Lecture
Patrick McKeown and Justine Fisher
Wednesday 3.06.2026
Patrick McKeown and Justine Fisher
Think Smarter: The Brain-Breathing Connection
Wednesday 3.06.2026
How to watch
This lecture starts on 3 June at 7:00pm (UK).
Summary
The brain is the most energy-demanding organ in the body, yet most people give little thought to how their daily breathing habits affect its function. In this talk, Patrick McKeown draws on over two decades of experience to show how breathing directly influences brain health and performance — from blood flow to the brain and balance of the nervous system, to sleep quality and the ability to sustain concentration. Practical and accessible, the talk covers how to assess your own breathing, simple techniques to reduce mind-wandering and sharpen focus, and how better breathing can improve sleep, reduce stress, and support mental clarity in everyday life. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of why breathing is one of the most powerful and overlooked tools for optimising how the brain works.
Patrick McKeown
Patrick McKeown has been teaching people to breathe better since 2002, following his studies at Trinity College Dublin and his training under Dr. Konstantin Buteyko in Moscow. He is the creator of Oxygen Advantage®, a system now taught by more than 10,000 certified instructors in over 50 countries, and has worked extensively in the areas of respiratory health, sleep, and mental wellbeing. His clients range from Olympic and professional athletes to corporate organisations and international law enforcement, including the FBI. He is the author of several books on breathing and performance, and his work is grounded in the practical application of breathing science to everyday life.
Justine Fisher
Justine Fisher was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She currently lives and works in Watermill, NY, where she creates large-scale oil paintings that blend abstraction and figuration, landscapes and domestic interiors, and the real and the uncanny. Working within these liminal spaces, Fisher builds numerous gestural layers of color, form, and texture to create works that draw from traditional genres, art history, her own personal experiences, and the natural world to investigate the complexity of human nature, intellect, and desire. Justine received her MFA in 2013 from the New York Academy of Art, her BFA in 2010 from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and her BA in Art History in 2007 from New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions organized by Weosky Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2013); New York Academy of Art, New York, NY (2013 and 2012); Sotheby’s, New York, NY (2011), and Phillips de Pury, New York, NY (2010).