The Science of Breathing | James Nestor

By Ten Percent Happier

10% Happier with Dan Harris

07/02/24·1h 7m

You may be breathing wrong. Here’s how to fix it.

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.

Nestor is a science journalist who wrote a book called, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, which spent 18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was translated into more than 35 languages.

In this episode we talk about:

How Nestor got interested in breathing in the first placeWhy we are the worst breathers in the animal kingdomThe importance of postureThe deleterious effects of mouth breathingWhy we need to chew moreThe relationship between breathing and anxietyThe relationship between breathing and sleepAnd we dive into a variety of breathing exercises

Where to find James Nestor online:

Website: www.mrjamesnestor.com

Social Media:

Facebook Instagram

Book Mentioned:

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

Other Resources Mentioned:

Daniel E. Lieberman The Wim Hof Method Dr. Stanislav Grof and holotropic breathwork Dr. Richard P. Brown Matthew P. Walker More on Kundalini Yoga and Breathing Sudarshan Kriya Dr. Herbert Benson and tummo breathing technique

Related Episodes:

Three Lessons from Happiness Research | Emma Seppälä

Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok

Ten Percent Happier online bookstore