Shownotes
Modern over-stimulation is not always loud. It is the ambient hum of notifications and small inputs your nervous system processes all day. This episode is for anyone who has not felt fully still in months.
At 84, Michael Dorfman shares how daily stillness keeps body and mind well. You will learn why stillness lives within, how slow breathing shifts you out of stress, and why planning for change protects calm.
About the Guest:
Michael Dorfman is an author, certified health and nutrition life coach, and a leading voice in the longevity movement, with nearly 50 years of meditation and breathwork.
Key Takeaways:
- Stillness is found inside, not out there. A short morning meditation or breathwork sets the tone for the day.
- When stress rises, slow your breathing: four counts in, six to eight out, for five minutes.
- Plan your day, but expect change. Stillness helps you meet the unexpected calmly.
- No time is rarely the real reason. Micro-moments count: a walk, a pause, time in nature.
- Chronic stress eventually reaches the body. A daily stillness habit protects long-term health.
Connect With the Guest:
Website: longevitywellnessrevolution.com
Book: The Longevity Wellness Revolution. He also writes regularly on Substack.
Episode Chapters:
t[00:00] The Quiet Over-Stimulation: the background hum we stop noticing
[03:30] Stillness Lives Inside: starting the day with breath and meditation
[09:00] The Micro-Moment Myth: why "no time" is rarely the real reason
[14:00] Plan, but Expect Change: meeting the unexpected without stress
[19:00] The Five-Minute Reset: a simple breathing pattern that switches you
[24:00] A Habit for Life: making stillness as routine as brushing your teeth
[28:00] Thriving at Any Age: stress, the body, and longevity
🎙️ Want to Be a Guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy LiSend me a direct message on PodMatch.
👉 DM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik
🌱 About Healthy Mind By Avik™️
Healthy Mind By Avik™️ Global Mental Wellness Podcast Network - focused, credible, no more identity clutter.
👉 Subscribe and be part of this healing journey.
Refer a Guest
Know someone who would be a great fit for one of our podcast shows? Email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Refer a Guest.” Requests without this subject line cannot be catered to.
Support Our Podcast: Support this Podcast
📬 Contact & Links
Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™️
Based in: India & USA
📌 Disclaimer - This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.
If you have concerns about any content, please contact us here
By listening, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer in full. Read detailed disclaimer here.
#podmatch #healthymindbyavik #podhub.club #InnerPeaceBetterHealth #Stillness #NervousSystemRegulation #Breathwork #Meditation #StressRelief #MindBodyConnection #Longevity #MindfulLiving #DigitalOverwhelm #HealthyHabits
Transcripts
00:00:09 Sayan: Welcome back to another episode of Inner Peace Better Health. I'm your host, Ryan, and this is the show where we look honestly at the link between the inner climate of a human being and the visible health of the body. Today we are sitting with a guest who has thought carefully about what stillness actually means inside a real, ordinary life, and what becomes possible when you stop trying to outrun your whole nervous system. Michael Dorfman, welcome to the show. Thanks for being here. And, uh, before we dive in, uh, it's really an honor to have you here because I think with the kind of lived experience that you have in this, I think this is going to be a really interesting one.
00:00:49 Michael Dorfman: Thank you. Diane. Great to be here.
00:00:53 Sayan: Thank you. Michael. So before we dive in, folks, a little disclaimer for all the listeners
00:01:35 Sayan: Now, with that being said, Michael, I want to start before we dive in, could you tell us what Was one small moment of stillness that you have had in the last twenty four hours.
00:01:51 Michael Dorfman: Well, uh, I do practices that, uh, the stillness is really found inside, inside of us. It's hard to find stillness outside of us.
00:02:04 Sayan: Wow. Yeah.
00:02:06 Michael Dorfman: So the stillness is inside. So if you really want to be still and just connect with yourself, then, uh, it has to be, uh, you know, it can be done through different lifestyle practices. I do meditation, I've been doing meditation for, I think close to fifty years, hardly missing a day, but I also do breathwork and, uh, and exercise. So, but I think the most important has been for me to, because I do the meditation in the mornings, it's the first thing I do. I do breathwork and I do Meditations every morning. And that sets me, gets me ready for the day, because I know that what's waiting for me is not stillness out there. And in a sense, it's understandable because we you go to work, we we have our relationships, we have so many things we do, uh, during the day that, uh, you know, it's hard to find stillness. And that's also because our, the sympathetic nervous system is working, which is, is when we're really active and we're enjoying the day. But it's when you, uh, get up early or you go to sleep and the body starts, you know, when the body starts slowing down and then you, it's a good time to just, uh, connect and relax within oneself and, and connect with our inner self, which is there's something there. There's a whole world of stillness inside that, uh, we can really enjoy it. And it helps us Separate from the outside world, the outside, the, you know, all the energy and the activity. And we're always, if you can have that stillness not only in the moment, but even take it with you during the day. It helps us get through the day without, you know, getting stressed or overwhelmed by what's going on.
00:04:00 Sayan: I think that's a very well thought out and articulated answer. Um, I've heard about it almost from, uh, every wise man that they start their day with some kind of breathwork or meditation that helps them, uh, get fueled for the rest of the day. So, uh, Michael, I do want to ask you this out of curiosity. So, um, if someone is living a very fast paced life, uh, and admits that they don't have time to sit with any kind of meditation or breath work for ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes. Do you think that is an excuse or do you think, uh, there could be other ways potentially in how what I call the micro moments, like how you could connect with yourself in those little micro moments that you find within your day. So I'm curious to know your take on this because I think you would have some idea or a like knowledge on this.
00:05:06 Michael Dorfman: Yeah. So I think it's, I think it's very important, the most important point or a place where people have to reach is that they understand that, uh, you know, they are overactive and they're not still, because the problem is, you know, there's so many, you know, chances to get stressed out in our life. And, uh, that we don't, we forget that there is a stillness that is we get used to being stressed. We get used to being overactive. And that can lead to, you know. You know, problems that we end up, you know, maybe, uh, taking a drug or, or drinking or something, you know, taking artificial ways to, you know, calm down a little bit. But that's not really for me natural. So, uh, I think it's first is accepting that we need stillness. We have to find a way to calm down because the end result, you know, I'm eighty four years old. The end result is if you don't do that, you're going to get sick at some point. And that's what happens to a lot of people. They either get sick or they get, you know, stressed out or they get depressed and they start taking, you know, pharmaceutical drugs to, you know, but we don't want to do that. Really, it's not, it's not the healthiest way.
00:06:29 Speaker 3: Which has its own kind of side effects.
00:06:33 Michael Dorfman: Absolutely. You know, that's that's that's absolutely the truth. So I, you know, even just, uh, getting out into nature is one way walking, you know, just, you know, just, uh, taking a break is and realizing that you need a break because you can get so involved in your activity that, uh, you don't realize you need a, you need a break and, uh, and then you get anxious and upset and, uh, and just get, uh, you know, stressed out and, uh, and just continue, continue, continue without realizing that it's a moment to stay. Stop, stop and step back. Step back. You know, we need to calm down. We need to relax. We need to. Of course, if not, we're going to we're going to have problems, especially, you know, young people, you know, think they're going to leave for live forever and not maybe not interested so much in our health, but eventually it's going to catch up to us. You know, one at one point or another if we don't, you know, take those take some moments at least to just, you know, step back from what we're involved in and see that we need to calm down.
00:07:50 Sayan: I love it. I think that's a very practical approach, Michael. But as you were saying, right. I mean, we all get caught up. Um, I mean, uh, during those peak hours or I would say the peak phases of our lives. Um, and we get caught up in that overstimulation cycle. But what I was trying to think about is from a different vantage point. How about. We think ahead in time. And by that, I mean have so much clarity that we get ourselves better calendar, right, which have pretty much the entire day planned out for us. Um, and have that clarity really embedded onto a sheet or on a calendar so that we literally know what's coming next. And what I mean by that is the brain understands that what are the next few sequences that's coming up, right? So that is maybe a different way of looking at it. Michael. Uh, because I think, I think the brain sort of caught up in an overstimulation phase when there are a lot of, uh, you know, things coming up, which it hadn't anticipated would come up. Right. So I think one way to look at it is having a better calendar, a better time management. Uh, but I'm curious to know, what do you think about that? And if you even think that time management plays any role whatsoever in this.
00:09:19 Michael Dorfman: That's a good question. Uh, because I do, I try to time manage. I think we all, you know, should, you know, have a general idea of what we're going to do and maybe plan out our day. But there's one problem. Things don't usually go the way we think they're going to go. And if we really go along with those plans and not, uh, not ready for changes, because one thing in life is really true, the only constant is change. So you really, it's impossible to know what the future is because we can't control it. We think we would love to control the future. We would love to control everything to make sure that goes along with what we want to happen. I love when that happens. Hey, it's going along perfectly and all of a sudden, boom, something happens. She says, wait a second, I wasn't planning for that. So we have to be ready. And, uh, that brings us back to what I was talking about, is having this separation from the activities. Yes, it's important to plan, and I do that every day. Every morning I say, okay, so this is what I want to do this, this, this, you know, one, two, three, four, five. But I'm always, I know from experience of a lifetime that something is at least one thing is not going to happen, uh, according to my plan. So I have to be ready with that. And that's the advantage of finding the stillness in that. Okay, I'm ready for that if that happens.
00:10:49 Sayan: Right. I think that beautifully explains why we even discussed the first point of it. Uh, but yeah, I think that's, that's an interesting point because, uh, I was having this talk with another gentleman the other day when we were trying to see calendar as, um, as a measurable, uh, unit, right. Uh, like have it, have it, uh, I mean, sinked in, uh, so much that you can literally measure, uh, every, every, uh, uh, part of it. But I think, uh, the fact that you brought that up is that change is the only constant. I think, uh, that is that needs to be internalized somewhere in our mind in order to, I would say, expect the unexpected, which again, uh, you know, helps us, uh, I would say reduce the overstimulation if that is really, really internalized in us. But I want to ask this, if a listener is listening to this today and is at the very beginning of finding stillness in their lives, right? What is the inner orientation that you would offer them? You know, now the technique. Now, now that we talked about breathwork and there could be lots of other things like somatic somatics definitely are one of the techniques I would say, but, uh, it's just the way of holding themselves through the discomfort of slowing down maybe, or, you know, having a fast paced life. So what do you really have to say, uh, to those listeners today, Michael?
00:12:18 Michael Dorfman: Well, I, I think that, uh, it is very simple, you know, slowing down is very important. Uh, at some point during the day. And I find that for me, it's that I'm able to disconnect and, uh, you know, getting back to, uh, one of the things that works for me during the day, if I find myself that, uh, you know, I'm getting too anxious or I'm getting too involved in something is to stop and just, uh, you know, take some breaths, you know, breathing in, breathing out slowly. It's sort of, uh, it has an amazing, uh, result of, uh, actually switching us because when we start getting overstimulated, uh, you know, it's the sympathetic nervous system where our cortisol, the hormone, the stress hormone is, is, is getting very active. And we want, we, you know, we don't want that to continue for too long. So we want it to go back into the parasympathetic sympathetic, uh, part of the nervous system where we're slowing down, where we can relax and feel good. You know, when you're overstressed or you're too active, you're not feeling good, you're feeling anxious. It's just it doesn't feel right for the body. So when you slow down and you take your, you know, what I do sometimes is I slow down for five minutes and you could simply go breathe, take four breaths in and take eight breaths, six or eight breaths out and do that for five minutes and, and just really focus on those breaths. It can sort of like you can restart the restart over again. So, uh, you know, and I wanted to mention something else, but I think it's very important when you're, when you're really at the right place inside and you're looking at the situation, which is not working out according to your plan, you can also come up with a plan B, you can start thinking of different options that can work out okay, if this is going this way, What am I going to do? Because I have to not continue doing what I wanted. Because everything's changed. The situation has changed. So what am I going to do? What am I? What is my plan B? What am I going to do to adjust to this new where this, you know, where it's going in this other direction?
00:14:39 Sayan: Yeah, I think.
00:14:40 Speaker 3: That's.
00:14:40 Sayan: Important. That's powerful. It's not just about doing stillness right way. I would say it's about being honest with yourself all the time that you have to be running for a long, long time and that you're tired, right? So I think once you let yourself feel that honesty, I think that your body starts cooperating with the practice, right? Instead of going against that. So, um, again, very well articulated, Michael. So one last thing that I would love to ask before we wrap this off is for those who actually, uh, started with that practice, but now they sit with, um, Setbacks, obviously. Uh, because I think anyone who has built a stillness practice knows the pull of the old climate is strong. But again, um, life is unpredictable. Change is the only constant. Stress might hit back. Right. Uh, so how do you really come back to that practice, that stillness after a stretch of running without the shame that that's going to, uh, you know, usually, um, I mean, without the shame ultimately. So what would you like to say?
00:15:47 Michael Dorfman: You mean, uh, as far as coming back to, uh, what works for me?
00:15:52 Sayan: Yeah. You could share.
00:15:54 Michael Dorfman: Okay. Okay. Okay. So I think that, uh, I've, I've, this is part of my life. Uh, and, you know, when I'm talking, I'm in my eighties now, so, uh, having, uh, you know, changing my habits and acquiring new habits that work for me, uh, I make them part of my life. So this is something that I don't even think about. So you, you know, if if you can get to the point where you can make your stillness, uh, being, connecting to yourself as part of your life, as important as connecting to everything else that's going on, then you can adjust to that by, uh, having your practices and your practices. You get used to it. Just like you get up in the morning, you brush your teeth, you get dressed, you do everything you. I practice, I meditate, I do my breathwork, so find what's good for you. Maybe it's tai chi, maybe it's yoga. Maybe it's whatever you can do. You have to understand that it can be a very important part of your life, and it can also help your health, you know, because the power of the mind, if you let this keep going day after day and it's in stress mode all the time, or you're worrying or you're anxious. It's going to eventually affect your health. It's almost impossible to avoid. So when we take that seriously and we want to be healthy, you know, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, then we start including these things in our life, which are part of, you know, the healthiest and longest living people in the world are, you know, they have these practices, they, they find enjoyment in their life. And, you know, they avoid getting too stressed out and, and too active without finding the stillness inside.
00:17:51 Sayan: Yeah. That lands. Um, thanks for sharing that, Michael. I think that understanding of having, um, that running stretch is not kind of, uh, the failure or stillness, but it's part of how I actually learn it and how you can actually endure yourself, like make a practice that basically can endure yourself through those constant changes that keeps coming up anyway. I think that is something that ultimately makes the difference, right? Endurance and perseverance. So I think the people who go furthest with this work are the ones who have learned to return without first, um, kind of shaming themselves or having that guilt feeling for any kind of setbacks in their life. So I think that's perhaps the best note to wrap this up on Michael. But before we do that, for listeners who actually connected and resonated with what we just said today, if someone listening today on the edge of trying to slow down, wants to connect with you and find your work, so where's the best place for them to do that?
00:18:52 Michael Dorfman: Okay, well, I have, uh, a new book that just came out, The Longevity Wellness Revolution, and it's a bold new blueprint for thriving in the fifth stage of life, which is eighty to one hundred eighty and beyond. Uh, so that's my book. I have a website which is longevity wellness revolution dot com. And, uh, I also do have a Substack, uh, which I put out articles every week or every ten days. And that's what people can find me. And, uh, yeah, so I cover, uh, not only nutrition, I cover lifestyle, everything that's helping me enjoy my life in the eighties. And, uh, we can thrive. We can thrive at any age, but that's something that we have to want to do.
00:19:43 Sayan: Absolutely. I love, I love that one sentence at the end. Uh, indeed. And Michael, thank you so much for sharing that. I will be having the links in the show notes. And I myself believe that no matter what kind of circumstances or the age or, uh, you know, circumstances or situations we do have, I think we can definitely thrive. And I think it really comes down to how bad you want something in your life to happen, and you would find a way. So naturally, I think it comes down to that. So thanks for joining with us today. And, uh, it was really, uh, nice to hear from you, Michael, from your lived experience, uh, coming from, uh, a, a eighty, I mean, someone in their eighties, uh, straight to, you know, generations down. So, uh, this was, I think a conversation that was filled with, uh, so much clarity as well as, uh, you know, honesty overall in this conversation. So I think a lot of listeners would resonate with what we just talked about today. So folks, for those of you who have stuck with us till this point, I think this is the exactly the kind of conversation that NFP was built for, right? Honest, embodied, and unwilling to flatten the inner climate into a productivity hack. So I want to leave you with this, folks. That stillness is not really optional. It's a Necessity, right? It's it's a return. It is your nervous system being given permission to remember itself. So let yourself have that slow stretch as you wind off. And yeah, this has been science and I'll see you in the next one very soon.
