From science to art

Breathwork is a powerful modality for tapping deeply into our innate human potential for adaptation, as explored and proven by some of the most exciting, recent scientific research.  The science behind high performance breathing can play a vital role in enriching the art and expression of this ability to adapt.

That is the central thesis of this blog, which is devoted to looking at the science behind breathwork through the lens of helping people become the most resilient and versatile human beings possible, leveraging breathwork  - respiratory science - to activate natural, though perhaps dormant, adaptive power and activate high performance in their lives.

The format is designed to be as simple, bare-bones, quick and useful as possible.  The purpose is to stimulate creative applications of findings from the top-tier scientific literature, exploring ways to participate in the evolution of the art of breathwork.

Each weekly post will focus on a significant article from the scientific literature, with three sections highlighting:

The Big Deal
Why it Matters
Possible Takeaways

First in the line-up to appear next week: 

Voluntary activation of the sympathetic nervous system and attenuation of the innate immune response in humans
 by Matthijs  Kox, Lucas T. van Eijk, Jelle Zwaag, Joanne van den Wildenberg, Fred C.G.J. Sweep, Johannes G. Van der Hoeven, and Peter Pickkers.  

From vol. 111, no. 20 of PNAS, the article explores the extended implications of the experiments in which XPT Performance Breathing ambassador Wim Hof controlled his immune response with breathing techniques when injected with the pathogenic endotoxin E. coli.

Until then, I wish you good training and remember, as always,
”you only get out of it what you put into it.”

- JD