What can the power of breath actually do for reducing stress in our busy society?
Can tracking our own breathing be a catalyst for new healthy behavior changes?
On today's show, we answer those powerful questions and more, with the inventor and world-class expert in the design and study of technologies that promote healthy and high-performing states of mind, Dr. Neema Moraveji.
The Power of The Breath
Dr. Moraveji is co-founder and chief product officer of Spire, the first wearable to track and influence both activity and state of mind.
Early this year, I was fortunate enough to attend the 2015 Quantified Self Conference at Fort Mason center in San Francisco, where I met Dr. Neema and experienced his invention of a groundbreaking breath tracking and mindfulness technology device live and in person.
The results were shocking.
In just a few short minutes after working with Dr. Neema while using SPIRE, cueing breath and watching my feedback on his iPhone, I felt the most relaxed I'd been all week.
Pretty amazing, especially when you consider that over 10 people were watching me in a crowded, loud and busy expo floor throughout the entire exercise!
Tracking Our Breath
Beyond just a wearable device, his invention SPIRE is literally transforming the way that wellness and fitness use breathing techniques, cues, and strategies for better health.
We understand that tracking steps and calories is the quantified self in real life action, but can the breath tell us powerful insights about our health and how we manage stress?
As director of Stanford University’s Calming Technology Lab, he studies how interactive products can mitigate the damaging and distracting effects of acute and chronic stress. He teaches the popular “Designing Calm” at the Stanford Design School and his work has been covered in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR among other esteemed publications.
Master Your Breathing
His TEDxBayArea talk “What Your Breath Is Telling You,” Dr. Moraveji uncovers the way you breathe shows how much tension, calm, and focus you have in your life. He discusses how the millennia-year old science of respiratory psychophysiology can be leveraged today with wearable sensors to help us improve focus, reduce stress, and live with balance in daily life.
Dr. Neema received his B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland at College Park and his M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University. He received his Ph.D., “Augmented Self-Regulation“, from Stanford University.
Links From Today's Show
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Listen As Dr. Neema Uncovers:
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Buy SPIRE Now
Awareness
“When we describe why Spire measures breath, almost all people have an ‘a-ha’ moment given their personal experience with the power of breath.” – Dr. Neema Moraveji
“Your state of mind influences your brain and cardiorespiratory system quite rapidly. Of all the biosignals effected, one of them can be consciously controlled to influence your state of mind – and that is respiration.” – Dr. Neema Moraveji