand to stay in the aerobic state. Long bouts of training and exercise can happen below this rate but never above it, otherwise the body will risk going too deep into the anaerobic zone for too long. Instead of feeling invigorated and strong after a workout, you’d feel tired, shaky, and nauseated.” I have been working out and never knew if I've hit my best heart rate. Would be interesting to know what is the maximum heart rate I hit every work out.  --- Do you know your maximum heart rate? Do you think the formula for the best heart rate is a good gauge?  Let me know! Take care, be well, see you tomorrow!

Listening to Sadghuru on The School of Greatness, Sadhguru: The Truth about Karma, Identity & Purpose, Episode 1117 and I like this phrase he mentioned. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam . It means, the world is our family.  "From young, the children in India are taught that your identity is not about people who gave birth to you or the people around you but it's about the air you breathe, your environment, your surroundings, everything. And if we identity with the air that we breathe, everything is you." "If everything is you, your intelligence, your competence, your capabilities, your everything is a gift to the world. But if your identity is small, all the wonderful things that a human being has becomes a curse." --- Do you identify with what he said?  Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam , I wish you well. See you tomorrow!

Anaerobic respiration versus aerobic respiration. From James Nestor's Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art . Anaerobic energy is generated only with glucose (a simple sugar), and it's quicker and easier for our bodies to access. It's a kind of backup system and turbo boost when the body doesn't have enough oxygen.  But it is inefficient and can be toxic, creating an excess of lactic acid. The nausea, muscle weakness, and sweating you experience after you've pushed it too hard at the gym is the feeling of anaerobic overload. This process explains why the first few minutes of an intense workout are often so miserable. Our lungs and respiratory system haven't caught up to supply the oxygen our bodies need, and so the body has to use anaerobic respiration. This also explains why, after we've warmed up, exercise feels easier. The body has switched from anaerobic to aerobic respiration. These two energies are made in different muscle...

I have been breathing through my nose the entire day. It takes conscious effort but I am determined to reap its benefits.  In James Nestor's Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art , Dr John Douillard shared an experiment he conducted. Dr Douillard was a trainer to elite athletes. He gathered a group of professional cyclists, rigged them up with sensors to record their heart rate and breathing rate, and put them on stationary bicycles. Over several minutes, he increased the resistance on the pedals, requiring the athletes to exert progressively more energy as the experiment went on.  In the first trial, the athletes were told to breath through their mouths. As the intensity increased, so did the rate of breathing. By the time athletes reached the hardest stage of the test, peddling out 200 watts of power, they were panting and struggling to catch a breath.  In the second trail, the athletes were told to breath through their noses. As the intensity ...

A while ago, I listened to a sharing where  Klavs Jørn Christensen and Martina Lindsay Veloso were invited to discuss performance psychology.  Klavs was asked for one advice he would give to everyone listening and he mentioned that all of us should learn how to breathe. He said it was something that could immensely improve one's daily life. I got curious.  I asked a friend whom I recognise was into holistic well-being and she recommended a book.  Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor I am currently reading this book and curious about what it can teach me.  Have you read the book? Let me know what you think! --- Stay safe, be well, see you tomorrow! 

Today I took some photographs of some lovely flowers at a conservatory.  Other than writing, I love taking photographs and editing them as well. Shall upload them here (after I am done editing them) for your viewing pleasure. --- Sending love~ Take care, stay safe, be well!