Breath

Breath

This book, by James Nestor, has gotten a lot of buzz lately, and for good reason. When we hear that we’ve been wrong about something so fundamental to our existence, it makes our ears perk up. What do you mean I’ve been breathing incorrectly? How is that possible? The author takes a deep dive into many different fields of study and dutifully applies himself to the experience of the effects of breath on the body, and life.

For most of us, breathing is largely ruled by the unconscious mind. At any time we can bring it into our conscious awareness but most of us are taking the fact that we breathe in the very essence of life, for granted.

The book takes a largely scientific approach to this premise, delving into studies, research, and fringe practitioners who developed methods for curing hundreds of seemingly incurable patients through breathing techniques. I enjoy this type of scientific analysis when it validates the experiences I’ve had. For instance, the author tells of how breathing through the nose is beneficial for our health in a myriad of ways, including easing anxiety and stress, and how most people unconsciously breathe through their mouths more often than they should. This tracks because of my experience of times spent mouth breathing. When breathing through my nose I feel more on-edge, more anxious, more emotional, and generally uneasy. Or how one practitioner of deep breathing claimed he could increase intuitive awareness and insight. This validates my experience of breathing practices that have given me what’s called “eagle vision”, a perception that I was somehow floating above a situation and seeing clearly other alternatives.

Here’s the thing that gets me. Everything presented in the book tracks with what the ancients knew for centuries upon centuries. When a man with a beard from India comes to the West to teach the techniques we know to work through experience, it’s called pseudoscience. When a witty western journalist writes about it, it becomes credible and groundbreaking. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the book, and it is clear the author paid his dues in more ways than one to be able to present this information in such an informative, engaging, and pithy way. Besides, this kind of knowledge isn’t owned by anyone. Anybody with a nose is free to discover the sheer power that lies within their capacity to breathe. My only intention is to validate the science of experience which too often gets thrown out as not relevant.

If a yoga teacher describes the healing benefits of a particular practice, try it. See for yourself if it works. What good is it to demand to see the peer-reviewed studies that prove the existence of subtle energy? (Though several are emerging) Similarly, what good does it do to go around sermonizing the benefits of breathing through your nose simply because you read about it in a book? Have an experience of it, do the work. Become a scientist of the self, just as the author did, and just as the ancients did.