Breath, James Nestor

Breath: The new science of a lost art by James Nestor was a book I read about in a magazine, but I cannot remember which one.

Started: 7/4/2020

Completed: 7/6/2020

Recommendation: Mildly Recommended

Recommended By:  Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

bindi -- a decorative mark worn in the middle of the forehead by Indian women

Review:

It is odd to be reading this book and The Price for Their Pound of Flesh at the same time.  It is odder still that the two books are connected around the Morton skull collection.  This kind of small coincidence gives odd credence to things like The Celestine Prophecy.

The book is interesting and it brings up a lot of doctors who were ignored or belittled for espousing their claims.  Nestor tries out some of the outrageous things himself and relates his experiences. There is something to breath and breathing and it is pretty fundamental to yoga and meditation in general.  Nestor goes to extremes and does things that he acknowledges are pretty dangerous.  In part, this may be so that we can benefit from his experience, but it is off putting to play with a system that is so fundamental to survival.  I think I will pursue some of the basic breathing exercises and try to remember to sip air through my nose.  I think that there is value in doing that.  The more extreme things (like generating body heat through breathing) I will probably leave untouched.