Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
- Downloads：4122
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-15 03:18:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：James Nestor
- ISBN：0241289122
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Héloïse
，
I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did。 Super interesting， all about history of breathing methods and James' journey in curing his breathing problems。Nice quick read （or listen）。 The audiobook's narrator's attempted narration of other people's voices comes out a little funny， but otherwise is pretty solid。But yes， read it with a grain of salt。 I didn't go into it thinking this was a How-to book to address breathing problems， but as a way to see breathing differently。 It's one guy's ane I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did。 Super interesting， all about history of breathing methods and James' journey in curing his breathing problems。Nice quick read （or listen）。 The audiobook's narrator's attempted narration of other people's voices comes out a little funny， but otherwise is pretty solid。But yes， read it with a grain of salt。 I didn't go into it thinking this was a How-to book to address breathing problems， but as a way to see breathing differently。 It's one guy's anecdotal journey， not a peer-reviewed scientific method。 。。。more
Ruthann
，
This book is full of everyone else’s theories。 The author is doing a fair bit of re-telling and theorizing。 He also presents research from others- the big conclusion is breath in through your nose for 5。5 seconds and exhale for 5。5 seconds。 Save yourself some time- that’s the jist。
Katri
，
Difficult to review: entertaining and easy to read， includes also scientific information even though a lot of anecdotal evidence。
Arnold
，
An engagingly written and thought-provoking book about breathing—all the more interesting to me personally because I’ve gone through some of the respiratory issues discussed in the book。 I dock one star because the book wades into some pseudoscienc-y stuff that I didn’t love， and I would have liked to have seen that material contextualized a bit better。
Florence Walter
，
This is one of those books that will take time to complete。 My notebook remains at my side to record bits of information I don’t want to lose。 I will probably purchase my own copy， as this is a library copy。 So much compelling information that resonates within me！
Kaiju Reviews
，
DNF at 50%This is a perfect example of what is wrong with science reporting in the world right now。 Filled with misinformation， incorrectly drawn conclusions， no scientific method at all， and hearsay anecdotes from poorly designed experiments。 Case in point: the text of the book differs from the unabridged audio book。 Here's a silly example。 Nestor describes a character in the book as looking like the mug shot of Nick Nolte。 In the audio， it's the mugshot of Gary Busey。 Details in the audio are DNF at 50%This is a perfect example of what is wrong with science reporting in the world right now。 Filled with misinformation， incorrectly drawn conclusions， no scientific method at all， and hearsay anecdotes from poorly designed experiments。 Case in point: the text of the book differs from the unabridged audio book。 Here's a silly example。 Nestor describes a character in the book as looking like the mug shot of Nick Nolte。 In the audio， it's the mugshot of Gary Busey。 Details in the audio are often not present in the book， and vice versus。 In some instances， the details are different。 So？ What's the point of me bringing this up？ It's this: if the details don't matter to the author， why should they matter to us。 This is a tall tale told by an idiot， full of sound and fury， and signifying nothing。 It's science via that old game 'telephone'。 If he can't get his own words from paper to voice， how the hell can we trust anything else he's saying？ That at least was my feeling。 （And no， Nestor isn't an idiot， I'm paraphrasing a quote from the audio version of this review）。Look， all this may sound harsh， but look around。 Anyone with the time and inclination can cobble up enough quack sources on the internet to write a book about anything and dress it up exactly like this one。 Grounding。 Bigfoot。 Microchips in vaccines。 At some point this kind of one sided dialogue based only on a person's opinion but masked as 'science' becomes harmful。 Right now there are people out there refusing to get a life saving vaccine because of literally thousands of articles， sites， books， etc。 telling them not to。 There are millions that think climate change is a hoax， which is destroying the future for our children and their children， hell， maybe even for us！ Rather than take the time to get both sides to a story， to rely on solid data derived using solid experiments based on the scientific method， people are just believing whatever the hell they want。 Whatever campfire tale is told the best。And honestly， this tale is decently told。 And I'm sure a handful of his conclusions are correct。 But the method is all wrong。 The only saving grace is that no one will die from the practices described here unless taken to an extreme。 It's not like Nestor's telling people to eat Tide Pods。 Though I'm worried about his next book: 'Tide Pods: A New Way to Promote Gut Health'Look。 It's breathing。 You know how to do it。 If you're breath through your mouth， you're doing it wrong。 Raise your hand if you didn't know that already。 If you didn't know that， sure， read the book。 But get it from the library。 It's easy to cherry pick the results that favor your conclusion and leave all the rest on the tree。 Don't reward it with your pocket book。 Reward the writing that does the legwork and cares about the details。 。。。more
Robin Zolotoff
，
I learned a lot from this book， about the nature of mouth breathing vs。 nose breathing， and it encouraged me to seek out other stories of primitive tribes mentioned by the author。
Jordan
，
Packed full of info and wild claims that seem to be fairly well supported。 Fascinating！
Swapnil Wankhede
，
This to me was a reminder of how a lot of practices have originated in the east and how we constantly seek an endorsement from the west before adoption at mass scale。Short and concise。
Shreya Nathan
，
Fascinating and very accessible science on how breath is the （overlooked） basis for health
Barb Cherem
，
Enjoyed much of the later part of the book， esp。 Chapter 10 where yoga and breathing and its incredible history and pervasiveness of importance across time and culture are related。 I also think Nestor makes a great case for the importance of our breathing as it relates to good health， although he may over-reach at times， he essentially creates a compelling case。 The descriptions almost take your breath away when he relates about a purposefully inducted panic attacks with the carbon dioxide。 I fe Enjoyed much of the later part of the book， esp。 Chapter 10 where yoga and breathing and its incredible history and pervasiveness of importance across time and culture are related。 I also think Nestor makes a great case for the importance of our breathing as it relates to good health， although he may over-reach at times， he essentially creates a compelling case。 The descriptions almost take your breath away when he relates about a purposefully inducted panic attacks with the carbon dioxide。 I feel fortunate to be a mouth breather！The details bogged me down at times， but overall a nice scan and read。 。。。more
Charmin
，
HIGHLIGHTS:1。 The lungs are the weight regulating of the body。2。 We need more carbon dioxide。
Susan
，
Fascinating nerdutainment！
Nicole
，
Revolutionary insights that have changed my life。
Emily
，
Fascinating。 This book has everything from the author's personal experiences to current research to breathing techniques to try。 I was enthralled from the very beginning， and I feel like I learned a lot about the history of breathing and ways to use breath more to my own advantage。 Fascinating。 This book has everything from the author's personal experiences to current research to breathing techniques to try。 I was enthralled from the very beginning， and I feel like I learned a lot about the history of breathing and ways to use breath more to my own advantage。 。。。more
Yuni Amir
，
Though I personally think the book can be reduced to 3 blog posts， I enjoy and gain few new things especially now I want to focus more on my pranayama techniques。
Jennifer
，
Really interesting and the personal stories made it engaging。 Thankful I’m not a “mouth breather，” but I don’t think I’ll ever be a Wim Hoff either！ A book I can see myself referring back to。
Steven Ewing
，
Wow。 I learrned so much from this book。
Shana Bird
，
There are certainly a lot of anecdotes in this book but overall interesting and definitely learned a thing or two about breathing！
Jessica
，
i thought it was super interesting。 a lot of anecdotal experiences based on the author's experiments on himself and historical knowledge。 obviously not a lot of scientific/journal research done but that's precisely why the author felt the need to do the research and write this book。 will incorporate more breathing/holding breaths and some of the exercises that the author writes more regularly。 i thought it was super interesting。 a lot of anecdotal experiences based on the author's experiments on himself and historical knowledge。 obviously not a lot of scientific/journal research done but that's precisely why the author felt the need to do the research and write this book。 will incorporate more breathing/holding breaths and some of the exercises that the author writes more regularly。 。。。more
Luke Gruber
，
Super interesting book， I highly recommend。 If you care about your health and have never paid attention to your breathing you’re missing out… we’ll， that’s the premise of the book。The author goes into major consequences of mouth breathing verse nose breathing， proper breathing techniques and exercises。It’s weird to say it’s transformed the way I breath， but it kinda has。
Iris
，
hm， this book is interesting。 i learned a lot of new info and found it quite relevant considering my mom and brother's breathing/nose congestion issues， but it's not so ground in rigorous， peer-reviewed scientific evidence， which means all the content i learned might be useless。。。but hey， good food for thought。 hm， this book is interesting。 i learned a lot of new info and found it quite relevant considering my mom and brother's breathing/nose congestion issues， but it's not so ground in rigorous， peer-reviewed scientific evidence， which means all the content i learned might be useless。。。but hey， good food for thought。 。。。more
Jean
，
According to this author most curable illnesses are due to improper breathing。 And he makes many compelling cases for that theory。 Mouth breathing is a huge no even during exertion。 I can attest that once I got my sleep aepnea machine 6 years ago my mental clarity improved dramatically as well as my general sense of well being。 Much less crabby too！ Really interesting book and too much detail to cover in a review。 Main takeaway。 I plan on being very conscious to always breathe thru my nose and t According to this author most curable illnesses are due to improper breathing。 And he makes many compelling cases for that theory。 Mouth breathing is a huge no even during exertion。 I can attest that once I got my sleep aepnea machine 6 years ago my mental clarity improved dramatically as well as my general sense of well being。 Much less crabby too！ Really interesting book and too much detail to cover in a review。 Main takeaway。 I plan on being very conscious to always breathe thru my nose and to eat harder foods。 Carrots rock！ 。。。more
Mark Schickendantz
，
Nestor has written a wonderful reference on the art and science of breathing， a work that will be quoted for years to come。 He presents a very scholarly review of the history of the art of breathing。 He mixes in a smattering of more modern science in support of the resurgence of this lost art。 His writing style is personal and very approachable。 As a long time daily meditator and fitness fanatic， I found many useful tidbits to enhance my daily practices。 The book finishes with a wonderful summar Nestor has written a wonderful reference on the art and science of breathing， a work that will be quoted for years to come。 He presents a very scholarly review of the history of the art of breathing。 He mixes in a smattering of more modern science in support of the resurgence of this lost art。 His writing style is personal and very approachable。 As a long time daily meditator and fitness fanatic， I found many useful tidbits to enhance my daily practices。 The book finishes with a wonderful summary of practical techniques that can be used by anyone interested in deepening their knowledge and practice of the art of breathing。 Highly recommended！ 。。。more
Sherry
，
And， now I'm taping my mouth shut before I go to sleep。 And， now I'm taping my mouth shut before I go to sleep。 。。。more
Lisa Krigbaum
，
3。5 starsThe appendix was really useful - a compilation and practice of several breathing techniques。
Adele
，
Subject matter was great - I wish the book was longer， I wanted more！I have thought about breath a lot and want to do some of these techniques - the book is definitively worth the read。
Laura Benton
，
I found this book to be very interesting。 It is obvious， especially if you’ve taken any kind of anatomy/physiology class， that the role of the respiratory system is a big one。 Getting enough oxygen to different parts of our body is vital （ha）。 I liked reading about the successes of Olympic athletes and how breathing technique drives that。 There is so much to learn and think about on this subject。 I really liked the breathing techniques shared at the end of the book。 I plan to use those more ofte I found this book to be very interesting。 It is obvious， especially if you’ve taken any kind of anatomy/physiology class， that the role of the respiratory system is a big one。 Getting enough oxygen to different parts of our body is vital （ha）。 I liked reading about the successes of Olympic athletes and how breathing technique drives that。 There is so much to learn and think about on this subject。 I really liked the breathing techniques shared at the end of the book。 I plan to use those more often。 。。。more
Stephanie Kotterer
，
Everybody should read this book！ To learn about the power of breathing， the impact it has on the shape of our faces， our health （mental & physical） and the life changing experiences/abilities it can lead to… 🤯
Noud
，