Nick HutchisonFounder and CEO, BookThinkers

How can we start to cultivate presence? With Martin O’Toole!

17 Mar 2023 · 1 min

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1:01

In this segment, Martin O’Toole explains that the simplest and most effective way to begin cultivating presence is through conscious breathing. He emphasizes that breathwork is a foundational element of mindfulness that is often overlooked, noting that even seasoned yogis and masters across cultures practice a specific type of breathwork. O’Toole references a foreword by Lee Holden, who documented superhuman practitioners worldwide, highlighting that these individuals share a common breath practice. He points out the common ignorance about the difference between belly (diaphragmatic) and chest breathing, urging listeners to tune into their breath moment‑by‑moment, especially when anxiety spikes, as breath becomes a tool to anchor attention and reduce stress.

Chapters

How do we cultivate, or how can we start to cultivate presence? The first place and the simplest place to start is with breath. So I talk about breath and meditation all the time in this book. So I'm aware that I might be banging the same old drum, but trust me, breath is a game changer. And I had a foreword for the book, was written by the wonderful Lee Holden, who is a bit of a legend. And Lee did a documentary series where they traveled all around the world meeting what they call superhumans. And what they discovered was that all of these yogis and masters from all walks of life, from all corners of the earth and different eras, they all had one thing in practice. It was a type of breathwork. That breathwork is one of the seeds of our mindfulness practice, yet nobody tells us about it. I don't know about you, but nobody told me that I wasn't consciously breathing. Nobody told me about belly breathing versus chest breathing. So I would say breath, really, really just tune into your breath. So, and you've gotta start with, with each moment. So the more anxious you are, the only thing you