Science of Breath: A Practical Guide
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ignore the slightly evangelical tone of the first chapter, the rest of the book is excellent. Alan Hymes gives a very clear and easy to read explanation of the mechanics of breathing, from a whole body perspective to a cellular level - which I found surprisingly interesting. He explains why your nose runs when you have a cold, why people from different regions of the world have different sized and shaped nostrils, and why the only place on the body apart from the genitals with erectile tissue is the nose! Incidentally, I don't think many people would continue smoking having read this book (I gave up recently and this has put me off for life!).
Swami Rama then presents clear instructions for Pranayama exercises, showing exactly how they help the body, and how to perform them.
This is the clearest, most concise and readable book on the breath I have read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
71 of 74 people found the following review helpful
eye opening guide to breathing
1 Jun 2000
Format:Paperback
I picked up this book (1979 edition) as a trombonist hoping to expand my lung capacity. what I got was not only much improved breathing technique but also a very interesting and stimulating introduction to yoga and eastern thought. the book provides a great balance between western theories (anatomy of the chest/nose, breathing mechanics) and eastern ideas (energy, prana, meditation). one *must* approach the book with an open mind since some of the ideas are quite foriegn to typical westerners, but the ideas convince the reader (at least this one) that there is much more to eastern practices than western culture gives them credit for.
57 of 61 people found the following review helpful
Know your goals
16 Aug 2003
Format:Paperback
I have a few problems with this book. From reading the book's description and summary, I assumed the book would be full of breathing techniques to master the mind and body. Unfortunately, only the last fourth of the book accounts for actual techniques. The rest is scientific explanations of how breathing can be beneficial, which I already knew, otherwise I wouldn't have bought the book. It seems to me that people are already interested in using the breathing techniques; they don't need to be sold on why it helps, as the book does in the first three fourths. Furthermore, the last fourth gives fairly undetailed descriptions of the techniques, I felt; or says these techniques should only be done with a professional teacher. So this makes the book somewhat useless for someone who is ready and willing to start mastering the techniques of breathing. I recommend a book that gives painfully descriptive actions for breathing, yet I don't know of one yet. Maybe it's best to just go see a professional in the area of yoga or rebirthing. Otherwise, the book is very interesting and valuable for a person who is unaware of breath and eastern philosophy. I just felt misled about its contents, so maybe that's my fault; I'm just trying to tell you.
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Review by former physiology Teaching Fellow and yoga practioner
17 Dec 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an excellent beginning book on breathing for anyone who is interested in yoga. It covers the importance of breathing, basic respiratory physiology and the relationship between science and yoga.
The authors of this book are credible and have excellent professional credentials and established practices. They are associated with the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA that has a long standing commitment to getting science, modern psychology and yoga together. Many of their publications are excellent and certainly this one is as well.
I think any yoga practioner at any level will benefit from this book and even very experienced people will learn a lot. As the title suggests, this book focuses on the practical aspects of breathing and provides a good foundation or launching point for moving on to pranayama practice. However, the value add is the tie in to modern science.
As part of my living, I do workshops on such topics as meditation, pranayama and biofeedback, loving-kindness practices and other topics that integrate East and West. Before becoming involved in psychology and spirituality, I was both a research scientist and Teaching Fellow in Physiology. While I am not an expert at respiratory physiology or a top pranayama practioner, I have an established yoga practice and enough expertise to judge the merit of this book.
If you are serious about the breath and especially about pranayama, I would pick up "Light on Pranayama" by B.K.S. Iyengar. This book is very comprehensive and covers the physiology of the various breathing practices in great depth. If you are looking at breating for relaxation, you may also want to consider some of the meditation resources listed on my listmania lists. I also have a yoga resource list that might be helpful for those interested in pranayama. Another book in the pranayama vein that is quite popular is "The Yoga of Breath" by Richard Rosen.
In summary, this is a good book on the basics of breathing as a foundation for a yoga practice. It provides the basic concepts required to move on to more advanced breathing techniques such as pranayama.
The authors of this book are credible and have excellent professional credentials and established practices. They are associated with the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA that has a long standing commitment to getting science, modern psychology and yoga together. Many of their publications are excellent and certainly this one is as well.
I think any yoga practioner at any level will benefit from this book and even very experienced people will learn a lot. As the title suggests, this book focuses on the practical aspects of breathing and provides a good foundation or launching point for moving on to pranayama practice. However, the value add is the tie in to modern science.
As part of my living, I do workshops on such topics as meditation, pranayama and biofeedback, loving-kindness practices and other topics that integrate East and West. Before becoming involved in psychology and spirituality, I was both a research scientist and Teaching Fellow in Physiology. While I am not an expert at respiratory physiology or a top pranayama practioner, I have an established yoga practice and enough expertise to judge the merit of this book.
If you are serious about the breath and especially about pranayama, I would pick up "Light on Pranayama" by B.K.S. Iyengar. This book is very comprehensive and covers the physiology of the various breathing practices in great depth. If you are looking at breating for relaxation, you may also want to consider some of the meditation resources listed on my listmania lists. I also have a yoga resource list that might be helpful for those interested in pranayama. Another book in the pranayama vein that is quite popular is "The Yoga of Breath" by Richard Rosen.
In summary, this is a good book on the basics of breathing as a foundation for a yoga practice. It provides the basic concepts required to move on to more advanced breathing techniques such as pranayama.
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