Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
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- Create Date：2021-07-05 05:51:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：James Nestor
- ISBN：0735213615
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Summary
No matter what you eat， how much you exercise， how skinny or young or wise you are， none of it matters if you're not breathing properly。
There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in， let it out， repeat twenty-five thousand times a day。 Yet， as a species， humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly， with grave consequences。
Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it。 The answers aren't found in pulmonology labs， as we might expect， but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites， secret Soviet facilities， New Jersey choir schools， and the smoggy streets of S�o Paulo。 Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama， Sudarshan Kriya， and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe。
Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring， asthma， and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines。 None of this should be possible， and yet it is。
Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology， psychology， biochemistry， and human physiology， Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head。 You will never breathe the same again。
There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in， let it out， repeat twenty-five thousand times a day。 Yet， as a species， humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly， with grave consequences。
Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it。 The answers aren't found in pulmonology labs， as we might expect， but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites， secret Soviet facilities， New Jersey choir schools， and the smoggy streets of S�o Paulo。 Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama， Sudarshan Kriya， and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe。
Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring， asthma， and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines。 None of this should be possible， and yet it is。
Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology， psychology， biochemistry， and human physiology， Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head。 You will never breathe the same again。
Reviews
Anya
，
This book blew my mind more times than I want to admit。 It's easy to absorb all the information from it and the research examples weren't putting me to sleep。 I am implementing the practical parts already and really wish I'd read this at the beginning of my health journey。 This book blew my mind more times than I want to admit。 It's easy to absorb all the information from it and the research examples weren't putting me to sleep。 I am implementing the practical parts already and really wish I'd read this at the beginning of my health journey。 。。。more
Bremer
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Breathe through your nose， but not through your mouth。 Breathe slowly。 Breathe less than you are， exhaling longer。 Breathe from your belly。 Breathe mindfully， in and out， in and out。
Susan Kennedy
，
The book has really helpful breathing exercises that improve breathing deeper and make us aware of the value of each breath but that could be summed up in about one chapter。 He makes really outrageous claims about numerous conditions， from apnea to scoliosis， that can be cured by doing these breathing techniques and exercises， that become ridiculous after a couple of chapters。 I can just see experts reading the book saying， ‘Now why didn’t I just think of that？ All we have to do are these simple The book has really helpful breathing exercises that improve breathing deeper and make us aware of the value of each breath but that could be summed up in about one chapter。 He makes really outrageous claims about numerous conditions， from apnea to scoliosis， that can be cured by doing these breathing techniques and exercises， that become ridiculous after a couple of chapters。 I can just see experts reading the book saying， ‘Now why didn’t I just think of that？ All we have to do are these simple breathtaking exercises and our problems will be solved！’ He takes it all too far I think。 。。。more
Karen Katz
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I can't recommend this book enough。 Helpful to every person regardless of your health wellbeing or place in life。 The importanxe of the simple act of breathing correctly should be taught in school。 I can't recommend this book enough。 Helpful to every person regardless of your health wellbeing or place in life。 The importanxe of the simple act of breathing correctly should be taught in school。 。。。more
Chris
，
Wow。 What a great book by James Nestor。 I’ll never look at breathing the same again。 BREATH THROUGH YOUR NOSE！“They give us the means to stretch our lungs and straighten our bodies， boost blood blow， balance our minds and moods， and excite the electrons in our molecules。 To sleep better， run faster， swim deeper， live longer， and evolve further。They offer a mystery and magic of life that unfolds a little more with every new breath we take” （202）。🔥🔥
Sivani
，
Totally pop science， but it was interesting enough to make me want to dig more and read some of the studies mentioned。 So， 4 stars for sending me down a rabbit hole。
Mark McFerren
，
Interesting。 That's the word that sticks in my head when I think about this book。 Nestor left me totally convinced in some chapters and thoroughly skeptical in others。 The central claim is that nasal breathing is healthier than mouth breathing， and that breathing less and slower is healthful in a myriad of ways。 This seems intuitively true and easy to support。 From there， Nestor delves into anecdotes and Fringe research conducted by alternative scientists which he cheekily terms "pulmonauts"。 Th Interesting。 That's the word that sticks in my head when I think about this book。 Nestor left me totally convinced in some chapters and thoroughly skeptical in others。 The central claim is that nasal breathing is healthier than mouth breathing， and that breathing less and slower is healthful in a myriad of ways。 This seems intuitively true and easy to support。 From there， Nestor delves into anecdotes and Fringe research conducted by alternative scientists which he cheekily terms "pulmonauts"。 These researchers are Curing everything from skin diseases to scoliosis using nothing but breathing exercises。 A good deal of the book is dedicated to describing Nestor’s personal breathing experiments which had self-reported， shocking results。 Every anecdotal section that can be effectively ignored because of what would undoubtedly be an unbelievably strong placebo effect coupled with outright bias。 I almost didn't finish this audiobook because I didn't like the monotone narrator。 I stuck with it though because I was already halfway through when I realized the narrator is James himself。 He’s not a professional voice actor， so I cut him some slack。 James likes to appeal to the fact that people have been practicing these exercises for thousands of years， therefore they must work， right？ Ancient people also Stone people to death and practiced bloodletting， so I wouldn't necessarily take their advice。 The second central claim is that people have less robust airways， jaws and mouths due to industrialized and cooked foods。 The evidence for this comes mainly from ancient skulls which before the agricultural revolution appear to have perfectly straight teeth。 Without much critical thought， this evidence might be compelling， but a problem arises when you consider the other variables affecting the evolutionary development of human anatomy。 Not only are our mouths smaller than ancient humans， but we're also nearly a foot taller。 The development of agricultural civilization resulted in enhanced protection from a huge number of physical threats which previously would have caused adaptation through evolutionary pressure。 The propagation of less than stellar genetics could easily be the primary cause of our gnarly teeth in the same way that it has caused the rise of serious allergies， poor eyesight， cancers， bunions etc。 He dismisses this argument without much thought。 He also made some contradictory， confusing arguments against this idea on JRE。 He conceded that babies are also being born with more crooked teeth， which means their diet couldn’t have possibly been the cause。 I was skeptical all the way through these chapters。He paints breathing as a convenient panacea to virtually all ailments。 So much so that he felt obligated to include a disclaimer at the end of the book。 This seems like he understands how overstated some of his evidence is。 I'm convinced that athletic performance， lung health and mental state can be improved through breathing practices， but I'm doubtful that it could cure anyone's autoimmune or skin diseases。 My favorite part was his discussion about breathing and its effect on anxiety and state of mind。 It got me interested in incorporating some more intentional breathing into my meditation practices。 By the end I was convinced enough to try nasal breathing while running and was pleasantly surprised by how I felt。 Hypoxic training might be a smart route to improve endurance。 Overall the book was interesting enough to prompt more researching on my end， but I was left with more questions than answers。 I guess now I’ll have to go see what this Wim Hof guy is all about。 。。。more
Raija
，
Really interesting book about something so simple， but that I knew such little about。
Jane
，
I thought there would be a more specific techniques to follow。 I think that many， many people should read this book and learn the importance of breathing。 I sure wish my husband would learn a technique to stop snoring and get himself a good nights sleep。 It has made me more conscience of my breath。 I have already started to use it to relax with yoga and stretching。
Nicki
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Fascinating review of how we breathe and how that has evolved over time。 Pretty mind blowing and has already motivated me to nose breathe and adopt breathing exercises。
Katie Dziabis
，
will need to mull this one over before I review。 Very interesting conceptually but that’s about as far as I’ve gotten as far as forming an opinion
Marilee
，
This isn’t just for musicians or yoga enthusiasts！ Loved it！
Brett
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life changing。 Must read。
Courtney
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Not science。 And I was turned off by the self-designed “Stanford experiment” 🧐 and the cheesy far-flung travel。 But I appreciated the fundamental appreciation for the topic and the inspiration to read other materials。
Vijayakumar Belur
，
Amazingly compiled book on essentials of breathing written with insight and humour。 How to in the end is a useful addition and bibliographical reference is a treasure house。 I would say this book is a must for all those who are into learning proper breathing
Krenner1
，
Breathing correctly can realign so many of the body's systems。 I listened to this wonderful audio book which gives us the history of breathing patterns and the consequences of doing it wrong。 Why did the first people have clear nostrils and straight teeth？ What happened to us？ Interesting research on how and when to breathe。。。through the nose， not the mouth， even while sleeping。 Breathing correctly can realign so many of the body's systems。 I listened to this wonderful audio book which gives us the history of breathing patterns and the consequences of doing it wrong。 Why did the first people have clear nostrils and straight teeth？ What happened to us？ Interesting research on how and when to breathe。。。through the nose， not the mouth， even while sleeping。 。。。more
Bill Rodriguez
，
Great read， so many notes and so many new things to try。
Eloise Sunshine
，
Wow， this book was so amazing， I'm gonna listen to it one more time to allow all this interesting information to sink in！ Wow， this book was so amazing， I'm gonna listen to it one more time to allow all this interesting information to sink in！ 。。。more
Andrew Gagne
，
This book is definitely a must read for everyone。 Although， I am still skeptical about the research， it is enough to convince me to try some of the breathing methods to improve my health。
Alexis Lewis
，
Turns out mouth breathing is as bad as they say
Jessica Delgado
，
Interesting book about the workings of the body without judgement at the surface。 Theories are applicable and seems to be a better approach than most。
Linda Sprinkle
，
Excellent！ So much information
Lizzy Haworth
，
Ugh， I’m not sure how ‘science’ can be included in the title。 Nestor writes about topics， many of which he clearly doesn’t understand。 He discusses a series of experiences he has had， but treats them as fact。Sure， getting more in touch with breathing is healthy， but it doesn’t cure cancer or treat bacteremia。Where’s the evidence？ The references？ I’d have liked to hear the data。The only thing I found helpful/interesting were the breathing exercises。 Finally， if you’re still interested in the keep Ugh， I’m not sure how ‘science’ can be included in the title。 Nestor writes about topics， many of which he clearly doesn’t understand。 He discusses a series of experiences he has had， but treats them as fact。Sure， getting more in touch with breathing is healthy， but it doesn’t cure cancer or treat bacteremia。Where’s the evidence？ The references？ I’d have liked to hear the data。The only thing I found helpful/interesting were the breathing exercises。 Finally， if you’re still interested in the keep points （including the breathing exercises）， he summarizes them in the epilogue。**I will add that I found some of the anecdotal evidence amusing。 It’s problematic， though， when he touts it as fact。 。。。more
Harpal
，
Collected anecdotes on breathing。
Hanna Kjeldbjerg
，
Officially one of my favorite nonfiction books！
Ginny
，
Best book of 2021So interesting！
Futegen
，
I’m an anaesthetist。 This book has been an abuse of the hope of nourishing an open mind。 It’s not pseudoscience， it’s just waffle and anecdote。 Whoever paid for the promotional material sure conned me。 Well done to marketing / Amazon。
Adam
，
Tytuł i tematyka może zniechęcać， ale dawno nie czytałem tak ważnej książki。 Polecam każdemu
Olivia
，
There wasn't a ton of scientific citations， but I was rapt。 I have had my share of breathing issues， ear issues， mouth issues， so many of the things he talked about， I related to。 When I was on swim team， we would do breath control sets where we were only allowed three breaths per lap。 Apparently that type of training is relatively new for athletes。 I practiced it。 Humans' mouths are becoming smaller and more crowded。 I have had permanent teeth pulled so that my mouth doesn't get over crowded。 J There wasn't a ton of scientific citations， but I was rapt。 I have had my share of breathing issues， ear issues， mouth issues， so many of the things he talked about， I related to。 When I was on swim team， we would do breath control sets where we were only allowed three breaths per lap。 Apparently that type of training is relatively new for athletes。 I practiced it。 Humans' mouths are becoming smaller and more crowded。 I have had permanent teeth pulled so that my mouth doesn't get over crowded。 James Nestor wrote about a mundane topic in a way that made it fascinating。 I want to do breathing exercises now。 I want to try to breath through my nose more。 I am now conscious of this aspect of life that I had no awareness of before。 A lovely listen。 。。。more
Ricardo
，