Subodh's Reviews > Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

This book has some very important ideas, but goes about them in a roundabout manner - digressing frequently into unnecessary personal anecdotes. The style reminds me of people selling miracle cures who promise a lot, but take a long time to tell what they are selling. The useful ideas of the book can be summed up in a few pages, the rest is unnecessary verbiage. Some of the ideas are dangerous. He talks of inhaling air rich in carbon dioxide as a treatment for many ailments. My fear is the some people my try their hand at self-cure with carbon dioxide after reading this book and come to grief.

The useful ideas of the book are essentially:

Breathing through the mouth is harmful, one should breathe through the nose;

Breathing slowly is best. The ideal breathing rate is 5.5 breaths per minute.

Long exhalations are particularly beneficial.

Rapid breathing is generally harmful, but done with conscious control it can be beneficial.

Carbon dioxide is not metabolic waste, it has an important role in health and well-being.

These ideas could have been expressed more clearly and succintly.