Can You Do the 30 Breath Challenge?
Why is something as simple as breathing so hard?
So you are a professional breather. No, really. Every day, you breathe. You’re good at it too. Since your first seconds, maybe your first minute or two if you were stubborn, you know how to use oxygen like an expert. No one had to teach you. It is one of your most valuable features.
As a species, we’ve always been pretty good at breathing. For the majority of human history, we used to enjoy it more too. We breathed around the fire at night. We breathed, taking in sunsets the same way we watch YouTube videos of cats today. We breathed, surrounded by natural beauty that simply can’t be simulated.
Breathing, relaxed, with nothing else to worry about in that moment, we experienced the best moments of human life. Those moments didn’t prove how good we are. They did not earn us more status or money. You will never win an award for just breathing. Just breathing, however, used to be a test everyone could pass quite easily.
Normal respiratory rate is 12 to 20 breaths per minute. That’s one every 5 seconds on the slow end and 3 on the fast. You measure respiratory rate when you are resting. Mine was 6 breaths. Why? I am a tall guy with big lungs. Yours may be less than 12 per minute too for different physiological reasons. More than 25, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is a sign of a problem. Unfortunately, too many of us definitely have an all together different modern problem with breathing.
After you take your respiratory rate, see how few breaths you can take in a minute. This will be lower than your normal breathing cycle. Mine is 2. As I do this exercise with groups, factors like age, anxiety level, and physical stamina can impact the number. What was yours? 3? 6? 10?
Okay, so here is the assessment. Take 30 deep breaths. Slowly.
If you breath deeply at a rate of 3 breaths for minute, that means the 30 breath assessment will take 10 minutes. Which, incidentally, is the amount of mindful time your brain needs to improve attention and regulate your emotions more easily. Most people will need less than ten minutes for the assessment.
Give it a try. See what happens.
Could you do it?
If you’re like too many people today, this was tough. At around 3 or 4 breaths, you wanted to stop. You felt agitated. You felt impatient. Your brain reminded you of the things you could or should be doing rather than a silly breath assessment. Around 10, maybe 15 breaths, you gave up. 30 breaths, you thought, is too many. It’s too long to just sit around, you know, doing nothing.
The assessment offers insight into how free your mind is. If you were dizzy at first, but easily finished the 30, you learned that you have a lot going on and are still well. If you had an easy time, it means you are really well. It means you either are naturally able to step back from the chaos of modern life or you practice. When it comes to breathing, practice makes all the difference.
I gave the exercise to my professional athletes and almost all of them had an easy time. I gave the exercise to my executives, and those who had a previous practice found it easy. Those for whom any kind of mindfulness or meditation was novel, however, most struggled. Some simply found the exercise intolerable.
Plain and simple, if you couldn’t do it, you just found your daily practice for the new year. Every day, make time for 30 breaths. That’s it. That’s all you need to be healthier.
So what’s so hard about just breathing?
We are so stimulated today that we run around reactive. Our brain is looking for trouble, rather than savoring where we are or focusing our attention on what needs us now. Breathing is so difficult because it doesn’t require anything of us. It doesn’t excite us. It can’t get you high. Oh, well, until it does.
The reason our ancestors used to sit around the campfire and look at the stars? You get the best low-grade, chill buzz ever. When you can think about nothing — free of past rumination or future worry — you become part of everything. This is not new-age, mystical voodoo. This is not an attempt to sell you a product. This is a fact of modern life. In the pursuit of distraction, excitement, and consumption, we have lost the pleasure of simply being human.
If the exercise was easy for you, and full disclosure, it is never easy for me at first, time to either do it more regularly or find a different form to expand your inner life. Sit longer to widen your attention span and your happiness. Or, add visualization, loving-kindness meditation, yoga, or mantra-based practice to your new year if you want to uncover new aspects of who you can be without external activity or incentives.
Perhaps the best thing every human being can do for ourselves in this new year is build a deeper inner life. This first assessment reveals an initial direction that might support your learning. Already a comfy breather? Explore the next practice that will remind you how good you already are.
Is breathing your first commitment of the new year? If so, take your time. If 30 is too many, start with 10. Be easy on yourself. Remembering how calm you can feel can’t be rushed.