Breath
Easy read
Insightful
Surprising

Breath The New Science of a Lost Art

James Nestor2020
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 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 25,000 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 São 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.
Sign up to use

Reviews

Photo of Bi
Bi@mytileneve
2 stars
Jun 28, 2023
Photo of Vojtech
Vojtech@vojtech
4 stars
May 14, 2023
Ambitious
Insightful
Photo of Miguel A Zepeda
Miguel A Zepeda @migyle
4 stars
Apr 25, 2023
Photo of Sven Schmidt
Sven Schmidt@sven
4 stars
Mar 23, 2023
Dizzying
Surprising
Educational
Photo of Jenna Safran
Jenna Safran @safranj
5 stars
Jan 20, 2023
Photo of Sarah Ryan
Sarah Ryan@sarahryan
5 stars
Mar 17, 2022
Photo of Giulia
Giulia@karelune
4.5 stars
Mar 8, 2022
Photo of Udit Desai
Udit Desai@uydesai
4 stars
Mar 2, 2022
Photo of Nadine
Nadine @intlnadine
4 stars
Feb 18, 2022
Photo of Alexander Venturas
Alexander Venturas@xandventuras
3 stars
Jan 20, 2022
Photo of Bryan Maniotakis
Bryan Maniotakis@bryanmanio
4 stars
Jan 13, 2022
Photo of Omar Fernandez
Omar Fernandez@omareduardo
3 stars
Dec 10, 2021
Photo of Lukas Gräf
Lukas Gräf@lukasg
4 stars
Nov 28, 2021
Photo of Laura Mitchell Hutchinson
Laura Mitchell Hutchinson@lauraahutchy
5 stars
Nov 5, 2021
Photo of Nicklas Jarnesjö
Nicklas Jarnesjö@jarnesjo
5 stars
Sep 27, 2021
Photo of Christian Beck
Christian Beck@cmbeck
4 stars
Sep 26, 2021
Photo of Mike Gregory
Mike Gregory@mikegreg85
5 stars
Sep 1, 2021
Photo of Erlank Pienaar
Erlank Pienaar@erlank
5 stars
Aug 1, 2021
Powerful
Profound
Inspirational
Photo of Bryan Alexander
Bryan Alexander@bryanalexander
4 stars
Jul 29, 2021
Photo of SF. Sutcliffe
SF. Sutcliffe @sfs
4.5 stars
Mar 10, 2024
Meaningful
Photo of Erik Horton
Erik Horton@erikhorton
3.5 stars
Mar 10, 2024
Photo of Emma Daniels
Emma Daniels@pudgethefish
5 stars
Feb 21, 2024
Remarkable
Compelling
Photo of Jeff Su
Jeff Su@jeffsu
4.5 stars
Dec 21, 2023
Creative
Insightful
Photo of Michal
Michal@micardo214
2.5 stars
Dec 17, 2023

Highlights

Photo of Vincent Weisz
Vincent Weisz@vincent.weisz
Page 19