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According to this study, breathwork with cyclic sighing significantly improves mood and anxiety more than meditation.

I know what you’ll ask because that’s the first question I asked.

Cyclic sighing goes like this:

1. Inhale slowly through your nose until your lungs are expanded, then inhale again to fill your lungs maximally. It’s normal for the second inhale to be shorter than the first.
2. Slowly and fully exhale all your breath through your mouth or nose (I’ve been using my nose).
3. Repeat for 5 minutes. Or build up to it.

I’ve been playing with cyclic sighing for the past week and noticed it keeps me more present than focused meditation. Although I’ve been meditating for years, I wouldn’t call myself skilled at it, and my mind tends to go to all kinds of places. Whereas the specific breathing style in cyclic sighing forces me to pay attention.

Worth noting: this was not a registered clinical study but a pre-study done remotely during covid.

Also, it would be interesting to see the difference in results between a group of people with years of meditation practice and another group doing cyclic sighing. I imagine folks super skilled in meditation practice see better results in reducing anxiety and improving mood than novice practitioners.

But I could be wrong. Try it yourself and see what sticks.

-J

Here’s a glimpse of an interaction I had with a client the other day. Discussing self-sabotage and identity and how they might mingle in a way that gets her away from her goals.

Maybe you notice some similarities in yourself?

For context, she’s had a few weeks where she’s missed most of her workouts. Something that’s completely normal in this whole health and fitness thing.

This is all shared with permission.

As a side note, I would actually consider her athletic. Just based on her outdoor activities, she wants to have more energy and strength for. But what I think is irrelevant here.

I can feel a rant boiling up inside me… But let’s see what else she has to say.

Because of how our society defines “athletic”, she’s always felt like she doesn’t belong in that crowd. Just more evidence showing the mental gap between “fit people” and the rest.

I don’t have all the answers on how to close that gap. But what I do know is that posting shiftless six-pack photos on Instagram isn’t going to fucking do it.

-J

In the tornado of responsibilities, it’s easy to let your needs slip through the cracks. You may think that self-care is a luxury you can’t afford.

Picture your energy as a bowl of tom yam soup.

With every task, role and responsibility, you’re spooning out some of that soup. If you keep on spooning, eventually, you’ll be banging the sides of the bowl and coming up empty.

Self-care is like your friendly Uber Eats delivery driver bringing you a tom yam refill. Whether that’s a few minutes of focused breathing, doing a workout or getting a massage.

And when the warm feelings of guilt arise from putting yourself first?

To give your best to your work, your family, and those who expect you to lead, you need to be at your best. Self-care needs to be a non-negotiable part of your routine.

Nobody will be at their best when faced with an empty bowl, previously known as a full bowl, of tom yam.

The elusive quest for “balance” — that perfect equilibrium between work, family and fitness. You can stop looking for it.

Because balance doesn’t exist. Life is a continuously changing beast, and our focus and priorities shift with it.

There are times when fitness finds its way into your top three priorities. When you feel invincible, barely missing workouts and navigating meal times with the same precision as a toddler strategically placing Legos on your path.

Other times, fitness slips down a few notches on your priority list. Behind a critical business project, kids’ sports or marriage that needs immediate resuscitation.

And you know what? That’s just fine.

Life’s about navigating through the flow, prioritising what’s most important at a given moment, and making peace with having only so many shits to give.

Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, we might as well start embracing life’s chaos.

-J

Your fitness journey is not a battle of wills but an ongoing process of skill acquisition and life management.

It’s about learning the skills to make your health and fitness knowledge work for your body, personality and lifestyle.

As for life management, you’re already a pro at this.

You juggle work and family with the brain dexterity of a Rubik’s cube. The same principles apply to managing your health and fitness.

It’s about finding ways to incorporate healthy habits into your daily routine, about prioritising and managing your time effectively.

That doesn’t mean you can suddenly fit in three 60-minute workouts each week. Instead, you do your best with the resources you’ve got.

Sheer determination will help, but it’s not enough to reclaim and sustain your energy and strength.

-J

Every day is an adventure of juggling your business, household chores and kids’ school stuff. The hurdles may seem endless at times.

And that’s only touching on two roles you have.

There’s also the carousel that comes with being a partner and a friend and a few other roles that I shall not name because we’re both starting to feel overwhelmed by this long, exhausting sentence.

Know this: your struggles are valid.

Whether it’s the guilt of missing your kid’s cricket game, skipping a client lunch meeting or just being too damn tired for candlelit sexy time, your feelings and experiences are real.

Never let anyone dismiss your struggles or make you feel that what you’re dealing with is insignificant.

Acknowledging these struggles is a step towards finding solutions, creating balance, and practising self-care.

-J

Your eating habits have been all over the place for years. It’s likely that your hunger cues aren’t in tune.

You haven’t done a strength workout since Obama ruled The White House. Your body and mind don’t know what it means to stop the training set a few repetitions short of failure.

You sleep like a dolphin. One eye open and half the brain alert. And mostly in water. You’re probably not hungry because you’re exhausted, not because you’re not hungry. This is super common in the morning.

You feel as calm and stress-free as a ballistic nuclear missile. See above. You might also feel like you need to train hard for stress release. When often, you could benefit from a more chilled approach.

You’ve just enjoyed a lot of weed. Because, well, you know.

So, how do you reset these signals to trust what your body is telling you?

How I wish this would be more exciting. Here goes:

Get your sleep in order. Aim for that 7-8 hours everyone goes on about. Yawn.

Find ways to manage, reduce and deal with your stress.

Prioritise breakfast, lunch and dinner. Probably by focusing on improving one of them first and then going from there.

Maybe even track calories for a week or two to make sure you’re eating enough. I know, right? Who am I?

As for training and finding your limits, practice, practice, practice. And although I am very much against training to failure, it might also be helpful to do so occasionally so you know your limits.

-J

Having abs is about as good a measure of your health as a vegemite toast is of your intelligence.

But it doesn’t stop us from parading abs as the epitome of health and fitness.

Sure, abs are muscles, and working on them is part of a well-rounded fitness regimen. But having a visible six-pack doesn’t correlate with one’s fitness level.

And it definitely doesn’t correlate with health. I used to have a six-pack in my 20s, and it was the unhealthiest I’ve ever been, even if I did look fit.

Having abs simply means you have a body fat percentage low enough to make them visible. And most of the time, it’s tied to the genetic lottery.

Fixating on abs could be driving you towards unhealthy practices. Over-exercising, restrictive diets, unnecessary stress — just to get a hint of those coveted abs lines.

What gets lost in this absolution is the fact that health and fitness are so much more than our ability to resemble a fucking Marvel character.

True fitness is about strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, and mental wellbeing.

And what’s the secret ingredient to all of these?

Consistent, varied, and enjoyable physical activity. Let’s redefine fitness as something holistic*, something that enhances your life rather than dominates it.

-J

*I loathe the term “holistic”. It sounds like I want to move to a farm and start a cult. Which I do not. Any suggestions to replace it? Hit me up.

There are many ways to reclaim your energy and strength. None of these is a requirement for being successful:

• Exercising everyday
• Doing workouts that leave you feeling like you’re about to cough up a kidney
• Rigid workout length (some of my clients do 45 minutes, some do 20 minutes, and I do 5 minutes)
• Owning a bunch of different equipment (a couple of kettlebells with get you far)
• Keeping detailed notes about each workout. Do this instead
• Completely cutting out wine and ice cream
• Eating vegetables with each meal
• Always being in bed by 11pm
• Never skipping breakfast
• …list anything and everything some guru says you should do

The best way for you is the one that fits your personality and is doable with the time, energy and resources you have. 

Not the one that’s supposed to be the most “optimal”.

-J

The wellness industry is constantly telling you that you’re not enough.

Because it gets you to buy. And whoever said you’re not enough has the exact thing you need to finally feel enough.

A complicated, challenging and expertly marketed solution to get you where you want to be.

It is a never-ending cycle. It doesn’t stop when you reach your goals.

The only way out of this cycle is to acknowledge that you’re already enough.

-J