The Optimal Performance Guide

Jack Feldman is a Brooklyn, NY native with his PhD in Physics and is a Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology at UCLA. According to my friend and previous guest Andrew Huberman “Jack is the world leader in all things breathing” so who better to talk to about this amazing gift of breath than Jack.

Jack discovered an area in the brain stem that is responsible for the rhythm of breath which he named the pre-Botzinger complex. He is a world leader into the discovery of the answer to this simple question...“How is the very basic rhythm of breathing generated?”

In this episode we explore Jacks journey to answer this simple sounding question and he shares a lot of valuable information and insights into how our respiration impacts our health and optimal performance....including how the breath prepares the body for exercise before it even begins...why HIIT works...and very interesting findings with episodic hypoxia training.

I really enjoyed talking with Jack and I hope you find value in our conversation. Thanks as always for tuning in and supporting the show!

Topics covered:

• the physics journey of space and time
• pivot to study the breath
• physiology of breath
• how is the very basic rhythm of breath generated
• pre botzinger complex
• sync of fireflies in nature like our breath neural activation
• evolutionary look at breath
• embryology and breath
• anatomy of breath
• exercise activate active expiration oscillator
• HRV and how variance required for optimal health
• breathing rhythm found throughout entire brain
• lab mantra “you can’t do anything interesting if you’re afraid of failing”
• time scale of breath and learning
• sleep apnea science and treatment
• power of napping and mindfulness on our health
• breathing and emotion research
• how breathing can interrupt depression patterns
• the importance of oscillations in communication across the brain
• respiratory rate variance is key
• cellular respiration
• why HIIT is effective
• the performance benefits of episodic hypoxia

Find Jack:

Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-feldman-bb493639/

Google scholar

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7VU42UMAAAAJ&hl=en

Andrew Huberman and Jack Feldman convo on instagram

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CEICXI0Hf0u/?hl=en

This was a live recorded conversation all about the neuroscience of breathing, its relationship to emotion, depression, opioids, and a lot more. Thank you Jack for joining me for this very stimulating and informative conversation!

5 min audio from BBC interview on how the name of pre-Botzinger complex came about

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p03j049b

Our guest today is Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary. She was born in India but left at the age of 4 to relocate with her family in the US. Her path led her to become a medical doctor specializing in Neurology and the director of Wellspring health in Scripps Memorial Hospital for ten years. Luckily for us, she became sick, which sounds bad I know, but as pills and traditional treatment was not working she looked to Ayurvedic medicine and meditation which quickly brought her back to health. From this point on she hasn’t looked back and is a pioneer bridging the worlds of ancient Indian traditions and medicine to modern science.

She is currently decoding and researching ancient Siddha texts and medicine which very few people on the planet have had access to. Specific frequencies and vibrations of sound delivered thru mantras and instruments have been essential to our health in for thousands of years in these traditions and we are just starting to have science match up and offer explanations for how this is possible.

She recently released her second book “Sound medicine” which is an amazing journey thru the current science of sound and how it maps to Ayurvedic and western medicine. I love that Kulreet is so grounded in science but also open to what science has yet to be able to uncover.

She is an absolute light in this world and doing important work that has far reaching potential. This was a really fun conversation so I hope you enjoy!

We talk about:

-the bridge between western medicine and eastern practices

-spiritual growth

-the science of quantum physics, biology, biofields, etc

-healing aspect of nature (ocean, forest)

-healing thru the lens of Ayurveda, sound, ancient siddha and Vedic texts

-mantra meditation

-chakras and the nervous system

-subtle energy fields in the body

-heart electromagnetic field

-devotion vs love

-how to access higher states of consciousness

-detox the physical and emotional body

-shift from receiving to creating

More info:

Dr Kulreet Chaudhary website

https://drkulreetchaudhary.com/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/drkchaudhary?lang=en

Book- Sound medicine

https://amzn.to/31BNkWV

Book- The Prime: Prepare and Repair Your Body for Spontaneous Weight Loss

https://amzn.to/3dP0fJS

Link to Dosha quiz

https://drkulreetchaudhary.com/dosha-quiz/

Today’s show is a special one for me. I have been looking forward to sitting down with my good friend Andrew Huberman and today is the day.

Also this is our first sponsored episode which I couldn’t be more grateful and proud to align with. The company is Madefor. For those of you who are regular listeners..first thank you! Thank you for being curious about your own personal formula for optimal performance and just living your best life and 2nd if you’re new to the show welcome! One of the Madefor co-founders and former Navy SEAL Pat Dossett was on the show in an earlier episode so check that out. Pat is a very inspiring human so I’m confident it will be worth your time.

ok what is Madefor? it’s a 10-month program that delivers the essential science, tools, steps and support to help you live better.

In a world of quick fixes and fads, Madefor stands apart.

Co-founded by a former Navy SEAL and built alongside a team of world class experts, Madefor delivers a science based approach to personal growth.

So, if you feel like you’ve gone off track, you’re being overrun by life or you’re just ready to up your game and take back control, let Madefor be your guide and get started today.

Visit www.getmadefor.com to learn more and use my personal code MFRory for 20% off the entire program or follow them on Instagram at @Madefor team.

Thank you Madefor!

Ok what can I say about Andrew? He has his PhD in Neuroscience. He’s a tenured professor in the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He has his own lab at Stanford ..(Huberman Lab) where he has 2 main focuses. 1. working to halt and reverse vision loss and 2. How Visual perception and ANS arousal states are integrated and impact behavior.

So obviously he is super smart and driven...but what really makes Andrew special is he cares deeply about people. He is a big strong guy on the outside but on the inside has a huge heart and really goes out of his way to help others.

Many of you listening will have heard Andrew before because he has done almost every major podcast out there. He has a great Instagram channel where he shares all kinds of actionable knowledge about neuroscience so definitely check that out if you haven’t already.

In this episode we talk about all kinds of topics neuroscience and performance related but really emphasize and dive deep into creativity, and how the relationship between time and space and our sense perceptions shape our reality.

Ok enough talking let’s get to the show!

Topics covered:

• sense perception shapes our physical world
• sound heard in headphones vs room
• vision acuity center vs periphery
• contrast between various animals and human senses
• space-time link to the nervous system
• how we can think in various senses
• neuroplasticity
• diving birds, elephant, sloth, naked mole rat, pit vipers
• brain has homunculus in cortex and cerebellum
• humans have magneto-receptors
• limitations on research
• brain-organs (heart, gut, etc)-body integration
• embryology
• zebra fish
• motor learning
• speed of information propagated thru the body
• deep dive into the neuroscience of creativity
• influence of breath (respiration) on ANS
• how to leverage creativity to nurture relationships
• explore the realm of possibility in terms of human connection
• alert vs calm or sympathetic vs parasympathetic states
• entrainment (sync) in the nervous system
• brain is a prediction machine
• how magicians can make you blind to what is in front of you
• binural beats
• HRV
• Nobel prize
• how creativity maps to parts of the day
• how to leverage neuroscience to maximize creativity

Connect with Andrew...

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab/?hl=fr-ca

Huberman Lab

http://www.hubermanlab.com/index.html

Find More about Rudy:

Twitter

https://twitter.com/RudyTanzi?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Ted talk- Curing Alzheimer’s with Science and Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuel1AFKSDo

Instagram - doesn’t really use it

https://www.instagram.com/rudy_tanzi/?hl=en

Books:

Super Brain

https://amzn.to/31IyONg

Super Genes

https://amzn.to/2G8c0hA

and The Healing Self.

https://amzn.to/32LYPL5

Mentioned in podcast:

Rudy’s music

https://www.n1m.com/rudytanzi

Joe Perry, Francis Collins and Rudy Tanzi perform "The Times They Are A-Changin" on Capitol Hill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SNHDlKYSt0

Companies:

The Marvel Biome

https://www.marvelbiome.com/

AZTherapies

https://aztherapies.com/

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals

https://www.amylyx.com/our-company/

Donate:

Cure alzheimers fund

https://curealz.org/researchers/rudy-tanzi/

Ok guys it is a pleasure to have my friend Nick Winkelman on the show today.

Nick is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to optimizing human performance so I am very excited to share this conversation with you.

Nick is currently living in Dublin, Ireland where he is the head of athletic performance & science for the Irish Rugby Football Union.

Before working for Irish Rugby, Nick was the director of education and training systems for EXOS (formerly Athletes' Performance), which is a global leader in performance training and education. As the director of education, Nick oversaw the development and execution of all internal and external educational initiatives. As a performance coach, he oversaw the speed and assessment component of the NFL Combine and supported many professional athletes and elite Military.

Nick completed his PhD in philosophy with a focus on motor learning and sprinting. He is a international speaker and consultant on human performance and coaching science and has numerous book chapters and peer reviewed papers focusing on the intersection between coaching language and athlete learning.

Nick recently released his first book titled “The Language of coaching” which is a deep dive into the science and art of utilizing our language to best serve our athletes.

This conversation is heavy on coaching athletes but the principles discussed are universal...so whether you are a coach, teacher, trainer, yoga instructor, CEO or athlete...whatever your profession I think you will take valuable insights with you because language is key to effective communication. And good communication is everything!

Some topics discussed are:

• how to enhance focus, attention and memory
• how “being present” reflects your “presence”
• how to enhance recovery while you train
• how injury changes your focus and performance
• why external cuing wins when it comes to performance
• how to navigate a “high pressure” moment for best results
• flow state
• and the best life advice ever received “give it all away because it will come back to you”

More on Nick...

The Book

The Language of Coaching

https://amzn.to/3ihuYR4

Great education videos

https://www.thelanguageofcoaching.com/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/NickWinkelman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/nickwinkelman/?hl=en

People mentioned:

Gabriele Wulf

Attention and Motor Skill Learning

https://amzn.to/3hbCWK9

Rob Gray

https://perceptionaction.com/about/

EXOS

https://www.teamexos.com/