Anthony de Mello, the Jesuit priest whose book Awareness cracked this open for me, didn’t sell awareness as comfort. He called the unaware life “mechanical,” “programmed,” “not worth living”. It’s a powerful way to describe how many of us are living.

De Mello’s actual claim was harsher than “notice your breath.” He said the self you’re protecting, the job title, the reputation, the identity you’ve spent decades building, is mostly fiction. It’s a costume you are wearing. When you strip it off, he argued, you suffer, but only because you’d mistaken the costume for your skin.

De Mello made a point worth considering: trying to fix the world, or fix other people, before turning that same unflinching attention inward tends to multiply suffering rather than ease it. This lands especially hard for the helpers among us, the team leads, the parents holding a household together, the healthcare workers who’ve built careers on showing up for other people’s pain. The urge to help first and self-examine later feels efficient and noble, but looking inward isn’t a detour from helping others effectively. It’s what makes effective helping possible.

Regret isn’t a knowledge gap. It’s an awareness gap

Regret Is Awareness Arriving Late

I keep hearing the same confessions from people further down the road than me. Not taking care of their health. Chasing money instead of spending time and making memories with family. Avoiding making the one phone call where they said, “I’m sorry”.

What’s important to note here is that none of those people lacked information. They knew their health mattered. They knew their kids noticed when they missed the recital. Regret isn’t a knowledge gap. It’s an awareness gap. They were present in the room and absent from the moment.

The Uncomfortable Practice

So try this, but drop the incense-and-soft-voice version. De Mello’s actual method is closer to surveillance than serenity: identify the negative feeling, recognize it’s coming from inside you and not from the world, refuse to let it define your identity, and remember it will pass whether you manage it or not.

That’s not self-soothing. That’s self-interrogation. It asks you to stop blaming your spouse, your job, your patients, or your inbox for the tightness in your chest and admit the tightness is yours to own.

You can also try a body-and-space exercise. It starts with you paying attention to your body and the space around it at once. Then you pay close attention to feel the line between them dissolve. But don’t mistake the calm that follows for the point. The point is what the calm reveals: how much of your daily suffering you manufacture, and how little of it is actually being done to you.

Here’s a question worth contemplating, perhaps with someone else, in silence, without fixing it for each other: where in your life do you feel the hardest line between “me” and “everything out there”? That line is usually where your ego has built a wall to protect an identity that isn’t even accurate.

De Mello’s provocation was that the wall itself is the problem, not the thing on the other side of it. Most of us spend our lives defending a border that was never real to begin with. When your identification with self is so strong, this border creates self-inflicted suffering.

The Breath as a Weapon, Not a Blanket

If you’re a healthcare professional and you’ve been taught breathwork as a relaxation technique, that’s fine; it works. But don’t let the physiology talk you out of the harder use of the breath: as an interruption to autopilot. Every time you catch yourself reacting instead of noticing, and use the breath to force a half-second of actual awareness, you’re doing something closer to what de Mello meant. You’re refusing the ‘mechanical’ life, and instead claiming the space between stimulus and response as your own.

This is a fight against decades of conditioning that trained you to run on autopilot because autopilot is efficient and awareness is inconvenient.

What This Actually Costs You

Real awareness will cost you something. It’ll cost you the excuse that other people or circumstances are responsible for your suffering. It’ll cost you the identity you built to avoid feeling exposed. It’ll cost you the belief that you have more time than you do.

De Mello bet that this cost is worth it, because the alternative is arriving at the end of your life having never actually been present for it. Not because you were busy. Because you were asleep, and called it living.

The question isn’t whether you have five minutes for a breathing exercise. It’s whether you’re willing to find out how much of your life you’ve been sleepwalking through, and whether you’d rather know that now or regret it.

SIGN UP

There are a few spots still available for our upcoming Somatic Breathwork Journey on Friday, August 21st, at My Vitae. Check out registration details HERE.

We are also in the final stages of planning for our 8th offering of the Rx for Renewal Day Retreat slated for Sunday, October 4th. Details to come, but in the meantime, be sure to save the date to your calendars.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

Your breath moves from inhale to exhale more than twenty thousand times daily, but between each breath lies a natural pause where your body requires nothing from you. This is a split-second when there is nothing, yet everything.

Thoughts in the mind work the same way. They come up and dissolve in your mind constantly, yet between each thought exists a space of pure awareness.

So how do we tap into this awareness?

If you’ve tried to access it, you likely started by trying to exert control over it. After all, this is what society teaches us. Both approaches backfire because they fight your mind’s natural polarity rather than going with the flow.

Why Suppressing Thoughts Doesn’t Work

In my limited experience, I have learned that suppressing thoughts generates more thoughts, while drowning in overthinking creates mental exhaustion that leads to more desperate attempts at control.

This reminds me of a time when I was participating in a group silent meditation. About 8 minutes into the silence, my mind was wandering.

“Now let your mind think whatever it wants” said the facilitator.

Immediately, my mind went silent. No noise, no chatter, just internal silence.

People who want mental quiet often create the most mental noise. Those overwhelmed by racing thoughts torture themselves trying to think their way out of thinking.

Both extremes miss the same crucial element: the ‘natural pause’ between thoughts, where attention should be applied.

Your nervous system knows when you’re fighting it versus cooperating with it. Any forced attempt to control your mind creates resistance because it violates your brain’s natural rhythm of expansion and contraction, activity and rest.

The Collapse Phenomenon

When you notice the pause between thoughts instead of trying to manage the thoughts themselves, something remarkable happens: the unnecessary mental chatter begins dissolving on its own.

This isn’t magic or mystical theory; it’s how attention works. The pause doesn’t require effort, meditation training, or years of practice. It only requires you to notice what was already there. This is the magical muscle of awareness.

Your 30-Second Mental Reset Practice

Start with this simple awareness exercise you can do anywhere:

Don’t try to stop thoughts or change them. Don’t try to have “better” thoughts or reduce their frequency.

Simply notice: Where does one thought end and the next one begin?

In that micro-space between thoughts, there’s nothing you need to do except observe. Practice this attention shift for 30 seconds at a time, multiple times throughout your day.

Most people fail at this because they’re still trying to control the outcome rather than simply watching what naturally occurs.

The Relief You’ve Been Seeking

The pause between opposites, between thoughts, between breaths, between emotional states offers immediate access to the mental quiet you’ve been chasing through effort and struggle.

Stop trying to manage your mind’s polarity and start noticing the space where that polarity naturally resolves itself.

Your next thought is coming whether you want it or not. But in the space before it arrives, you’ll find the peace you’ve been seeking through all your mental effort.

Notice the pause right now.

To practice this process, join the upcoming Somatic Breathwork session on Friday, July 24, at 7:00 pm at My Vitae Wellness Center in Oakville.

Register Here

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

Belgium footballer and world-class player, Jeremy Doku, shared that he would leave the World Cup for the birth of his first child. His wife, Shireen, is due in the second week of July, coinciding with the knockout stage of the biggest sports tournament in the world. To put it in perspective: over 1.5 billion people tuned in to the 2022 World Cup Final, more than ten times the viewership of the 2026 Super Bowl.

The shocking part of the story is the media criticism. France Peirron, a reporter from L’Equipe wrote,” You’re living out a childhood dream, yet you’re going to walk away from it all to attend the birth of your child - a disgusting moment, if you’ll pardon the expression, where the dad is completely useless.”

Read the full BBC article here.

Let that settle for a moment.

Useless. At the birth of his own child.

France Peirron is wrong, and the science proves it.

What Happens in That “Useless” Moment

Here’s what Peirron doesn’t understand: in the delivery room moment, a newborn’s nervous system is scanning for safety signals as it takes its first breath. The infant brain is wired to detect safety in the adults around them. Heart rate variability, facial expressions, vocal tone, and micro-movements of breathing are felt during the first moments of life.

When Jeremy Doku is in that room, his presence becomes his child’s first lesson in what safety feels like. His calm breathing teaches the infant’s nervous system to breathe calmly. His steady heartbeat, felt through skin-to-skin contact, trains his child’s cardiovascular system.

This is called co-regulation, and it’s one of the most powerful forces in human development. The father isn’t just witnessing birth, he’s actively shaping his child’s neurological foundation.

The World Cup Will Happen Again

Jeremy Doku, 22, understands something the reporter missed: there will be other World Cups. There won’t be another moment when his child’s nervous system is forming its first impressions of the world.

The old model would have Doku prioritizing the performance, the career achievement, and the external validation. Show up for the World Cup because that’s what “real men” do. But Doku is choosing to show up for something invisible to cameras and scoreboards, fatherhood.

The deepest gift a father can give isn’t a legacy of achievement. While achievement matters, being the father who, when everything is falling apart, drops his shoulders, takes a slow breath, and says, “I’ve got you. We are safe.”

A child who can count on that will grow and carry that capacity for regulation into every relationship, crisis, and moment of their life. That’s what Jeremy Doku is choosing over a football match.

That is not useless. That’s everything.

The Revolutionary Choice

France Peirron called Doku’s choice “disgusting.” I call it revolutionary and necessary.

For too long, we’ve measured fathers by their achievements outside the home rather than what they anchor inside it. Doku is choosing to be biologically useful rather than socially performative. He understands the most important game he’ll ever play doesn’t have cameras or scoreboards. It’s played in moments like birth, bedtime stories, and the thousand small instances where a child learns safety.

This Father’s Day, let’s move beyond a card or fancy brunch. Ask yourself: What am I teaching my children with my presence before I speak?

Jeremy Doku knows his answer.

Happy Father’s Day. 💙

If this reflection is stirring something in you, know these are learnable skills. I’m learning every day.

I’m happy to support The Institute of Emerging Minds in helping parents. They’re hosting a FREE Parents’ Masterclass on Saturday, June 27th, from 3-5pm.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

Simple. Elegant. And for a lot of people I work with, it is quietly infuriating.

If you’ve started practicing self-reflection in your life, you’ve likely started incorporating some form of ‘the work’. This includes therapy, breathwork, journaling, and even attending retreats. But after these modalities, you still feel the same familiar ache pressing on your chest, you know, “just let it go” sounds like “just be happy.” Beautiful in theory. Harder to practice.

So let’s talk about what’s really going on.

It’s Not the Pain You’re Holding. It’s the Identity.

If you are aware of wounds you have, you may have realized these aren’t just wounds. Over time, these wounds become a story. Slowly, without you noticing, the story becomes you. You cannot separate yourself from the one who has experienced these ‘little’ traumas because your mind is closely associated with your true self.

Take Amanda, a client who came to me after years of therapy. Every time she was presented with an opportunity, be it a promotion, a relationship, a new project at work, she’d say, “I’m not ready yet, I’m still working through my stuff.” The healing had become her permanent address. And that identity offers something powerful in return: protection.

If you’re the one who’s been hurt and still working through things, rejection doesn’t hurt as much. Failure doesn’t sting as much. The victim’s identity is not a weakness; it’s a cell you’ve built with careful walls.

The trouble is, cells have doors. What you don’t realize is you’ve been holding the key the whole time.

The Door You Already Know Is Open

I see this pattern all too often, and I have embodied it myself at times. A client has a breakthrough moment where they are laughing freely, speaking their truth, and feeling genuinely excited about something. For a few minutes, they’re completely present, completely themselves.

Then I’ll say, “See? You were free just then.”

Then something shifts. The walls go back up. They return to the familiar story, back to the cell, door bolted from the inside.

Freedom asks something terrifying of us: to become someone new. The uncomfortable cell is familiar. It’s ours. We know its walls.

Two Truths You Don’t Have to Choose Between

In this conversation, there are two camps, and most people feel pressure to pick one.

Camp One says the story is the problem. The moment you stop identifying with it, you are free. Right now, in this present moment, none of your past actually exists except as a thought you keep choosing to think. Change the thought, change your destiny.

And honestly? That’s true.

Camp Two says not so fast. The human brain doesn’t logic its way out of deep pain. You have to move through it gradually by feeling, naming, and understanding why it lives where it lives before you can transcend it.

And that’s true too.

The mistake is believing you only get to use one.

Where you place your attention is where you place your energy - Joe Dispenza

What I’ve seen, in my own life and in the people I work with, is that real shifts tend to move in two stages.

Stage one is understanding. You learn why you built the walls and why certain rooms feel unsafe. Why do the same patterns keep showing up in different disguises? You’re learning to be with the fearful parts of yourself gently without judgment.

Think of water evaporating. It doesn’t just disappear. It slowly changes from liquid to gas. It becomes lighter and takes up less space. You’re becoming more aware of it and giving it room to breathe, so it stops running the show.

Stage two is becoming. Once you’ve created enough interior space, stop reinforcing the old story. Joe Dispenza says, ‘Where you place your attention is where you place your energy.’ Affirmations don’t cut it here. You start becoming a new version of you through living differently until the new version of you becomes your new default.

What Security Actually Looks Like

Real security doesn’t come from the absence of wounds, but from knowing they don’t define you.

When you recognize you’ve been carrying a backpack of patterns, identities and judgements, you can decide to put them down. This is the moment when the opinions of others lose their grip. Rejection loses its sting, and the pressure of the rat race loses its appeal.

This isn’t because life gets easier, but because you are no longer running from yourself. For the first time, you’re walking toward your true self.

The door to the cell is open. It’s always been open. And there have been times when you have stood in the doorway and even felt the air on the other side. But now you have the conviction to step forward and never look back. That old self got you to the doorway, and like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, to transform is to move forward without looking back.

Register Here

To shift into experiencing this process of letting go and how breathwork can support you, register for the upcoming Rx for Renewal Retreat. The theme is ‘Equilibria’ as we educate ourselves and explore how self-regulation and nervous system balance can help you live a fuller life.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

The image doesn’t convey why the person is meditating. They’re not doing it because life is easy; they’re doing it because the mind is hard. The practice exists because of the chaos, not despite it. The mountaintop isn’t an escape. It’s the training ground.

Habits of High Performers

I am surrounded by high performers. Most track their sleep, watch their diet, and have colour-coded Google calendars filled from 8 am-6 pm. They read the books, hire trainers, and log their workouts. In my experience, most driven professionals invest in every system in their life except the one that runs all the others. Why? Because stopping feels like failing. We have built an identity around output and around doing while tying our self-worth to what that doing gives us. Sitting quietly with no goal, metric, or deliverable genuinely threatens that identity. Sitting still isn’t hard because of your schedule. It’s hard because of your ego.

If your mind generates most of your suffering, ignoring it is likely the worst decision you could ever make. You rely on plumbing infrastructure without maintaining it. You wouldn’t ignore a leaking pipe in your basement. You would never let a critical business system run unchecked for years. Yet, this is exactly what most high-performing professionals do with their minds and wonder if they’re burnt out.

The Sophisticated Art of Avoidance

The Western world has given us ways to bypass the mind entirely. It’s like handing an iPad to a misbehaving child. The kid quiets down. You get a moment of peace. But the child doesn’t learn anything. They don’t learn how to build patience or manage their feelings; they are just temporarily occupied. When the screen goes away, you’re right back where you started, except now it’s worse, because you’ve taught them that discomfort gets rewarded with distraction. This is what we’ve done with the mind.

Most people approach meditation for the wrong reasons. They want calm, better sleep, and less stress. These are reasonable hopes, but when it gets uncomfortable (15 seconds into a sit), they quit and conclude that meditation simply isn’t for them. What they’ve discovered is the entire point of the practice, and they walked away.

The discomfort doesn’t mean it’s not working; it’s the work. The goal was never to empty the mind. That’s the most persistent and damaging myth about this practice. The goal is to notice the noise. To notice the internal judge, the anxiety, and the restless planning without being controlled by it. You’re not trying to silence the unruly child; you’re learning to be present during its tantrum. The key reframe is realizing you’re not failing every time a thought appears. In actuality, you’re succeeding when you notice it.

What If We Just Changed the Word?

Language shapes perception more than we realize. The word meditation carries centuries of cultural baggage. So drop it. Call it mental training. Call it a sitting practice. Call it two minutes of doing nothing on purpose. The name matters far less than the act, and the act is straightforward: you sit with your mind instead of running from it. Let the unruly child throw its tantrum, and don’t reach for the iPad. Over time, the child learns. And so do you.

The Prescription Nobody Wants

For years, my job was to provide medication for patients. Pills for cholesterol and high blood pressure offer external solutions for internal problems. We get prescriptions for everything except the thing we need the most.

No app. No guided voice. No goal. Ten minutes, a chair, and your own company. The reason nobody wants this prescription is the same reason it works — it requires you to face the mind that has been running the show unchecked, likely for decades. That is not comfortable. But comfort was never the point. We chase finish lines that society keeps moving further away. This practice asks something different of you.

It gently reminds you to ‘Find the starting line.’

If you are a healthcare provider looking to find this starting line, check out our 8th offering of Rx for Renewal Retreat on June 11th. The theme is ‘Finding your Equilibrium,’ and we will dive deeper into practices to balance your nervous system.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

The Way IN is Through by Eddy Tony

Reading a book by someone you know personally creates an entirely different experience where the words carry weight beyond their content. Eddy Tony, my breathwork mentor, has distilled years of global teachings into a work that masterfully balances vulnerability with actionable wisdom.

The central message echoes something Eddy taught me directly: while we’re all interconnected through shared human experience, our individual conditioning, genetic predispositions, and unique processing of life’s events create something entirely our own. This isn’t just philosophical theory, but a practical framework for professional and personal development. Our uniqueness deserves appreciation, cultivation, and conscious integration into everything we do.

I first encountered Eddy’s teaching in 2022 during a significant career transition. He is one of those unique souls who is giving, considerate, talented and extremely humble. If you are on the path towards growth and inner development, it is a book I would highly recommend picking up. He has also created a set of meditations focusing on the various seeds of intention we can cultivate and grow within us.

What I’m thinking about… again…

Something fundamentally shifts when your basic needs are met. External markers like the car you drive, the house you live in or the designations you carry suddenly lose their gravitational pull. This is when different questions begin to surface, often uncomfortably.

What am I actually doing with this life?

For years, I avoided answering this question by staying busy, taking on more projects, more responsibilities, and seeking more external validation. But avoidance only works temporarily. My responses to this question continue to evolve. At this point, finding purpose in life can be distilled down to a two-step process: finding your inherent gift, then developing it to benefit others. It involves increasing awareness of what comes naturally to you and consciously developing it for service. This aligns with something I read from Dr. Caroline Leaf. As a cognitive neuroscientist and communication pathologist known for her work on neuroplasticity and cognitive restructuring, she offers this perspective;

“Your purpose is not the thing you do, it’s the thing that happens in others when you do what you do.”

-Dr. Caroline Leaf

Purpose isn’t about you. It’s about the ripple effect of showing up authentically and consciously using your gifts. What if the thing you’ve been dismissing as “nothing special” is exactly what the world needs from you?

Henry Shukman recently offered another lens, referencing Paramahansa Yogananda: “This life is a movie, a motion picture, and the purpose of our life is to turn around and see the projector.”

This adds another important layer to this reflection. Who is it that is achieving? Who is it who wants? Realizing that we are not our thoughts creates distance between stimulus and response. This is a muscle that requires strengthening if we ever expect to be present and content.

What I’m listening to…

Simran tracks. The Sanskrit definition of Simran is ‘to remember, to reminisce, or recollect’. From a spiritual perspective, it can be translated into the continuous remembrance of our highest selves and universal connection.

These aren’t passive listening experiences. The repetitive mantras function as active reset buttons, bringing me back to a humble and appreciative state of mind. This state of mind reminds me of my connection to the universe. It reminds me that whatever challenges I am experiencing are fleeting and will pass.

This practice creates perspective shifts that translate into better professional decision-making. What feels overwhelming at 9 AM becomes manageable when viewed from this broader lens. The challenges don’t disappear, but their proportion changes dramatically. Here’s the specific track currently in heavy rotation—particularly effective during transition moments throughout the workday.

What’s coming up…

Join me for the next Somatic Breathwork Journey happening on Friday, April 24th at 7pm. You will experience what you experience, and that will be exactly what your body needs in that moment.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

This is the foundational insight behind Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a field born in the early 1970s at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where linguist John Grinder and psychology student Richard Bandler asked a simple question: what separates thriving people from those who stay stuck? The answer was language. Not just what people said, but their underlying thought simmering beneath the surface.

NLP gave us a revolutionary idea: change your words, and you change your world. Neuroscience is catching up, showing that the words we use shape our brain’s neural pathways. The words we use have the power to change our perception, impact our nervous system, and influence how we experience reality. As previous blogs noted, the brain and heart are intimately connected. The brain doesn’t separate a word from its emotional charge. When you say “I’m scared,” something in your body shifts. When you say “I’m safe,” something in your body softens.

We’re better at noticing this in others than ourselves. We point out negative talk from a friend more easily than we recognize the harm our internal judge does to ourselves.

What Breathwork Revealed

I recently faced this question before a recent breathwork session themed around reflecting on the ideas that security and stability play in our lives.

I use these words all the time. We all do. But as the breath deepened and the noise settled, I realized I had never actually felt into what they meant to me. I was living with an inherited definition from a culture that measured safety in salaries and square footage.

My initial thoughts on security went where my mind was trained to go. It went to the never-ending Forrest Gump-like marathon following money, titles and credentials. There is no ceiling to these metrics. No matter how much money is in my bank account, I have been programmed to want, achieve and search for more. There will always be a bigger number or a new title reminding me I’m not quite there yet.

This is the scarcity trap. Not because ambition is wrong, but because when your personal sense of safety lives outside of you, you’re at the mercy of a world that keeps changing the rules.

Then I pivoted, and a new question surfaced in my consciousness. When have I felt most secure in my life?

The answers that came up had nothing to do with money. There were moments of feeling unconditional love from my partner, children, family, and friends. At its core, security is not a financial state. It’s a felt sense of being loved and held. That realization didn’t make me want to abandon responsibility and drive. It reinforced my autonomy to anchor my sense of safety to things I feel more strongly and consciously connect to.

I then thought about the version of me on my deathbed. I remembered reading a passage from the Shri Guru Granth Sahib, reminding me that when we leave this earth, we leave naked. We leave behind all material possessions and only have the moments we have experienced, the people we have touched and the regrets we have left unfulfilled.

I’ve written about this many times because it holds a power that bears repeating. That thought doesn’t depress me; it liberates me. It cuts through distractions and reminds me of who I’m being and what I’m working towards.

Stability Is Not a Flatline

Stability surprised me just as much.

I treated it like a destination. I viewed it as a future time when my life would achieve balance between responsibility, work endeavours, and being present with family. Achieving stability was this aspirational point where I traversed the mountain and reached the summit. A point when time stood still, and the vast view of the horizon made the journey worthwhile.

But the breath revealed something different. Life would never stop pulling me in different directions.

What I realized was that stability is not the absence of movement. It is the capacity to stay rooted while life pulls in every direction at once.

Think of a tree in a storm. It bends, the branches sway. But the roots hold. The effects of the storm are not instability; it’s life. Rather than fighting the wind and resisting what is, the tree trusts its roots.

My roots aren’t my resumé. They’re my values, relationships, and the quiet daily practice of choosing what matters over what merely feels urgent. Although still a work in progress, living with this awareness is key. Connecting and observing my breath helps ground me when things get loud.

The rat race doesn’t end when you win.

It ends when you choose to play a different game.

Email me if you would like more information about our next gathering.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

Something goes unspoken in many men’s lives. Not because they don’t feel it, but because they were never given the language or the permission to say it out loud.

Two-thirds of young men report that nobody knows them well.[1] Male suicide rates have climbed 25% since 2001, with men dying by suicide at four times the rate of women.[2] In Canada, men account for 75–80% of all suicides.[3] The life expectancy gap between men and women sits at five years, and a significant part traces back to one pattern: men waiting until something becomes a crisis before they reach out for help.[4]

Yet the conversation around men’s mental health remains one of the most avoided topics. If you’re in midlife and you’re reading this, chances are you know exactly what I’m talking about, even if you’ve never said it out loud.

The Rolodex Problem

Before we had kids, I remember sharing a challenge I was having with my wife about having deeper relationships with my friends. It was the morning after I spent the night watching the Super Bowl at a friend’s house. Good group of guys. Successful, funny, the kind of people you’re genuinely glad to know. I remember telling her how I could call ten guys tomorrow to watch the game. But I don’t think I could call one of them to share any of my deeper-rooted insecurities that only another man could relate to…”

She didn’t say anything right away. She didn’t have to.

I had spent years, even decades, building a network. I had contacts. I had friends. I had surface-level acquaintances that nicely fit into a busy professional life. What I didn’t have was a group of guys I could call up and share how shitty a bad day was.

And the more honest I got with myself, the more I realized: I wasn’t unusual. I was completely normal. And that is the problem.

We Were Never Taught How to Go Deep

I was taught early, sometimes with words but more by watching, that showing emotion was something to manage, not express. I pushed it down. I let it all go when playing soccer. People would tell me I had a Jekyll and Hyde-like personality. I was one way with my day-to-day interactions, and a totally different person on the field. This was my outlet to release the energy and emotions I was conditioned to store inside. I showed the world the composed version.

Author Lewis Howes, in The Mask of Masculinity, makes a powerful argument: men wear emotional masks — the stoic, the provider, the one who has it together — not out of strength, but out of fear. Fear of being judged. Fear of being seen as less than. Fear that if people really knew what was going on inside, they’d lose the respect they’ve spent decades building.

This isn’t just a statistics problem. It’s a connection problem playing out quietly in the lives of men you know.

Think about the last time you got together with a group of friends. What did you talk about? The newest Netflix comedy special. Work complaints you purposely kept safely vague.

Did anyone say how they were actually doing? Did anyone admit they weren’t happy, or that they were struggling with something they needed help with?

If the answer is no, you’re not in bad company. You’re likely in the majority.

A few weeks ago, I met up with a friend I hadn’t seen in years. I was sharing how I recently joined a men’s group to provide safe spaces for us to have real conversations about our struggles and learnings in life. He shared how he took a management course on vulnerability that helped him be more honest about uncertainty, about difficulty, and how it improved his ability to lead his team. We laughed at the irony that these courses even existed. After taking the course, he realized his effectiveness didn’t decrease by dropping the mask. He became more of everything he was trying to be. Better leader. Better friend. Better father. The vulnerability he’d avoided his whole life turned out to be the thing that unlocked everything else.

Here’s the thing they don’t tell you: the vulnerability you’ve spent your whole life avoiding might be the very thing that unlocks everything else.

The Self-Improvement Trap

The self-improvement world is full of products and protocols promising to optimize your performance and well-being. And while some help, most end up being sophisticated ways to avoid the deeper work. You can be like Bryan Johnson and track every metric on your body from your heart age to the length of your nightly erections, but the research is consistent. It is the quality of your human connections, more than almost any other factor, that predicts your long-term mental health and quality of life[5]

What Nobody Tells You About Midlife

The accolades you have worked hard to get have a way of making the surface stuff feel empty. The achievements that were supposed to feel like enough don’t. The friendships that were fine in your thirties start to feel thin. There’s a quiet voice that asks, is this it?

That voice isn’t a midlife crisis. It’s an invitation.

It’s asking you to focus less on performing and spend more time connecting. It’s inviting you to trade the stuffed Rolodex for a smaller, deeper circle. To be the kind of person that others feel safe being real around because you were real first.

Join me for an opportunity to express what you have likely been holding onto for far too long. It’s a 2.5-hour breathwork journey, and I invite men and women to be curious and see what comes up. You can register HERE.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

References

¹ Belonging Research, Survey Center on American Life, 2021 — two-thirds of young men report that no one knows them well.
² American Foundation for Suicide Prevention — male suicide rates have increased approximately 25% since 2001.
³ Statistics Canada / Centre for Suicide Prevention — men account for approximately 75–80% of suicide deaths in Canada.
⁴ Statistics Canada, Health Reports — the life expectancy gap between Canadian men and women is approximately five years.
⁵ Holt-Lunstad et al., PLOS Medicine, 2010 — social connection quality is one of the strongest predictors of longevity and mental health outcomes.

Microplastics are plastic fragments up to 5 millimetres long. They are inescapable. Between 10 and 40 million metric tons are released into the environment annually. By 2040, that figure could double.[2] The question isn’t whether microplastics are in your body. They are. The question is what you’re going to do about it.

Brain tissue samples taken from people who died in 2024 contained roughly 50% more microplastics than tissue taken from people who died in 2016.[1] Eight years. Fifty percent more. Not factory workers. Not miners. Average people.

The Numbers You Need to Feel

You’ve probably heard the headline: we consume the equivalent of a credit card’s worth of microplastics every week. While that number is significantly overestimated (likely by a factor of 10), more conservative estimates put weekly ingestion closer to 0.1-0.2 grams (roughly the weight of a grain of salt).[3] While scientists duke it out debating the exact weight, the particle count tells a more striking story because nanoplastics, the smallest, most biologically active fragments, weigh almost nothing but cause the most damage.

The biggest microplastic polluters are not the obvious ones. The largest dump of microplastics into the environment comes from paint (40% of paint ends up in the environment), followed by tire shedding (tires shed 10-16% of their weight over their lifetime), and then from the production and use of synthetic textiles (~estimated 35% of ocean-bound primary microplastics).[4] This highlights the need for systemic infrastructure, product design, and policy changes at the macro level to achieve significant change.

How much am I ingesting?

Depending on your habits and where you live, you are ingesting anywhere between 78,000 and 211,000 microplastic particles per year.[5] Drink bottled water regularly? Add another 90,000 particles per year compared to tap drinkers. That’s one lifestyle change I made after listening to a talk by Dr. Peter Lin at last year’s PRIMED conference. Switching from bottled to tap water is the single most measurable daily change you can make to cut your consumption. [6]

What are they doing to me?

Microplastics drive chronic, low-grade inflammation by activating cytokines like interleukin-6 and TNF-α. They generate oxidative stress and damage cell membranes and your DNA. They have been linked to increased cancer risk, impairment of fertility, and contribute to metabolic and gut disruption.

A landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients who had detectable microplastic particles in their carotid artery plaque had a 4.5-fold higher risk of heart attack, stroke, or death within three years compared to patients with minimal exposure. [7] Similarly, brain tissue concentrations in people with dementia have been reported to be 2 to 10 times higher than in those without. [8]

Unlike bacteria, microplastics cannot be killed, metabolized, or eliminated by your immune system. They’ve been found in blood, lungs, liver, kidneys, brain tissue, placentas, breast milk, and arterial plaque. The only strategy is to stop putting more in and support what your body can naturally excrete before particles embed deeper.[9]

Think Outside the Bottle

Most people, when they hear “microplastics,” think of plastic water bottles and stop there. The impact of these chemicals stretches much further.

Between 1960 and 1970, industry, government policy, consumer psychology, and petrochemical ambition collided. We built a civilization around a material we cannot degrade. The exposure is everywhere.

Think about the lint trap in your dryer. Every time you open it, you are staring at a pile of microplastic fibres shed from synthetic clothing. I know I used to. Now I clean it with gloves, hold my breath and dispose of it immediately.

Think about the thermal receipt you grabbed at the pharmacy or coffee shop. Thermal paper is coated with BPA, a plastic endocrine disruptor that can absorb into your skin. Whenever possible, I ask for an email receipt, and I always wash my hands after coming into contact with receipts I do touch.

Think about the cutting board on your kitchen counter. If it’s plastic and scratched, every slice of food picks up polymer fragments. We’ve replaced ours with a glass one, but wood or bamboo are other options.

Think about your dishwasher. The combination of heat, moisture, and plastic is exactly the condition that accelerates polymer leaching. The resultant microplastics coat the interior surfaces of whatever you wash alongside them. We have switched to mainly glass/aluminum lunch containers, and we hand-wash any plastic containers we still have.

Think about how you heat leftovers. We use parchment paper as a barrier between food and any surface we’re unsure about.

Think about your tea ritual. Many commercial tea bags are sealed with plastic polymers. A single plastic tea bag steeped in boiling water can release millions of microplastic particles into your cup. Gone are the Tetely tea bags for chai. We have switched to loose-leaf tea and a stainless steel infuser. [10]

Can I increase the elimination of microplastics?

Your gut is the best elimination route for ingested particles. Fibre supports your gut barrier, preventing toxins from crossing into the blood, and it keeps things moving. Studies show 30-40grams per day increases stool bulk, reduces transit time, and can bind to some toxins.[11] I recently got the ‘My Fitness Pal’ APP to track my macros, and you can track your daily intake of fibre with the free plan yourself.

What surprised me most about microplastic elimination was the research on plasma and blood donation. PFAS chemicals, which often travel with microplastics, are found in blood. When high-exposure groups donated plasma regularly, their PFAS levels dropped by roughly 30-40% over a year.[12] Whole blood donation produced smaller but still meaningful reductions. Microplastics and nanoplastics bind to proteins in your blood. By donating blood, you remove a portion of the contaminated fluid and replace it with clean fluid from your own body.

The Prescription

As a society, we have normalized consuming processed food for forty years and are now watching a chronic disease epidemic play out in real time. Microplastics may be the next chapter of this story, only they are quieter, slower, and harder to trace.

It’s not all doom and gloom. Scientists at the University of Tokyo have developed a supramolecular plastic that dissolves completely in seawater within 2–3 hours. With less than 9% of plastic currently recycled and pollution projected to triple by 2040, replacing even 20–25% of plastics in use could make a meaningful impact on our environment. Although it’s still in development, it’s a start.

Realistically, only systemic change can solve this problem. But there are things you can control. Switching to filtered tap water, replacing your cutting boards, and donating blood twice a year will minimize exposure while you wait for the world to catch up.

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There are a few spots still available for our upcoming Somatic Breathwork Journey on Friday, February 27th, at Goji Yoga Studio. Check out registration details HERE.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

References:

[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11100893/

[2] https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/01/what-s-the-deal-with-microplastics-the-material-that-never-goes-away?

[3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666911022000247#bib29

[4] https://www.e-a.earth/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/plastic-paint-the-environment.pdf

[5] https://www.statista.com/chart/18299/how-we-eat-drink-and-breathe-microplastics/

[6] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40555020/

[7] https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/microplastics-in-arteries-linked-to-heart-disease-risk/

[8] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/dementia-are-microplastics-accumulating-in-our-brains-a-risk-factor/

[9] https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/01/microplastics-in-body-polluted-tiny-plastic-fragments.html

[10] https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b02540

[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559033/

[12] Gasiorowski D, Leso V, Russo M, et al. Effect of Plasma and Blood Donations on Levels of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Firefighters. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Mar 31;5(3):

I’ll never forget that feeling, yet I rarely remember it.

The Intelligence We’ve Been Ignoring

Right now, your body is orchestrating in the order of 10²² chemical reactions every second, as many events as stars in the observable universe.[1]

Let that settle for a moment.

Remind yourself that you didn’t plan a single one. You didn’t direct your cells to produce ATP, signal your immune system to engulf bacteria, or tell your lungs to inflate. Yet this universal intelligence has worked around the clock since before you were born, adjusting in response to every meal, breath, and sensory moment. Most of us never acknowledge it, let alone collaborate with it.

As professionals, leaders, clinicians, entrepreneurs, and caregivers, we’re trained to think externally. We problem-solve, hit targets, support our people, and optimize everything from workflows to morning routines. Yet we overlook the system that quietly runs everything, responsible for how we show up in each moment. When we’re chronically stressed and burned out, it’s not just mental. Our physiology switches to survival mode. Stress hormones are released, inflammation increases, recovery mechanisms go offline, sleep quality suffers, and access to creativity and compassion shrinks.

Our senses feed our nervous system roughly one billion bits of information every second, but only about 10 bits reach conscious awareness.[2] That’s one hundred millionth of the available data. The rest are processed unconsciously, quietly adjusting our physiology, biasing decisions and predicting future danger. Stuff like office background noise, a colleague’s expression, and even lighting impacts our internal state. We don’t notice it, but it changes us. Every sensory and emotional experience is an instruction. Our bodies are always listening.

While our DNA stays relatively stable, gene expression shifts with lived experience: stress, sleep, movement, relationships, nutrition, and environments.

Chronic pressure leaves biochemical “marks” that tilt toward inflammation, altered stress reactivity, and accelerated biological aging. In contrast, modalities we experienced at the retreat, consisting of breathwork, mindfulness, sound therapy, and restorative movement, reduce stress and signal safety. Studies show consistent practice links to balanced stress responses and healthier aging markers. This is epigenetics in action, where our experiences literally shape how our genes behave.

Rediscovering the Inner Elixir of Life

The clients in the Mental Fitness Program I facilitate are some of the most highly capable people you’ll meet. They have successful careers as high-functioning healthcare professionals and business owners. When they reflect on how they got to where they are, many share their thirst for achieving came from people-pleasing and/or hyperachiever attitudes that yielded short-term results while alienating others and their deeper selves. What they have learned to do is to relate to their bodies as allies. They have stopped treating exhaustion as a trophy. Now they look at it as a physiological input demanding course correction.

“Rediscovering the inner elixir of life” isn’t about perfection or adding wellness tasks to an overloaded schedule. It’s about recognizing you already carry an intelligent, adaptive system, moving you toward balance.

It’s pausing long enough to ask:

• What environments am I in, and how do they impact my inner state?

• If my inner systems could speak, what would they say about my life?

Small, consistent shifts in awareness can reshape how you feel, think, and lead. These shifts can be as small as one breath, one movement, or one environmental choice.

The most powerful asset you bring to work isn’t your title, inbox, or to-do list. It’s the uniqueness of your inner elixir that’s running more reactions per second than stars in the sky. Imagine if you could connect to it and use its intelligence to live a life more true to you.

The question was never whether it was working.

The question is, ‘Are you willing to work with it?’

SIGN UP HERE

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

References:
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627324008080
[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12320479/

That question has stayed with me through the years. This past Friday, leading a somatic breathwork session, we discussed the role that introspection and wisdom play in our lives. I believe there is inherent wisdom within each of us. We can hear our inner voice through introspection by eliminating noise so that we can sit in a deeper level of awareness. It acts like a bridge, helping us sense our internal state. The role of breathwork in this dance is its role in helping us become intimate with those signals. The wisdom we are capable of hearing doesn’t shout, but rather quietly nudges.

Practicing this consistently, something shifts. The path ahead becomes less about fighting toward some external ideal and more about following your own inner compass.

Intentional Introspection

The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed we must listen to both conscience and intuition. Conscience is about morality and alignment with your deepest values, while intuition is about sensing what’s true in the moment.[1] Together, they create wisdom. His prescription was deceptively simple: ask yourself regularly, ‘If I quieted everyone else’s voice, my parents, my partner, and my culture, what would I choose? What would feel true?’ That question, asked over and over, is how you rebuild trust in your own knowing.

This isn’t passive work. Just like you lift weights to build muscle, there are practices to build intuition. Practical things we can do to connect to our wisdom within include:

• Practice sitting with yourself.

Meditation doesn’t need to be complicated. The simplest, yet sometimes paradoxically difficult way to start is simply sitting in silence and observing your thoughts. If this feels uncomfortable, that discomfort is data. Ask yourself what you are avoiding.

• Cut the digital noise.

Remove notifications from your phone, set time limits on social media apps (Opal or Freedom), and turn off the TV that’s been playing in the background.

• Feed your gut, feed your intuition.

Pay attention to your gut health by eating a variety of high-fibre, nutrient-dense fruits, vegetables and legumes. Your gut is often referred to as your second brain—and for good reason. Scientists have found that 90% of the neurons in the vagus nerve carry information from your gut to your brain, not the other way around. And 95% of the serotonin in your body is produced in the gut.[2] When you have a ‘gut feeling,’ that’s real neurology, not superstition.

When we quiet our minds, we slowly become more comfortable with silence. Through this silence, we start hearing an internal voice. You can call this voice whatever you want and have hour-long discussions about its origin, or you can see where it takes you. Twenty-five years ago, on that airplane, I didn’t know I was learning to listen. I thought I was just reading a book. Now I understand: the voice Walsch wrote about wasn’t just his. It’s the same one available to all of us when we get quiet enough to hear it.

What I’ve learned from this reflection is that the choice isn’t whether to listen. It’s what to do once you hear it.

If you are looking to meet other people who thrive on having these types of conversations, consider attending our upcoming Rx for Renewal Retreat. It is our 7th retreat, and it’s themed Connecting to the Inner Elixir of Life. There are limited spots available, and early bird pricing ends TODAY. You can register HE

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

References:
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10946539/
[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9274469/

What’s Coming Up?

• Somatic Breathwork Experience - January 23, 2026

• 7th Rx for Renewal Retreat - February 6, 2026

Quote I’m Contemplating…

“Real self-confidence doesn’t come from shouting affirmations into the mirror. Real self-confidence comes from giving the world irrefutable proof you are who you say you are.”

- Alex Hormozi - Entrepreneur and Author

This quote captures the truth about authentic confidence. Words are hollow, but consistent actions are golden. As a husband, father, and business owner, my path towards growth starts with using awareness practices to catch my self-criticism in the moment. Then I use that awareness to fuel integrity-driven action. This becomes behavioural proof that builds genuine self-trust. Confidence is evidence-based. Everyone and everything in my life responds to how consistently I honour my core values.

Every breath is an opportunity to choose awareness.

Every action is an opportunity to build proof.

Every promise you keep is another brick in the foundation of authentic, unshakeable confidence.

Use this confidence humbly and unapologetically. It will pave the way for a brighter future for you and inspire everyone who witnesses it.

Best Gifts I Received and Shared during the holiday season

• Lululemon Big Cozy Jogger pants

  • I have been on a search for comfy stay-at-home jogging pants for over a year. These are warm, the inside lining is super soft, and the pockets are lined perfectly. I think I’ve become a jogging pant snob since getting these. They are completely sold out, but check back at Lululemon when they restock. They are having an end-of-season sale with some decent deals.

• Fullstar Vegetable Chopper

  • No more crying when dicing onions! This versatile chopper helps me do my food prep in minutes with 6 different slicers. It has helped me batch my food prep and increase my veggie consumption significantly. Phytonutrients and fibre are my friends!

• Japanese GS01 OHTO pens

  • I am a self-proclaimed stationery nerd. A great pen encourages me to openly write and explore my thoughts, and write in my journal. These are unique pens that don’t break the bank and yet offer you a different feel from anything you have tried before. To top it all off, they come in dope flashy colours.

• MUD/WTR

  • I’ve been trying to move away from my daily Nespresso coffee and try healthier coffee alternatives that offer cognitive benefits. MUD/WTR contains ⅓ the caffeine of a cup of coffee, while also featuring a blend of adaptogenic mushrooms (chaga, reishi, lion’s mane, and cordyceps). It also offers a different taste profile that has grown on me over the weeks. If you like a cinnamon chai, this may be right down your alley! Save up to 43% with their winter sale now.

• Personalized Gift Sets from Enjoy Party Boxes and Gifts

  • Enough with the flowers and chocolate! I met the owner of Enjoy Party Boxes and Gifts, Muge, at a year-end book club meeting at ACE Coworking and wanted to try out her services. I shared 5-6 personal anecdotes about my wife and advised on things she already had that didn’t need. Muge does the rest by finding unique indie products and brands that will be sure to spark joy in your giftee. Her presentation of the basket is professional, and she even hand-delivered mine during the busy holiday season. Check out her site, and if you want to get into the good books with a personalized gift to your partner or family member, she is your next stop. You can connect directly with Muge on Instagram here.

What I’m Consuming

• Podcast: Dr. Dom on Tim Ferris Podcast

• Books: Becoming Supernatural - Joe Dispenza

• Music: Upregulate: Split Wick - Durante

• Music: Downregulate: Night Owls - Krynoze

• Food: Kamikaze Sushi Roll from Kibo Sushi

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

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The burnout epidemic running rampant in society these days isn’t from the workload. It’s from chasing one version of success while quietly longing for another. We talk about valuing presence and prioritizing health, yet we’re often caught scrolling through our phones at dinner and running on empty while calling it dedication. Our nervous system can only hold that contradiction for so long before it starts sending signals: exhaustion, irritability, numbness, and that subtle sense of being off, even when everything looks “fine.”

Science backs this up. Brain imaging studies reveal that when your actions contradict your stated values, specific regions light up: the anterior cingulate cortex (your brain’s alarm system for conflict) and the anterior insula (which processes emotional distress).[1] Your brain registers the mismatch between what you say matters and what you do as a genuine threat, activating the same circuits that fire when you experience physical pain. Burnout isn’t your nervous system overreacting; it is your body’s way of saying you’re living out of alignment with yourself.

The Fast That Taught Me About Freedom

I recently completed a 3-day fast. On the surface, this looked like a restriction: fewer choices, less comfort, and less “freedom” around food. I lost some weight and felt physically better, but the real transformation was mental. Without my usual defaults, I could finally see my choices: how often I reached for food to manage stress, how frequently I traded long-term vitality for short-term relief, how easily I slipped out of integrity with the future I say I want. I noticed how my food choices were draining my energy, dulling my presence with my kids, and borrowing from the future version of me who wants to be an engaged, playful grandparent one day.

What I had been calling freedom (spontaneous snacking, reactive scheduling, constant busyness) was actually self-sabotage. I’d been lying to myself, calling distraction “flexibility” and avoidance “balance.” The fast didn’t give me freedom. It gave me the clarity to see where I’d been living a dual life, claiming to value one thing while my daily choices revealed something else entirely.

Most high-functioning professionals live in this gap: not in obvious crisis, but in quiet misalignment. When we’re unaware of this split, it exhausts us in ways no amount of productivity hacks can fix.

Redefining Freedom

Once you see the gap, you can’t unsee it. That’s where real freedom begins. It isn’t an escape from responsibility, but an awakening to the truth about where your energy actually goes.

I used to think of freedom as living without constraints. However, I have come to realize that freedom is similar to a river. It flows most powerfully within its banks. When the banks dissolve, the river doesn’t become freer, but it loses its shape and becomes a flood. Your “banks” are your responsibilities: your family, your health, your promises, and the work you are uniquely positioned to do.

They’re not chains; they are the containers that give your freedom direction, meaning, and depth. The things you think are limiting you may be the things that are actually anchoring you. These responsibilities anchor you by keeping you from becoming a flood of scattered energy and unfulfilled potential.

Real freedom isn’t having infinite options. It’s having the clarity to choose what matters and the integrity to align your daily life with that truth. Let your responsibilities become roots, so your freedom can grow wings.

The Mirror of Awareness

But how do you develop this clarity? The answer showed up unexpectedly at my 6-year-old son’s first parent-teacher interview. After talking about his reading, writing and math skills, I asked questions about his character. At home, we started seeing him deflecting opportunities to take responsibility for his actions. His teacher shared she had noticed the same thing: he wouldn’t apologize when he did something inappropriate. As I sat in his classroom, a thought passed through my mind about how I might be doing the same. My first response to a situation is often to defend my actions and point out WHY I did something rather than seeing how my actions impacted others.

I came home and asked my son if he had noticed me doing the same thing. I was relieved to hear he didn’t. At the same time, I knew that if I continued, he soon would. That was enough motivation to increase my awareness around this habit.

This is the paradox of awareness: the behaviours we notice in others often reflect what we’re not yet willing to see in ourselves. When you stop defending your choices and start examining them honestly, you discover that freedom isn’t found in having no constraints. Conversely, it’s found in choosing your constraints consciously and living within them with integrity.

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Where to Start:

Ask yourself: “Where am I lying to myself about what I actually want?” Look at your calendar from last week. Where did your time actually go versus where you say your priorities are? That gap is your starting point.

If you found this discussion about freedom interesting and want to engage in similar conversations, consider attending our upcoming Somatic Breathwork Session on Friday, January 23rd, at 6 pm at Goji Yoga Studio. These sessions create space for the kind of awareness I’ve shared in this post. Meet others on the path toward growth and self-actualization, and experience what it feels like to live in alignment, even if just for an evening.

Sign Up Here

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

References:

[1] van Veen V, Krug MK, Schooler JW, Carter CS. Neural activity predicts attitude change in cognitive dissonance. Nat Neurosci. 2009;12(11):1469-1474.

[2] Kitayama S, Chua HF, Tompson S, Han S. Neural mechanisms of dissonance: an fMRI investigation of choice justification. Neuroimage. 2013;69:206-212.

According to a recent global McKinsey survey, 84% of people now consider wellness a top priority in their lives. This shift represents a fundamental reevaluation of what matters.

The Imbalanced Balance Sheet

Americans now spend more on healthcare than on food or housing, yet they are getting sicker, with declining health metrics. Why? Because our healthcare system operates reactively rather than proactively.

A staggering 58% of Canadian health spending goes to chronic diseases, yet only 8.6% of adults have up-to-date preventive care. We’re funding the fire department while ignoring the smoke alarm. This reactive approach mirrors how many professionals manage their lives, addressing problems after they appear.

Beyond Survival to Well-Being

In “Being Mortal,” surgeon Atul Gawande argues that medicine’s fundamental flaw is its narrow focus on survival at all costs rather than patient autonomy and quality of life. Gawande argues that medicine has evolved into an “experiment in social engineering.” This perspective challenges us to consider not just longevity, but the quality of our experiences.

After watching my dad navigate the healthcare system through a chronic illness, I’ve seen how quality of life often takes a backseat to treatment protocols. This experience changed my approach to my own health investments.

The True Meaning of Abundance

A seven-figure portfolio means nothing without the health to enjoy it.

What if you approached your health with the same strategic planning you apply to your finances? What if you allocated resources like time, money, and attention towards preventative wellness instead of crisis management? For me, this has meant allocating a percentage of my monthly budget to preventative health, like how financial advisors suggest we save for retirement.

This shift wasn’t from reading but from suffering. I played pickup soccer and developed back spasms that have persisted for 4 weeks. Sitting for over 15 minutes caused my psoas muscles to contract and my back to lock. Suffering made me rethink how much time and attention I paid to my physical body. It was a blunt reminder to change something.

As I started investing in my preventative health, I reframed my perspective to ask, “What’s the ROI on this health investment?” The answer had nothing to do with money. It involved intangibles like the value I place on sustained energy, playing with my kids, improved mental clarity, and enjoying the financial wealth I’m striving to build.

Diversifying Your Health Portfolio

Health-conscious professionals should allocate resources across the six wellness growth sectors identified by McKinsey. Here’s how to invest in each area:

1. Functional nutrition - This fastest-growing sector focuses on foods and supplements with specific health benefits beyond basic nutrition. I’ve switched from random supplement purchases to a targeted approach based on blood work and genetics.

2. Healthy aging/longevity - With 60% of global consumers prioritizing healthy aging and longevity, it’s worth exploring preventative approaches. Begin with baseline biomarker testing, including measuring your CRP, cholesterol, ApoB, vitamin D, A1c and a once-in-a-lifetime Lp(a) test. Consider epigenetic testing to understand genetic predispositions, then develop targeted prevention strategies.

3. Appearance and aesthetics - This isn’t just about vanity. Looking good correlates with feeling good and projecting confidence. I’ve replaced my expensive Biotherm cream with evidence-backed formulations containing hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and peptides, saving money while improving results.

4. In-person wellness services - Despite digital alternatives, 56% of people are willing to travel over two hours for meaningful wellness experiences. I’m scheduling these experiences in advance as non-negotiable appointments. I facilitate monthly breathwork sessions and attend short, quarterly wellness retreats, providing more restoration than my former sightseeing-focused vacations.

5. Weight management - Modern approaches focus on metabolic health rather than aesthetics alone. Consider working with a functional medicine practitioner to identify potential metabolic issues through comprehensive testing. I recently completed a 3-day fast and lost 6 lbs, 4 of which I have been able to keep off for 2 weeks by tracking macros and increasing protein while halving my carb intake.

6. Mindfulness/mental health - With 42% of younger generations prioritizing this area, it is clear that mental fitness is as important as physical fitness. In addition to facilitating a coaching program for incorporating mindfulness routines into high-performing professionals’ lives, I have invested in monthly subscriptions to Henry Shuckman’s The Way and breathwork apps like Open to maintain my mindfulness and meditation practice.

From Information to Implementation

Start small. I began with a simple blood panel and body composition analysis (Dexa analysis) from Benchmark Proactive Health that cost less than a show and dinner. Dr. Kaitlin Link is an ER physician turned longevity specialist who helps you understand where you are and what you need to improve. This baseline data helped me target my next investments for maximum impact. Other clinics will do the testing, but they don’t provide the safety, information and care that I experienced from Benchmark.

The ultimate question isn’t whether you can afford to invest in preventative health, but whether you can afford not to. As you review your investment strategy this quarter, ask yourself: What’s the value of a portfolio you’re too exhausted or unwell to enjoy?

The Ultimate Wealth Strategy

The world’s most successful individuals understand that health is their greatest competitive advantage. At 93, Warren Buffett attributes his longevity and sharp thinking to healthy habits. As you review your investment strategy this quarter, ask yourself: Am I allocating adequate resources to my most valuable asset? If not, it’s time to rebalance my portfolio—starting with my health.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

Understanding Our Inner Weather

The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson introduced me to a concept that significantly impacted the way my wife and I parent: the Wheel of Awareness. Picture your mind as a bicycle wheel. The outer rim holds all your experiences, including your thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories. The inner hub is your calm center, your ‘awareness’. It is the point from which you observe these experiences without being overwhelmed by them

Staying stuck in the outer rim invokes experiences of suffering. Getting stuck here makes it easy for us to forget who we are and perceive what is happening as a permanent state. These two areas illustrate the difference between ‘I feel’ and ‘I am’.

From Theory to Kitchen Table Conversations

When my five-year-old son says, ‘I am mad,’ I gently redirect to ‘You are feeling mad right now.’ This simple shift is helping him learn that he is not his feelings and that they are visitors, not permanent residents. I use the same technique myself, changing ‘I am overwhelmed’ to ‘I am experiencing overwhelm.” I’m observing the storm rather than drowning in it. This immediately brings me into a space of calm

Resilience isn’t about avoiding suffering. It’s about growing from challenge and cultivating the ability to return to the “hub” (our inner knowing) in the midst of any storm.

The wheel isn’t just a metaphor; it’s a practical tool to be used daily. When strong emotions arise, help your child ‘travel’ from the rim to the hub by naming what they’re feeling, taking deep breaths, and remembering that feelings are temporary visitors, not permanent residents.

The wheel of awareness teaches kids they have choices about what they focus on and where they place their attention. When my daughter says her brother made her feel angry because of something he did, we reframe her words and remind her that nobody controls how she feels. We remind her that she can feel a certain way, and it is up to her to choose how long she wants to stay in that emotion. She controls how long she wants her emotions to demand her attention and has the power to liberate herself from her thoughts and feelings.

Your Action Plan

Get your kids the Mario Kart game or Gabby’s dollhouse toys on Black Friday, but also gift them skills to pause, reflect and choose how to best respond to big feelings. These are gifts that keep on giving and yield benefits long after the joys of playing any game fade. When emotions surge, help them travel from rim to hub by:

• Naming the feeling specifically (try an emotion wheel for vocabulary)

• Taking three deep breaths together

• Remind them that “This feeling will pass.”

The Real-World Test: Teaching Teenagers

While these techniques work with young children, I’ve learned they’re equally crucial for teenagers (if you can get to speak to them). I learned this lesson when teaching high schoolers about emotional intelligence this past summer. What stuck with me was how challenging it was for some students to recall and connect with their feelings.

We did an exercise where I asked them to think of some of the most challenging times in their life. I prompted them to reflect on their feelings during these times. It was apparent that many hadn’t spent much time feeling or recognizing these feelings. This illustrates the difference between healthy awareness and harmful avoidance. At first, I saw this as a positive because it isn’t useful to stay lost in emotions, but what I soon realized is that they hadn’t even felt any emotions. They had numbed their emotions by immersing themselves in other things to avoid feeling anything.

There are a few areas AI will not impact in the future. Knowledge is, and will continue to be, more easily accessible. Skills such as emotional regulation, mindset reframing, and mental resilience are becoming increasingly useful with each passing day.

Beyond Daily Tools: Your Ultimate Gift

Here’s something most parents never consider: What if you could leave your children a roadmap of everything you’ve learned about life? This could include sharing important life lessons you want your kids to know, which they can carry forward to future generations. We never know when our time will come, and I’m sure we will all have things we really want to share with our children.

I have created a Google sheet that I have printed out and kept in our bank safe to be shared with my kids when my time is up.

Some headings to get you started include:

• Our family’s core values and why they matter

• Behind-the-scenes sacrifices you made that they never saw

• People they can trust when you’re gone

• Life concepts that shaped you, but you never fully explained

• Your parents’ legacy that you hope they’ll continue

Death is certain. Your children carrying forward your hard-won wisdom doesn’t have to be left to chance. Click HERE for an inspiring IG post that emphatically illustrates this message.

If you want to get out of the theory and into experiencing these shifts for yourself, join me for a facilitated Somatic Breathwork Session. Our next offering is on Friday, November 30th, at 6:00 pm at Goji Yoga Studio.

Register Here

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

Through my neuroscience readings in the past, I learned that the left brain is logical, analytical, and focused on language, numbers, and facts. The right brain is creative, emotional, and intuitive, like the “touchy-feely” artist. What I have come to realize is that I was sipping American iced tea, watered down and lacking the zest of its Canadian alternative.

Dr. Iain McGilchrist, a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, philosopher and author, urges us to discard this understanding. He has shown that both hemispheres are involved in almost everything important, including communication, reasoning, emotion, and creativity. What is different is how they engage in these tasks that shape our daily reality.[1]

The research on the brain has focused on what the left and right hemispheres are doing rather than ‘how’ they are doing it. The left hemisphere is not as reliable as we have been made to believe. It is subject to delusions far more than the right hemisphere. McGilchrist suggests the left hemisphere is not without emotions. It has strong, self-regarded emotions like anger and disgust. The right hemisphere is a more ‘fair guide’ to reality with less clouding of emotions.[2]

Why Are There Two Hemispheres?

All creatures have to solve a fundamental quest for survival. They have to gather food, find shelter, and gather tools to help support their life. If that is all they do, they are not able to simultaneously look out for their kin or mate. The solution was to develop 2 loci of consciousness that have different attentions to the world. The left hemisphere pays attention to small, specific, desirable and graspable things. It’s good at spotting detail, breaking things down, organizing, and categorizing. This can be mistaken for being analytical. The right hemisphere is broader, vigilant, sustained, and open to possibility without pre-conception. The right hemisphere’s attention is broad and open, with sustained attention. It holds the big, interwoven picture, rooted in lived experience. It’s better attuned to the emotional, social, and meaning-making dimensions of life. They complement one another and have different modes of approach to survive. The left grasps at life, while the right receives and participates in it.[3]

Imagine reviewing a project proposal. The left hemisphere reads the metrics: timeline, budget and deliverables. The right hemisphere asks: Who will this serve? What values does it embody? How does it connect to our larger vision? Both matter. Are you spending time equally or focused predominantly on one side?

Here’s the crucial problem: our culture has placed the left hemisphere, which should be the master’s servant, in charge. You see this in organizations where speed, efficiency, and endless checklists drive us toward depletion and confusion. We analyze, compare, and “optimize” our way into stress, losing the sense of meaning.

Dr. McGilchrist writes that the left hemisphere reduces life and relationships to tasks. This leads to emptiness even when you “succeed.”

We should not value our life experience by the amount of work we do, but by how we are as we do it. Think of it like reading a menu and paying attention to the dish name and ingredients vs. experiencing the food’s taste. Focusing primarily on details makes you miss life’s very essence.

When burned out, everything may feel urgent. Our current burnout culture dismisses intuition and imagination as “unprofessional.” But McGilchrist insists they’re forgotten gifts. You feel disconnected from your “why” because your right hemisphere is suppressed. The healthiest states arise when the right hemisphere leads, and the left supports. It’s time to move the left hemisphere from the driver’s seat to become a passenger, where it can support rather than control.

Every relationship requires this dance:

• Giving and receiving feedback (not just correcting, but empathizing)

• Experiencing both control and surrender

• Knowing when to focus and when to open up

• Understanding when to ‘go go go’, and when to let go

The right hemisphere knows the world is not a spreadsheet. The world is alive, uncertain, and sacred. Imagination “is the capacity to see forms and connections beyond obvious rationality.” Intuition “draws together meaning from diverse sources,” making sense of subtle patterns and truths.[4]

When I was in school, I was rewarded for regurgitating facts. The next level of recognition came from using these facts to defend a position eloquently. What if our children were asked to take the opposite position of what they believed and argue that perspective? This would engage our right hemisphere and look beyond assimilating facts, but empathizing with a different perspective to see relationships and congruencies.

Broaden your perspective

When engaged in your work, step outside your checklist and look at the wider picture. How does your task serve a person, a relationship, or a purpose? Why does your work matter?

Value imagination and intuition

When stuck, ask: “What am I not seeing? What does my intuition sense?”

Appreciate paradox

Instead of demanding either/or answers, ask, “How can both be true?”

This can mean taking ‘right brain’ pauses. Step outside your tunnel vision, notice the whole room and take a visual expansive view. Engage in creative activities like drawing, listening to music, or storytelling. Choose anything without an immediate logical output. Foster deeper conversations beyond process, focusing on values, vision, and relationships. If unchecked, the left hemisphere will keep you overworking, thinking more is better, and missing the point of your existence.

McGilchrist’s big idea is letting the left hemisphere do its clever work, without having it run the show. When you do, meaning, connection, and renewal return to both your career and life.[5] It’s time to honour the one who brings you back to what matters most.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE and book a complimentary call to improve your mental fitness HERE.

References
[1] McGilchrist, I. (2010). The Master and His Emissary.
[2] McGilchrist, I. (2019). The Matter with Things.
[3] Iain McGilchrist: Re-enchanting the Brain’s Hemispheres, The Beautiful Truth, 2025
[4] PMC: A Tale of Two Hemispheres
[5] CBC: Neuroscientist argues the left side of our brains have taken over

These patterns might seem like personal quirks or habits, but they’re often driven by deeper, hidden motivations. And unless you understand what’s fueling them, you risk repeating them, especially when they don’t serve you.

Hidden Motivations Behind Self-Sabotage

While everyone’s mental patterns are unique, most self-sabotaging behaviours are driven by one of these three core survival needs:

1. Independence — the need to protect yourself from being controlled or dependent on others.

2. Acceptance — the need to be liked, approved of, or valued by others.

3. Security — the need to feel safe, avoid anxiety, or maintain stability.

These motivations are normal. But when they operate unconsciously or go unmanaged, they can drive patterns of self-sabotage that hijack your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

How You Try to Get Your Needs Met

It’s not just what you need that drives your behaviour, it’s how you try to meet that need. The three primary styles people use are:

1. Assertion — actively push for fulfilling your needs.

2. Earning — try to work for your needs through effort, perfection, or service.

3. Avoiding — withdraw attention or energy from the need altogether, hoping to minimize its impact.

What patterns do you exhibit? When you combine your core motivation with your dominant style, you start seeing the roots of your most common self-sabotaging patterns, like:

• Pushing yourself endlessly because you believe “If I succeed, I’ll be worthy.” This often leads to burnout, disconnection, and an identity tied only to performance.

• Saying yes to keep others happy, overextending yourself, losing sight of your own needs, and feeling resentful.

• Pulling away from challenges or conflict to avoid short-term discomfort, but creating long-term regret and missed opportunities.

The problem isn’t that you want to be liked, feel secure, or be in control. Those are natural human needs. The problem is when you use fear, guilt, or avoidance to get those needs met.

That’s why traditional self-improvement strategies don’t always work. If you try to “just be more confident” or “set better boundaries” without addressing the root causes driving your behaviour, the self-sabotaging patterns will continue.

How Mindfulness Helps You Break Free

Mindfulness is your ability to meet life’s challenges with calm and clarity. When you strengthen this skill, you can:

• Recognize your self-sabotaging patterns in real time.

• Pause before reacting from fear or habit.

• Shift to a wiser, calmer state of mind.

• Respond with empathy, curiosity, and creativity instead of reactivity.

This shift begins with awareness—noticing the subtle voice of self-sabotage and choosing not to follow its lead.

Next, simple daily mindfulness practices help rewire your brain for resilience and self-command. These may include focusing on the sounds around you or feeling the rise and fall of your belly with each inhale and exhale. You may be thinking that those are too simple to deal with years of conditioning. You are partly right. But if you practice them regularly, you will be surprised to see how impactful they are. These simple practices train your brain to pause, shift out of reactivity, and tap into a calmer, more grounded state.

Rewriting Your Screenplay

When you understand the hidden motivations behind your behaviour, you can start writing a new story. You no longer need to prove your worth, or chase approval.

Instead, you can:

• Make decisions because they align with your values rather than being driven by fear

• Set clear boundaries with clarity

• Take action from inspiration, not anxiety.

• Connect more deeply with others and with yourself.

The result is less stress and more confidence. It is stronger personal and professional relationships along with a renewed sense of purpose and presence.

If you’re ready to break free from self-sabotaging patterns and live with more clarity, courage, and connection, mindfulness is the key. Start with simple awareness, and watch how your world begins to change.

If you are looking for ways to go deeper and find out how your self-sabotaging behaviours are getting in the way of realizing what you want in life, book a discovery call with me HERE.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, corporate workshops and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE.

If this picture hits uncomfortably close to home, you are not alone. What you may not realize is that many of these struggles, from poor sleep to low mood, often connect back to a single, often overlooked system in your body - your nervous system. While many of us have tried diets, supplements and therapy in an effort to right the ship, we still have problems achieving mind, body and spirit balance. Although our habits play a significant role in this journey, so does our nervous system.

The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the human body, stretching from the brainstem down through the neck and chest into the lower abdomen. It controls over 75% of our parasympathetic nervous system and helps regulate involuntary functions like our heart rate, digestion, breathing, and our body’s response to stress[1]. When this hidden superhighway is out of balance, our body stays stuck in stress mode.

As professionals, we face unique stressors that can overwhelm our nervous system’s adaptive capacity. Long hours at work, rebellious teenagers at home, financial stressors and differences in opinions with our partners create a perfect storm for dysregulation. True nervous system regulation is not about slowing down or extinguishing drive. Instead, it’s about cultivating adaptability, responsiveness, and the capacity to experience emotions fully, without being derailed by them[2].

Imagine the nervous system not as a brake, but as a dynamic gearshift: the power to accelerate when stakes are high, and to recover quickly when things get intense. Regulation allows us to switch modes intentionally—rest, engage, reflect—without getting stuck in overdrive.

The Science (and Art) of Regulation

Modern neuroscience and ancient wisdom agree: breathwork is a highly universal, accessible, cheap and effective tool for shifting our physical and mental state. Two key models help map the journey of regulation:

1. Pendulation: Moving in and out of intense states, building resilience each time by returning to balance. Comfort kills us. In today’s society, we can control the temperature of virtually everything. We preheat our cars in the winter, we have ecobee thermostats in our homes, and we wait until the shower temperature is perfect before we dare get in. When we get too comfortable with controlling our environments, we lose our ability to deal with stressful situations.

2. Titration: Gradually increasing exposure time to stressors, allowing the system to recalibrate safely without overwhelm. This is like food desensitization, where you gradually consume small, controlled amounts of a potentially allergenic food to train the immune system not to overreact.

Start with increasing the number of times you are exposed to uncomfortable situations, and then increase the duration of these experiences. Rather than forcing yourself to push through pressure, a regulated human learns to engage with challenge and then return to a place of calm. The key is to be aware of your level of resistance during these experiences. When you breathe into the discomfort, your nervous system learns how to cope with the changes. Over time, this reshapes your brain, wiring in greater capacity and flexibility.

Breathwork offers three practical pillars for professionals: functional breathing, which unconsciously supports health by minimizing taxing patterns like chronic mouth breathing; regulation breathing, which uses deliberate techniques such as box breathing to shift energy intentionally, and a transformational practice, which harnesses the breath to explore and integrate deeper emotional or spiritual aspects. These practices are widely adopted by elite performers, not because they numb discomfort, but because they unlock clarity, authenticity, and connection. If you are interested in experiencing an upcoming in-person somatic breathwork session, check out our next offering on October 24th by registering HERE.

Improving our Capacity

A common misconception is that regulation means sacrificing ambition or productivity. In reality, true regulation is about capacity, not constraint. It’s about being able to show up fully, with presence and purpose, on your own terms.

To start building regulation habits with micro-practices:

• One minute of slow, conscious out-breaths before meetings.

• Journaling the body’s response to stress, not just the mind’s stories.

• Creating moments of authentic human connection.

Small acts of self-regulation allow us to shift from familiar stress patterns to new states of capacity, eventually choosing “an unfamiliar heaven” over “a familiar hell.”

Regulating Responsibly

Nervous system regulation isn’t self-indulgence; it’s our responsibility. When we operate from a regulated state, we make better decisions, communicate more effectively, and maintain the emotional availability our colleagues and loved ones deserve.

True self-actualization is not the absence of stress, but the presence of skillful navigation. We can be leaders not only in what we achieve, but also in how we experience our lives and act as a model for sustainable, meaningful impact.

Embrace regulation.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, corporate workshops and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE.

Sign up NOW

REFERENCES:

[1] Eleonora Terreni, Sep 21, 2025 - Health & Fitness - 234 pages

[2] What Does It Really Mean to Be Regulated? - Beyond the Breath

Do you remember when you first entered the pharmacy profession, buzzing with enthusiasm and seemingly endless energy? Now, you’re dragging yourself through each day, wondering where your energy has disappeared.

Every day feels like a battle, and your body is sending distress signals, but are you listening?

Your Professional Performance

Your brain - that critical organ driving your decisions - comprises just 2% of your body weight but consumes 20% of your energy. When you’re chronically sleep-deprived, you’re compromising patient care, your attention to personal and professional relationships and your longevity.

More Than Just “Getting Older”

This isn’t normal aging. This is a systematic breakdown of your professional potential.

Your brain knows it. Your clients depend on your precision, and your team on your leadership. Deep down, you know something needs to change.

After all, you didn’t become a pharmacist to merely exist. You became one to add value to the lives of the patients you serve and with the team you lead.

It’s time to do something different.

Next steps aren’t about radical transformation—they’re about strategic professional recalibration.

If you are ready to reclaim your professional vitality, consider connecting through my newsletter, booking a discovery call or attending an in-person breathwork session.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal. Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, corporate workshops and curated retreats, I share evidence-based tools to help professionals prevent and manage burnout. Check my offerings HERE.

Automatic, mindless, forgettable.

That all changed when I started consciously breathing through my nose.

About 4 years ago, I ordered a book from Amazon called Breathe. Although I read a fair amount, my ratio of reading to purchasing hovers around 60-70%. ‘Breathe’ could have been one of those books that sat in my bookshelf looking pretty or collecting dust in my ‘to read pile’, but it wasn’t. Little did I know the impact it would have on my personal and professional life.

I read it, highlighted it, re-read it and wrote in it. I was fascinated with the science behind something we rarely think about, yet do more than 20,000 times per day. One of the most profound messages I got from the book was the sanctity and importance of nasal breathing

The Epidemic Nobody’s Talking About

Look around you next time you’re in a meeting, at the gym, or even watching people walk down the street. You’ll notice something startling: the majority of adults are breathing through their mouths, not their noses. This seemingly innocent habit is silently eroding our health in ways most healthcare professionals never share. Mouth breathing isn’t just an aesthetic issue that leads to snoring and annoyed partners. It’s a physiological disruption with cascading effects.

Why Your Nose Is Nature’s Perfect Respirator

Your nose isn’t just a decorative feature on your face—it’s a sophisticated filtration system millions of years in the making. When you breathe through your nose:

• The air is warmed, moistened, and filtered through nasal turbinates and mucous membranes, removing approximately 98% of airborne bacteria, allergens, and other particles before they reach your lungs.

• You produce nitric oxide, a molecule that dilates blood vessels, increases oxygen circulation, regulates blood pressure, and has powerful antimicrobial properties. This molecule is only produced in significant quantities during nasal breathing.

• Your diaphragm engages more fully, activating the rest/relax part of your nervous system.

In contrast, mouth breathing bypasses all these crucial mechanisms.

Breathing and Sleep

As I continued down the rabbit hole of breathing, I invested in an OURA ring to track my sleep. I started taping my mouth at night and noticed my heart rate variability (HRV) increased, and my REM and deep sleep increased by an average of 18% and 24%, respectively.

The research backs this up. A 2017 study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that nasal breathing during sleep significantly reduced sleep fragmentation and improved blood oxygen saturation compared to mouth breathing.[1] The nitric oxide produced during nasal breathing plays a crucial role here, helping to dilate blood vessels and optimize oxygen delivery to tissues during sleep.

In his book, Nestor details his ten-day experiment of deliberately mouth breathing. His snoring increased by 4,820 percent, his blood pressure rose by an average of 13 points, and he began experiencing sleep apnea episodes.[2]

The Hidden Impact on Oral Health

Months after I started mouth taping at night and consciously nasal breathing during the day, I had a dentist appointment. My hygienist, Jackie, asked if I was doing anything differently. She said your gums are looking healthier, and you have less plaque buildup than the last time I saw you. I felt like I just got a gold star!

Mouth breathing dries out your mouth and limits saliva production. Saliva isn’t just moisture, but it is your mouth’s natural defence system. It washes away food bits, fights acid, and keeps the balance of bacteria in your mouth healthy. When you breathe through your mouth, you have less saliva, which leads to more plaque and harmful bacteria growing. This causes more cavities, gum problems, bad breath, and swelling in your mouth.[3]

Athletic Performance: The Nasal Advantage

I had a 5k run coming up and thought I would try nasal breathing to see if it would help my physical performance. It was extremely uncomfortable for the first 2 weeks as my body was used to bypassing my nose and getting quick access to oxygen. But as I persevered through the discomfort, I realized I could run for longer distances with less fatigue. Although it is easier to mouth breathe when running, nasal breathing actually delivers more oxygen to our muscles.

The science explains why: nasal breathing optimizes the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange in your lungs through something called the Bohr effect. When you retain the proper amount of CO2 (which mouth breathing typically eliminates too quickly), oxygen actually detaches more efficiently from hemoglobin in your bloodstream, reaching your muscles and organs more effectively.

Beyond the Physical

The ancient yogis and mystics understood something modern neuroscience is only now confirming: controlled nasal breathing directly affects brain activity, particularly in regions associated with attention, emotional regulation, and stress response. [4]

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my journey as a pharmacist and breathwork facilitator, it’s that sometimes the most profound changes come from returning to the basics. In a world constantly chasing the next health breakthrough or biohacking trend, perhaps the most revolutionary act is simply closing your mouth and breathing through your nose.

How to Fix it

• Practice nasal breathing during the day

• Tape your mouth at night (first rule out a diagnosis of sleep apnea)

• Clear nasal congestion (neti pot, sinus rinse or saline spray)

The Bottom Line

Using your breath unconsciously is like physically pushing your Ferrari. While the science is complex, the solution is beautifully simple.

If you want to experience the benefits of conscious connected breathing, where you use your breath to go on a journey within, SAVE THE DATE for Friday, October 24th, at 7pm for our next Somatic Breathwork Session. Details coming soon.

Manjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal, where he helps professionals prevent and manage burnout through evidence-based tools, keynote speaking, and curated retreats. As a certified breathwork facilitator, he has witnessed firsthand how proper breathing can transform health, performance, and well-being.

References:

[1] Yagihara, Felipe, Luciana B. Kawakami, Davi J. M. de Oliveira, Gabriela H. Ama, and Geraldo Lorenzi-Filho. “Nasal Dilator Strip Is an Effective Placebo Intervention for Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea.” Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 13, no. 2 (2017): 215–221. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.6450.

[2] Nestor, James. Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. London, England: Penguin Life, 2020

[3] Lin L, Zhang Y, Wang Y, et al. “The impact of mouth breathing on dentofacial development.” Frontiers in Pediatrics. 2022;10:949858. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9498581/

[4] Zelano, Christina, et al. “Nasal Respiration Entrains Human Limbic Oscillations and Modulates Cognitive Function.” Journal of Neuroscience 36, no. 49 (2016): 12448–12467. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5148230/.