The Science of Breathing | James Nestor

About this episode

<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p>---</p> <p>You may be breathing wrong. Here's how to fix it. </p> <p><br /></p> <p>At times, self-improvement can seem like a never-ending hallway filled with limitless shame and insufficiency. So when something as simple as the breath falls into this category, it seems only natural to meet that news with some resistance. Our guest today, James Nestor, argues that many of us, of all things, are breathing incorrectly but that by fixing our breathing, it can help with both physical and psychological ailments.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>Nestor is a science journalist who wrote a book called, <a href= "https://www.mrjamesnestor.com/order-now" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art</a>, which spent 18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was translated into more than 35 languages.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>In this episode we talk about:</p> <ul> <li>How Nestor got interested in breathing in the first place</li> <li>Why we are the worst breathers in the animal kingdom</li> <li>The importance of posture</li> <li>The deleterious effects of mouth breathing</li> <li>Why we need to chew more</li> <li>The relationship between breathing and anxiety</li> <li>The relationship between breathing and sleep</li> <li>And we dive into a variety of breathing exercises</li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p>Where to find James Nestor online:</p> <p>Website: <a href="http://www.mrjamesnestor.com/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.mrjamesnestor.com</a></p> <p>Social Media:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/mrjamesnestor" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mrjamesnestor/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p>Book Mentioned:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.mrjamesnestor.com/order-now" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p>Other Resources Mentioned:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/dlieberman/home" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daniel E. Lieberman</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.wimhofmethod.com/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Wim Hof Method</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.stangrof.com/index.php" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr. Stanislav Grof and holotropic breathwork</a></li> <li><a href= "https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/profile/richard-p-brown-md" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr. Richard P. Brown</a></li> <li><a href= "https://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/matthew-p-walker#:~:text=Matthew%20Walker%20is%20Professor%20of,Center%20for%20Human%20Sleep%20Science." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matthew P. Walker</a></li> <li><a href= "https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/types-of-yoga/kundalini/a-beginners-guide-to-kundalini-yoga/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">More on Kundalini Yoga and Breathing</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.srisriravishankar.org/sudarshan-kriya/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sudarshan Kriya</a></li> <li><a href="https://tricycle.org/article/herbert-benson-dies/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr. Herbert Benson and tummo breathing technique</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Related Episodes:</strong></p> <p><a href= "https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/emma-seppala-334" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Three Lessons from Happiness Research | Emma Seppälä</a></p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Sign up for Dan's weekly newsletter</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3QtGRqJ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>here</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Follow Dan on social:</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3tGigG5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Instagram</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3FOA84J" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>TikTok</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Ten Percent Happier online</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/46TZglY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>bookstore</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Subscribe to our</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3FybRzD" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>YouTube Channel</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Our favorite playlists on:</strong> <a href= "https://spoti.fi/3Qa8kMT" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Anxiety</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href= "https://spoti.fi/3MjtMxF" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Sleep</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href= "https://spoti.fi/3QvyA5J" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Relationships</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="https://spoti.fi/3QxZASc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Most Popular Episodes</strong></a></p> <p><strong>For tickets to Dan Harris: Celebrating 10 Years of 10% Happier at Symphony Space: </strong><a href= "https://www.symphonyspace.org/events/vp-dan-harris-10-happier-10-year-anniversary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>click here</strong></a></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Shownotes:</strong> <a href= "https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/james-nestor-rerun" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/james-nestor-rerun</a></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Additional Resources:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: <a href= "https://10percenthappier.app.link/install" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">https://10percenthappier.app.link/install</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p>