Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
by James Nestor
Narrated by James Nestor
Why You'll Love This
You've been breathing your entire life and, according to James Nestor, you've been doing it wrong.
- Great if you want: science-backed health insights delivered through firsthand experimentation
- Listening experience: brisk and investigative — reads like a reported adventure, not a wellness manual
- Narration: Nestor narrating his own book adds urgency; he sounds genuinely converted
- Skip if: you're skeptical of breathwork and want peer-reviewed papers over personal journalism
Listen to Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art on Audible →
About This Book
Breath documents journalist James Nestor's investigation into the science of respiration, visiting laboratories, ancient burial sites, Soviet archives, and New Jersey choir schools to understand why modern humans have become poor breathers and what the consequences are. Nestor discovers that techniques known to yoga traditions and Tibetan Buddhism have physiological explanations and measurable effects, from improved athletic performance to resolution of chronic conditions.
Nestor narrates his own investigation with a journalist's sense of discovery, his voice carrying genuine surprise at what the research reveals. The audiobook's pacing follows the shape of an inquiry rather than a lecture, with each finding producing the next question, and Nestor's authority as a participant-observer in the breathing experiments he undertakes gives the material an immediacy that pure reporting cannot provide.