In order to survive, we all need to eat, sleep, exercise, breathe, and maintain friendly relations. Books about exercise abound, and sleep itself has become a popular topic for authors with advice to give. And eating--oh, my goodness!--what a mess! Author after author after author tells us what we should and shouldn't eat, no two authors seeming ever to agree. And will they ever agree? Between human ignorance and fallibility and the profit motive, the idea of any consensus about the human diet seems a distant Shangri-La that exists in legend but that eludes us in practice. And, given the variety of human diets from the beginning of our species, this may not prove so surprising. Humans have existed on a variety of diets to fit the climate in which they live. About diet, about the only definitive conclusion that we can reach about diet is that our current Standard American Diet (SAD) is crap and it's killing us slowly.
At least we don't have to go to the store (yet) and buy whatever air we choose to breathe, thus avoiding the incentives that food producers have to persuade us by deception that their products are healthy and wholesome. And while the quality of the air that we breathe also affects us in subtle, long-term ways, let's set that aside for now as the topic of many other worthy books. Author James Nestor has chosen to focus on just this one topic in his book: how we breathe. Nestor examines how we breathe and how it makes a difference in our health and quality of life. And what makes reading this book an entertaining as well as an educational experience is the fact that humans have been experimenting and cultivating breathing techniques for thousands of years and have gained immense practical knowledge that we are now confirming and better understanding through scientific research. For instance, pranayama, the yoga of breathing, goes back thousands of years, and so do Taoist breathing techniques from China. Different as the cuisines of China and India are, for instance, when one looks at their interest in the breath and breathing techniques, we see distinct similarities (some no doubt indigenous to each culture and shared through cross-cultural exchange). But we in the West, especially in the modern, industrial West, have forgotten much of the lore about breath that developed on this side of the world and--at least until recently--we've ignored much of what we could have learned from traditional Chinese and Indian culture if we'd have had the good sense to do so (and a few did have such good sense, such as the explorer Alexandra David-Neel and Harvard physician Dr. Herbert Benson, to name just two who pop to mind).
But although we in the contemporary world have been dismissive and ignorant about the proper mechanics and potential benefits of breathing, we can make up for lost time quickly with this book. Nestor has combined in-depth scientific research and first-hand reporting about those teaching and exploring breath, and he conjoins his reporting with recounting his experiences about practicing a wide variety of breathing techniques. In an act of journalistic heroism perhaps second only to Morgan Spurlock's one month of eating only at McDonald's (for his documentary Supersize Me!), Nestor and a Sweedish student of breath (or "pulmonaut," as Nestor dubs those who experiment with breath), Anders Olsson, had their nostrils sealed by a physician for ten days, allowing them to breathe only through their mouths. Like Spurlock's experience, the toll on their health and well-being was dramatic and frightening. But also, like Spurlock, the return to normalcy (nose-breathing in Nestor's and Olsson's case) allowed a quick and marked return to health and well-being. All by just breathing through their noses!
Nestor reports on a variety of breathing techniques, such as those of Wim Hof and Buteyko, all of which provide different benefits. Nestor also attends in detail to the science and to me, the most interesting science in the book (and all of it is interesting), is the change in human anatomy in the last three hundred years--since the advent of industrialism and significant changes in the human diet. During this time, it seems primarily because of softer foods (processing), the size and position of our jaws, facial bones, and nasal passages have shrunk. We didn't use it--our chewing capacity--and we lost bone and breathing capacity because of it. Humans around the globe almost all had straight teeth and enough room in their jaw for all their teeth (wisdom teeth included!). We don't. Also, the loss of bone density in our face, volume in our nasal cavity, and narrowing in our throats have led to snoring and sleep apnea that did occur much less in the past. Sometimes Mother Nature evolves very slowly, but sometimes she seems positively Lamarckian in her speed to drop that which we don't use the way originally intended (metaphorically speaking, of course).
This book is chock-full of information, experiences, and advice, and of value to any potential reader. I highly recommend it. But until you read it, let me leave you with Nestor's list of do's and don'ts about breathing. So simple and yet so important!
- Shut Your Mouth!
- Breathe Through Your Nose!
- Exhale!
- Chew!
- Breathe More, On Occasion!
- Hold Your Breath!
[N.B. I added the exclamation marks for emphasis and to convey a sense of the imperative of following these simple guidelines.]
By the way, the book includes valuable instructions about a wide variety of breathing techniques that Nestor has sampled and recommends as well as thorough notes and links to sites that provide video demonstrations and instructions.
