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  • Breath

  • The New Science of a Lost Art
  • Written by: James Nestor
  • Narrated by: James Nestor
  • Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (288 ratings)

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Breath

Written by: James Nestor
Narrated by: James Nestor
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Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin. Narrated by James Nestor.

There is nothing more essential to our health and wellbeing 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, Brazil. 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, allergies, 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.

©2020 James Nestor (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"A transformative book that changes how you think about your body and mind." (Josua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein)

"Who would have thought something as simple as changing the way we breathe could be so revolutionary for our health, from snoring to allergies to immunity? A fascinating book, full of dazzling revelations." (Dr Rangan Chatterjee)

"I highly recommend this book." (Wim Hof)

What listeners say about Breath

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A good primer on the benefits of breathing

A good primer on the benefits of breathing. Talks mainly about nasal breathing, slow breathing and their benefits.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book

We all should know how to breathe and yet we don't.

When i did sudarshan kriya for the first time, it blew my mind and changed me forever. I have learnt to manage my stress better and have gotten to a much better health.

This book is a great one that everyone should read about why and how we should breathe better. The science has always been with us...if only we were to heed.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Must read!

Opens your mind to something so complex yet as simple as breathing. Definitely a must read

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

a deep knowledge on how our breath works

strongly recommended, path breaking and thought provoking. thankyou for your painstaking research for the greater good of mankind.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

perfect segue to the lost art of breathing

a lot of us struggle with just simply following advice. we need proof, studies, stories to convince ourselves. this is one of those books that convinces you to follow the advice. the advice itself isnt new but it's told with a story and hits hard. no matter, at what stage of life you are reading this, the book will make its point. I am an acute asthmatic and I have struggled with most things mentioned here - snoring, sleep apnea, breathlessness. i have also seen impact of simple nose breathing during a silent retreat. it works and works like a charm. strongly recommend this to anyone who has struggled with short breathing, and asthama.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

astounding

a must listen to / read for a subject that should have been written about so lucidly earlier.

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    4 out of 5 stars

A must read for every person!

Every human should read this book in order to learn "HOW TO BREATHE". The story gets a little boring towards the end. But it's an amazing book nevertheless!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Ancient breathing techniques compilation

it's a well compiled book covering most ancient Indian / eastern breathing techniques albeit with English rechristening. Its a good book for those who have have not been exposed to pranayama or have not done Sudarshan kriya or Brahmavidya breathing exercises. it would have been appreciable if the author had acknowledged the above techniques which are presented in the book with different names e.g sudarshan kriya as box breathing & Woosh technique which is Brahma Vidya.... good for a single read but will require consistent practice to draw the benefits.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great if followed,new dimension regarding CO2

well narrated,many details regarding breathing explained scientifically.gets boring at times though but quite a few chapters intriguing and at times contrarion...

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10/10

Great book ! Teaches you how important your breathing is! Will strongly recommend this book! - 10/10

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