Pull Yourself Together: The Best Expert Advice to Make You Feel Incredible

Living a more meaningful life, and happiness, it- it really isn't about the big stuff. It's about the little things you can do every single day. I'm talking pillars to a meaningful, healthy, and fulfilling life. So today, you're going to meet the world's leading expert on breathing, and there's one change that will help you breathe correctly. And then we're going to move on to walking. Are you walking correctly? Are you walking enough? Probably not. And then we are going to move on to the third pillar, which is sleep, and she is going to help you get a better night's sleep starting tonight. If you can nail breathing, walking, and sleeping, something you don't even think about, you got 80% of your life nailed. And today, they're here to teach you the one change in each of these three pillars that you need to make to do it better. (intro music plays) Hey, it's your buddy Mel, and I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being here with me. I just love the time that we get to spend together, and I also want to acknowledge you for taking the time and choosing to listen to something that could help you create a more meaningful life. Like, that's super cool. So yay you. And if you're a new listener, I want to welcome you to the Mel Robbins podcast family, and today is a great, great, great day because I'm going to boil down almost 200 episodes that we've done into three pillars that really improve your health. And one of the greatest things about modern life, I mean, can we just, like, call it as it is? Is that there's just so much information out there. I mean, you can literally Google any topic and get billions of search results. But isn't that also the hardest thing about modern life, that there's just so much information? I don't know about you, but I get overwhelmed really easily, and I find particularly when it comes to prioritizing your own health, for example, like, how do you distill it all down, especially when there's so much information? So today that's what I'm going to do, I'm going to really try to distill down the extraordinary amount of research and information that there is out there about health. And so first thing is that we have learned over and over and over again on this podcast from world-renowned experts that maintaining healthy connections with friends and family is one of the most important things that you can do, and since we've talked about that recently, I want to just shove that to the side for a minute, and I want to ask you to get selfish. Let's just forget about everybody else, okay? I want you to pretend that you're looking in the mirror and you're having one of those moments where you're, like, looking in the mirror, you're staring back at yourself, and you're like, "All right, we got to pull it together." What are the top three things that you would focus on? Like, for real. Wh- wh- where do you start when it comes to being healthier and, and taking care of yourself? I mean, should you go gluten-free? Is it weight training? Do you need that infrared face mask thing that you see all over the internet? Should you be taking supplements? Like, you're talking to the person staring back at you in the mirror. If you had to bottom line it, what are the three most foundational things that you should focus on that will give you the biggest bang for the buck with your overall health? I mean, given the fact that you got limited time to devote to yourself, you're so busy taking care of everyone else, and you're busy at work, and you're busy at school, you got little time for you. What are the three things, if you had to bottom line it? Well, your friend Mel Robbins is going to bottom line it for you, because based on the research, hands down, those three pillars that you need to focus on: breathing, walking, sleeping. Now, when I hear that trifecta, I'm like, "Are we 80 years old? We're talking breathing, walking, and sleeping? Come on now." The fact is, though, that breathing, walking, and sleeping, based on the research, they are the pillars, the foundation of your overall health, and I have handpicked the, I'm talking capital T-H-E, world-renowned experts in each one of these three topics. This is all they research, this is all they talk about, this is all that they write books on, and you're not only going to learn about each of these incredible pillars of better health, breathing, sleeping, walking, but you're also going to learn that you're probably doing it incorrectly, and there are simple changes based on their research and expertise that will help you leverage the power of breathing, walking, and sleeping for your overall health. How cool is that? It doesn't matter how old or young you are, these are changes you're going to make today. You're going to look at that person in the mirror, you're going to be like, "We are going to be doing this correctly from now on." In fact, I am going to forward this episode to my children. They are 25, 23, and 19 years old. Because you're going to learn that you're breathing wrong, and guess what? My kids are breathing wrong too. So let's start right there. Let's start with breathing. I mean, you know you need to breathe. The second you stop breathing, you die. But I don't think you've ever stopped to consider whether or not you're breathing correctly, whether or not you're doing it as a way to feel better while you're alive. I cannot wait for you to meet Patrick McKeuan, who taught me when he first appeared on the Mel Robbins podcast over a year ago, that, "Mel Robbins, you are breathing incorrectly." I am what researchers call a mouth breather. Well, apparently mouth breathing is a major no-no. And, you know, I- I- I don't even need to be sitting with you, I can tell you're holding your breath right now, because now you're thinking about your breathing, right? And so as I'm talking about breathing, you're like, "Am I even breathing? Oh my God, I'm not breathing." Let's change that. Because maybe, like I am-...maybe you're breathing incorrectly, which is, you're always breathing in and out of your mouth. I don't do that anymore, and neither are you. Patrick McKeown will make you close your mouth and open your eyes to a whole new way of breathing. Patrick McKeown is a breathing expert and a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology in the UK. His research is so widely regarded, I don't have time to tell you all the citations and academic stuff. But he is an international bestselling author, all on the science of breathing. Who knew there was so much information about breathing? Patrick's specialized breathing techniques are used by Olympic athletes, top business executives, and the lead singer of Coldplay. Hey, now, I want to learn that. And his work with elite military personnel, Patrick teaches snipers how to change mental states and keep a steady hand simply through their breathing. And today, he's here to teach you how to use your breath to stay grounded and relaxed in your day-to-day life by simply breathing the right way. Now, when he first came on the show, he was like, "Mel Robbins, you're a mouth breather, and I'm no longer a mouth breather. I'm a nose breather, and you want to be a nose breather, because breathing through your nose makes you less stressed, it keeps you calmer, it boosts your overall health." But I'm going to let Patrick McKeown explain why mouth breathing is so bad for you. And one other thing, he not only makes you feel smarter, he's so fabulous to listen to. Wait till you hear his accent. And here's what he said when I asked him the opening question. "So Patrick, when it comes to breathing, what are we doing wrong?"