Breathing Videos and Book Review of Breath
I just downloaded a bunch of breathing videos on my YouTube channel. I thought that you might like to read the Review that I wrote on the book Breath by James Nestor.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links that won’t change your price if you decide to buy this book, but will share a commission.
One of the most important, if not the most important, skills that I teach is how to breathe. The way that we breathe can influence whether depression or anxiety manifests in our bodies. We can learn breathing patterns from family members, and therefore, bring their mental health challenges into our bodies. Yes! Finding a breathing pattern that facilitates calmness in our own body is key to being able to relax and be happy!
In his book Breath, journalist James Nestor proclaims that we humans are the “worst breathers in the animal kingdom!”
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.
I love the bold start to this book, the stories of Nestor’s travels around the world to find clues as to why we are having problems breathing, and what we can do about it. He shares his studies of ancient breathing practices like Pranayama and Sudarshan Kriya, both from yogic texts; and Tummo, an ancient breathing practice from Tibetan Buddhism. He shows that these practices have not only been tested by time but have also been scientifically proven to give the practitioner skills to adjust their breathing patterns to enhance their happiness.
I have used breathing techniques to help people recover from extreme anxiety. I find that people who have a lot of anxiety have been told to “just breathe,” which rarely works if they are physically holding tension in their body. I start with movement: stretching and slowly moving from one posture to another. Over time I add in, “Notice your exhale.” When I feel that they are ready, I will introduce the taking of even breaths. This all takes time - which means that my clients have to trust me not to rush them. My reward is their telling me that they are using these practices at home.
To help clients with depression, I also begin with movement, but have them work with deeper breathing, teaching them skills to increase their breath along with exercises that increase dopamine levels.
Nestor says, “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.”
The breath is very mysterious and yet so basic. An even breath engages our “fight or flight” response on the inhale, and our “rest and digest” response on the exhale. This is very basic. Helping people to get to this place is what I do as a yoga therapist.
One of the simple breathing practices that I teach is the square breath:
four counts inhale
hold four counts,
four counts exhale,
hold four counts
I learned from Breath that Navy Seals use this breath to create focus. My clients love when I tell them that!
If you aren’t sold on how breathing can affect your happiness and health, or are just curious about the science of breath, I highly recommend this book. It has been on the New York Times Best Sellers list, is the Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of 2020, and is named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR. It is Amazon’s Best science book of 2020. It gives the reader clear information on why it is important that we look at our breathing patterns. It isn’t dry or boring, either. Nestor shares plenty of good stories about breathing practices in New Jersey choir schools, on the smoggy streets of São Paulo, and among deep-sea divers,
A seasoned writer, James Nestor has written for Outside, Scientific American, The Atlantic, Dwell, The New York Times, and many other publications. His book Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves was Amazon’s Best science book of 2014. Nestor has appeared on dozens of national television shows, including ABC’s Nightline and CBS’s Morning News, and on NPR. He lives and breathes in San Francisco.
Other reviews of Breath
“A fascinating scientific, cultural, spiritual, and evolutionary history of the way humans breathe—and how we’ve all been doing it wrong for a long, long time. I already feel calmer and healthier just in the last few days, from making a few simple changes in my breathing, based on what I’ve read…Our breath is a beautiful, healing, mysterious gift, and so is this book.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic and Eat Pray Love
“This book is awesome. Most people have no idea how to do breathing exercises and how beneficial they are. Over the last few weeks I’ve been using the methods I learned from his book and I can tell you there are absolutely some real benefits to be had I really enjoyed this book.” —Joe Rogan on Instagram
“Who would have thought something as simple as changing the way we breathe could be so revolutionary for our health? James Nestor is the perfect guide to the pulmonary world and has written a fascinating book, full of dazzling revelations.” —Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, international bestselling author of The Stress Solution
“It’s a rare popular-science book that keeps a reader up late, eyes glued to the pages. But Breath is just that fascinating. It will alarm you. It will gross you out. And it will inspire you. Who knew respiration could be so scintillating?” —Spirituality & Health
