Why this book: I’ve been practicing Wim Hof breathing method for nearly 4 years now, and so was particularly interested in learning more about breathing as a  means to achieve greater health and improved performance. I was impressed with Joe Rogan’s interview with James Nestor about this book, and when my friends Jay and Luke both  spoke highly of Breath, to include changing the way they performed some basic activities, I was intrigued.  I didn’t read it; I listened to the audio version.

Summary in 4 Sentences: This is an autobiographical account of the authors exploration into breathing as an avenue toward good health, and why and how poor breathing has contributed to many health maladies in modern civilization. He explores the art and science of the simple act of breathing, going back thousands of years and notes that in some cultures, shamans and mystics knew that breath and proper breathing were key to good health.  His main points are that nose breathing is what we are meant to do, that there are a multitude of breathing techniques, each with a different purpose and effect which can positively impact our health and wellbeing.  He also explains how our jaws, skulls, and faces have changed shape since the advent of soft easy-to-chew food, which has shrunk our mouths, jaws and nasal cavities and negatively affected how we breathe  – but all of this can be reversed with a renewed attention and effort given to how we breathe. 

My impressions:  I was surprised at how fascinating this book was. Nestor is a very engaging writer – this is HIS story about his explorations, about the fascinating people he met on this journey, to whom he referred as “pulmonauts,” how he did his research, complete with engaging anecdotes from his travels and explorations. Not only was it fun and engaging – I was surprised and amazed at every turn to learn something new and fascinating about this simple act that we all practice 24/7/365.  

I listened to the audible, which Nestor himself reads, which has the disadvantage that I couldn’t make notes and underlines to help me with this review.  But it had the advantage of me hearing the author himself tell his story with enthusiasm and inflection, and at the conclusion, one of his main colleagues walks us through a number of breathing exercises.

Here are a few of the main points that I got out of his book: 

NOSE BREATHING We should all primarily be breathing through our noses.  Mouth breathing apparently has lots of downsides and he lists them pretty comprehensively. He surprised me with studies and experiments with top athletes which showed that after learning to nose breathe, they performed better nose breathing while performing their sport.  (I’ve begun experimenting with this and after a life-time of mouth breathing during exercise, I’ve realized that it takes practice and adjustment and conditioning.  I’m working on it.)  Nose breathing is optimal for sleeping, and mouth breathing he argues is a key contributor to a number of sleep disorders including apnea as well as chronic snoring.  He recommends (and several of my friends have taken him up on it) purchasing a special tape (Somnifix is one option) to tape the mouth closed as one goes to bed, to force nose breathing while sleeping. 

SKULLS and JAWS  Nestor explored why and how we have become largely mouth breathers by looking at skulls from hundreds and thousands of years ago, and determined that our human ancestors had larger jaws, larger nasal cavities and better teeth than we have had for the last few hundred years.  He argues that this is due to our civilized kitchens preparing softer food requiring much less chewing, which stunts the growth of jaw bones, resulting in smaller mouths, and smaller nasal cavities.  He says that we should be chewing more.  He personally used a device to increase the size of his jaw and mouth which he says has improved his breathing and thereby, other aspects of his life.

CO2 –  I had always believed CO2 to be simply a waste-product of breathing, something that the body was simply trying to get rid of, like cleaning out the ashes in the fireplace.  But it is much more important than I had realized.   CO2 is apparently key to the process of oxygen uptake by our tissues, in that its presence triggers the hemoglobin cells to deliver the O2 that hemoglobin cells are carrying, and then to pick up and replace the O2 with the CO2, to carry it to the lungs for exhalation. (At least that’s what I understood.)  Deficiencies in CO2 in one’s system inhibit delivery of O2.  This section was complicated and I need to review it, but I had been unaware of the importance and value of managing CO2 and keeping it in balance in the process of maximizing performance. There is much more in this section that I need to review. 

SLOW BREATHING.  Nestor makes the case, based on not only his review of scientific literature but also ancient breathing practices, that slow and relatively shallow breathing has advantages in modulating CO2 levels and increasing uptake of O2.  Yes, even when working out.  Also separately,  deep inhale followed by long slow exhale breathing has been a tool for millennia to activate the parasympathetic system, calm the nervous system, and manage stress and anxiety.  For regular daily breathing, he recommends we slow down – and recommends 5.5 – 6 second inhales and the same time for exhales as an ideal breathing rate for someone not engaged in heavy physical exercise, noting that this is the length of time monks used for the Buddhist mantra Om-mani-padme-hum,  and Catholics use for saying the Rosary.  This breathing rate he claims is optimal for calm and focus.

TUMMO BREATHING – He also discusses Tummo breathing, the opposite of slow breathing.  The  Wim Hof method I’ve been practicing for several years is a modern and popularized version of Tummo and involves a series three cycles of 30 or so very deep, fast inhales and exhales, followed by breath holding.  Tummo breathing  has various modalities and versions, and is associated with certain Buddhist meditation practices, and it definitely engenders a different state of mind. Nestor does not advocate rapid breathing in general, especially when it is unintentional or in response to stress, noting that it  stress to one’s bio-system and can have deleterious health consequences.  But he does advocate intentionally choosing to do rapid breathing for short periods,  such as Tummo or Wim Hof Breathing, in order to purposely stress and strengthen one’s cardio system.

BREATHING EXERCISES He concludes Breath with an appendix which outlines about 10 different breathing exercises, each of which has a different purpose in improving or changing one’s health or mindset.  The explanations are simple and easy to practice. For these, the audible version of the book would certainly be preferable to the print version.