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  • Breath

  • The New Science of a Lost Art
  • By: James Nestor
  • Narrated by: James Nestor
  • Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (1,575 ratings)

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Breath

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)

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What listeners say about Breath

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Hands down the BEST book for self healing!

Wow. I mean. Wow. This is not a book. This is a transformative beacon of information.

Not some woo woo hippie book about self healing. It’s a very Tim Ferriss approach to health, but with layers of wonderful storytelling. Not I usually listen to audible books on the train and walking between point A and point B. I actually found myself having to stop, move to the side of the footpath, and take in the information I heard. It resonated somewhere deep in my soul, and I connected with the information on a level that I wasn’t expecting.

It literally makes sense, and frames big pharma and health concerns in a very objective light that makes any intelligent person question it and look for easier and natural alternatives… being right under your nose… or actually literally your nose.

I really can’t put into words how floored I was by this book, and I am a hyper consumer of books. An unexpected but phenomenally clear, and simple answer to the complex and overly talked about topic of health and wellness. If I could give it a 10/5 I would!

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

5 stars but nearly 3 or 4

Finished it. The information is essential in this book, literally everyone should know it. Ever since breathing through my nose no joke every aspect of my health feels better (sleep, mood, exercise) only issue which probably makes me sound ungrateful is the amount of content that doesn't need to be in the book. at least a third of the book is spent describing people and places it's just not necessary.

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Life changer

A brilliant book that is a must read for everyone. It's impossible to ignore the benefits that something so simple that we take for granted everyday we have been doing wrong our whole lives. The knowledge in this book should be read by everyone everywhere & like so much of what we should know by now isn't... makes you think why the hell not?

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Absolutely Brillant

James is an absolute joy to listen to. His research is second to none. The subject was surprising. interesting and finally a revelation. I am now sleeping better, feeling better and breathing correctly.
Thank you James for sharing your love of Breathing. I am now an avid believer of Breath.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Life changing.

Every aspect of this book is fabulous. I will never breathe again with out some awareness and I hope that I can one day experience exultant and transformative aspects of the practice.
One minor yet persistent irritation….the author/natator James Nestor’s tendency to slightly change tone when quoting someone. Am I alone? (Sorry!) :/ :s :)
But otherwise, thoroughly, THOROUGHLY fantastic.

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Enjoyable and informative

Great to listen to while falling asleep. Nice smooth sounding reader.
The story of how the writer finds their information and breathing techniques was a little bulky if all your after is purely the techniques. Still, very enjoyable.
Information of how they came to learn their breathing techniques actually lead me to MORE books By Peter Kelder 'the eye of revelation' rejuvenation for example, that had longevity exercises that seem to of had an effect.

Breathing plus the references in Breathing of other longevity books are definitely worth the purchase and time spent listening.

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Highly valued and recommended

A wonderful book. Very easy to listen to, engaging both in body and mind, and a useful tool for anyone wanting to better understand their own body

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awesome!

Educational, inspirational, entertaining and, quite possibly, life altering!!! i loved it and highly recommend you try it. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Val
  • 07-08-2020

insightful

just absolutely eye opening. a must read for everyone. and I thought I knew how to breathe well

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Everyone who breaths should read this book

What a delight to read. Janes gives us what would take a life time to discover for ourselves - reasons to breathe properly and methods for doing so

This book should be read by every one to empower us to give our bodies the best chance to be healthy through our greatest friend - the breath. Fantastic

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