Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art is one of my favorite books. All the work you do on being healthy, keeping stress levels low, and exercising doesn’t mean much if you aren’t breathing properly. James Nestor takes you through the science of how we breathe. You may not feel excited about that description, but you’ll find that this book is difficult to put down. Nestor explains how our breathing helped us evolve and why genetics, evolution, and a sedentary lifestyle contribute to our current state of poor breathing.

He digs into how so many people have become mouth-breathers and the harm that causes us. Nestor also takes us through extraordinary human accomplishments like Greek free divers and the lung capacity of athletes around the world. He shares his own quest of what happens when you mouth-breathe exclusively for a week, and his story at how minutely changing the shape of his face through a mouth device helped him improve his breathing. Finally, Nestor shares tips, tricks, and techniques to improve your breathing so that you can improve your life. After reading this book, I began using the Wim Hof Method (video link) to improve my breathing and after a week, I began feeling positive effects.

Breathing regulates stress, digestion, and sleep, to name a few. Imagine if you can improve your performance in the gym, at home, walking the dog, whatever, just through a few short exercises to improve your breathing. Since most of us are breathing improperly, imagine how many other functions within our body aren’t performing at their peak.

This book is definitely worth a read to learn about this amazing science and to improve your overall health.

Book Club Reading Guide: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor