Conscious Breathing: Breathwork for Health, Stress Release, and Personal Mastery
by Gay Hendricks
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gay HendricksEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1995-03-01
ISBN: 0553374435
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Bantam
Accessories:
- Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)
- RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
- Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor
Book Reviews of Conscious Breathing: Breathwork for Health, Stress Release, and Personal Mastery
Book Review: Our breathing: the more we learn the better we feel
Summary: 5 Stars
If only we breathed as we began life doing! As Gay Hendricks puts it:
"if you want to see healthy diaphragmatic breathing, watch the way a baby breathes. The belly rises and falls effortlessly with the breath. The chest moves somewhat, but the primary movement is below the diaphragm. Later, breathing becomes restricted as the baby is affected by the various shocks life has to offer. It is rare to see poor diaphragmatic breathing in kindergarten, but it is rare to find proper diaphragmatic breathing by high school." (p. 44)
CONSCIOUS BREATHING is notably well written, lacking the smart alecky colloquial banter that even weight loss giants like Mehmet Oz (YOU ON A DIET) feel compelled to sport.
The book abounds in drawings. Early on we are led inch by inch as a single breath works its way into our lungs, deposits its oxygen and removes carbon dioxide (pp. 4 - 7). Take air in through the nose, not the mouth. That warms your breath and purifies it. See the four lobes of the lungs, all resting on the diaphragm. Breathing better, says Gay Hendricks, will increase your oxygen by 5% per breath.
And better breathing means better health. One Minneapolis hospital studied 153 heart attack patients. Not one breathed "in the effective abdominal style." Rather they tensed stomach muscles and therefore not enough oxygen got to the bottom of their lungs. And 76% of those heart attack patients were mouth breathers, not nose breathers. (p. 17) Surprisingly small amounts of the body's toxins are "discharged through sweat, defecation and urination." A whopping 70% of toxins are removed by exhaling. (p. 17)
Dr Hendricks's principal action recommendations boil down, I think, to the following five:
What are the GENERAL elements of proper breathing throughout the day?
--(1) Breathe in with your stomach muscles relaxed. Breathe, that is, like a baby.
--(2) Breathe through your nose, not your mouth.
--(3) Do not hold your breath. (This is not easy, as we instinctively clench up when faced with pain or danger.)
What additional recommendations relate to systematic breath EXERCISING?
--(4) When doing "breathwork," i.e. conscious breathing exercises, do them slowly, gently.
--(5) Block one nostril, then the other.
Dr Hendricks stresses that his book is based on his 20+ years of doing and teaching conscious breathing. He believes that theory is still way behind practice. But theory there has been and is and he points toward some of it in his Appendix B: "A Bibliographical Note." There he begins with Wilhelm Reich, commending the 1984 biography by Myron Sharaf, FURY ON EARTH. For the personally inarticulate Moshe Feldenkrais, Hendricks suggests beginning with Thomas Hanna's 1980 THE BODY OF LIFE. He also cites books on Hindu psychology and western medical and bio-feedback traditions.
This is a rich, very well written book. I have omitted far more topics than I have sketched. If you have not given much thought to the subject but are nonetheless seriously concerned to improve your breathing -- for whatever reasons -- I can recommend CONSCIOUS BREATHING unreservedly. -OOO-
Summary of Conscious Breathing: Breathwork for Health, Stress Release, and Personal Mastery
Conscious Breathing draws on more than twenty years of research and practice to present a simple yet comprehensive program that can be used every day to improve energy, mental clarity, and physical health. As the essential life-force of the body, the breath influences how we feel on every level. But many traditional breathing programs are limited by esoteric or cultlike elements. Pioneering therapist Gay Hendricks has refined the most important practices into a mainstream healing tool that can provide dramatic benefits--ranging from lowered blood pressure and pain reduction to elimination of depression and anxiety--in as little as ten minutes a day. At the core of the book are eight key breathing exercises, fully illustrated, with step-by-step instructions, plus the "short form" ten-minute breathing program. Additional chapters provide breathing techniques for special concerns, including: Breathing to aid in trauma release and recovery from addictions. Treatment of asthma and other respiratory problems. Enhancement of sex and communication between couples. Improved concentration and stamina in sports.Self-Help Books
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