NYC, LA, and a free show in DC!

Hello love,

USA loves “initialism”. NYC. DC. LA. I learned that these are not acronyms. Acronyms are initials that can be said as a new word (like “NASA”). I have a degree in English from a reputable university and I did not know this until today.

Happy to report that reservations are now available for the free show in Washington DC on Jan 28th! You can reserve your spot HERE.

Toronto and Vancouver are sold out but there are still some tickets left for the shows in New York and Los Angeles. Scroll down for ticket links, etc.

I hope you had some real downtime over the break. I didn’t post anything to social media for several weeks and it felt awesome. It also made me feel okay about getting back into the swing of things and re-entering the world.

I’ve been reading Breath by James Nestor. I’m only about half-way through but it is BLOWING MY MIND. He studies modern scientists who have analyzed the healing powers of ancient conscious breathing techniques.

I AM NOT A DOCTOR - but, according to this book, your physical and mental well-being, general health and lifespan can be enhanced (and lengthened) by the following:

• Breathing exclusively through your nose. Mouth-breathing compromises your immune system and shrinks your nasal passages which re-shapes your mouth (and can be a causal factor in crooked teeth). Apparently, snoring and sleep apnea can basically be eradicated through taping your mouth shut when you sleep (ie. forced nasal breathing). If your nasal passage is particularly blocked up, it could take days or weeks, but breathing strictly through your nose will enlarge your nasal passageways and unblock it (think: “use it or lose it”).

• Breathing slowly. About 5.5 breaths per minute. That’s 5 and a half seconds inhalation, and 5 and a half seconds exhalation.

• Expelling ALL of the air in your lungs now and then. Apparently with normal breathing, we generally only use about 10-15% of our lung capacity. Asthma and emphysema patients often gasp for air, when they actually have plenty of (stale) oxygen in their lungs. I’m not 100% sure I understand this process fully, but here’s my take-away: Increasing the carbon dioxide in your body gives the oxygen in your lungs a place to go. The oxygen molecules and CO2 molecules effectively trade places in your bloodstream, but if your carbon dioxide levels are too low, the oxygen just gets exhaled without having been converted. In order to serve your cells with that fresh oxygen you’re breathing in, your cells need a certain amount of carbon dioxide with which to dance. You can increase the CO2 in your body by completely emptying your lungs, or by taking longer exhalations than your inhalations. Seems counterintuitive. Wild.

• Practicing extreme breathing now and then. Ancient monks practice(d) “tummo” breathing. Wim Hof has popularized a version of this in recent years. I can speak personally to this, in that I’ve been doing this breathing exercise nearly every day for the past few years and my general dance with anxiety has improved immensely. I do it before every single show I play. It re-calibrates my entire system. Chills me the F out. With zero hyperbole, I can say that it has been totally life-changing.

• Lifespan has a deep correlation with lung size. People with larger lungs tend to live longer and suffer fewer diseases. You can increase your lung size by increasing your lung capacity, and you can increase your lung capacity by doing the practices mentioned above.

In this book are big claims (and science to back them up) that snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, emphysema, auto-immune disorders and a myriad of other ailments can be greatly mitigated by adopting some of the practices above.

OK ENOUGH ABOUT BREATHING. jeeeez.

Thank you for your eyes and your ears.

x
Dan

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SHOWS ON SALE

NORTH AMERICA

An Evening with Dan Mangan

Jan 19. Toronto, ON @ Longboat Hall | SOLD OUT
Jan 25. Brooklyn, NY @ Baby's All Right | TICKETS
Jan 28. Washington, DC @ John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (free show) | RESERVE
Feb 2. Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge | TICKETS
Feb 3. Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret | SOLD OUT

Ontario

Jan 20. Stouffville, ON @ Wintersongs Festival | SOLD OUT
Jan 21. Morrisburg, ON @ St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage | TICKETS