A Practical Guide to Breathwork: A Remedy for the Modern Human Condition

This book was a really good read. The first half provides a brief overview of the modern human condition and how our bodies are not suited to all the sitting, the abundance of food, so much screen time, and other modern delights. If you've ever suffered from the effects of anxiety, insomnia, or even things like pain from bad posture, it will feel very relevant to you. Jesse then talks about how breathwork is the secret weapon to reasserting control over the body, which made me feel empowered and interested to experiment.Roughly the second half of the book is a collection of breathwork techniques for different situations. I enjoyed sharing some of the test" with my wife so we could both see how our patterns and CO2 tolerance compared to each other. After I finished the book, I tried one of the simpler breathwork techniques to calm myself down as I was heading to bed. I really could feel a difference after I did just a few rounds. It was very interesting.Jesse's writing style is very clear and easy to read. You won't feel like he's talking over your head, but you can tell that he's done a lot of work to survey these different styles of breathwork and explore the history. It is very much a "practical guide" in that it doesn't get bogged down with a ton of research and data, but it does provide rationale and explanations that make sense. Just reading in the evenings, I knocked it out in just a few days. It gave me some things to try immediately, and more stuff to explore in the future, depending on how my body responds.

Jesse Coomer’s foray into the somewhat saturated genre of breathwork is passionate, concise, and as the title suggests, practical. The introduction to “A Practical Guide to Breathwork” invites the reader to skip to the breathwork section, but I enjoyed his short essays on the modern human condition. Every self-actualization book needs a personal confession (Coomer's was ten years of pills) and redemption story (apparently a lot of physical activity). He avoids lurid details ("I'm not going to go into great detail here") and true to his day job as a professor, we examine the human condition with a brief "Norton Anthology"-dose of Hippocrates, Kierkegaard, Socrates, and mythology (Greek, Roman, and Sumerian). He dwells a bit on our supposedly homogenous Neolithic ancestors, and we're on to breathwork as fast as you can say Enkidu (friend of Gilgamesh, page 11).Coomer is a certified instructor of Wim Hof's breathing method, and I expected a rehash of Hof's fabled life and methods. It's not there, because by page 80 we're ready to respire. More than two thirds of this book is a practical guide to lots of breathwork from lots of traditions, written in a style that relies on illustrations, numbered guides, and large doses of enthusiasm. It works. The US Navy SEAL teams might use the "box breathing" prior to a mission (page 139), but I achieved it via his simple illustration and four numbered steps. In a stressful moment, I even remembered a breathing protocol to calm down (chapter 18, just mimic the photo of Coomer on a yoga mat underneath some wall-mounted guitars).Experienced breathwork devotees might be surprised that Coomer covers advanced breathwork topics in seven full chapters. As a casual practitioner I was tempted to cover the basics in order to jump to chapter 28, "Altered State Breathing Techniques". After reading a slew of medical warnings and caution not to use a strobe light, I moved on to an accessible guide (14 pages) to developing a personal practice. My only criticism of the book: B.K.S. Iyengar’s seminal “Light on Pranayama” was never mentioned, despite being back in print for four years.Page for page, this book out-breathes James Nestor's windbag "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art." He states openly that "I believe that breath is the birthright of every human being." And free of the irony or self-deprecation common to the modern human condition, Coomer leads us to simply practice.

I honestly haven't had the time to read this book yet but it appears to be exactly as described. Arrived quickly and in perfect condition.

This book is super good and exactly what I was looking for. I really like the structure; the from half is primarily background and theory and the back half contains practical breathing exercises. As the author points out you don’t need to finish the front half before taking advantage of the exercises. Very easy reading!

This book was extremely informative and a pleasure to read.The first half goes into the “why” of breath work. If you are already a practitioner will have you relating ... bidding and smiling.If new to breath work, or wondering if it’s worth trying, it’s a perfect intro.It’s sincere, thoughtful and enjoyable to read. It’s funny without being irreverent.He also delves into the physiology of what is happening with the difference aspects of breath, breath control, breath retention, etc..The second half of the book addresses the “how.” It covers various techniques that he practices and teaches, broken down into several categories: those doneto calm down, to activate, etc.I will definitely be using it as reference as consider trying new techniques to add to my “practice.”Good for yogis, athletes, those wanting to get or stay healthy ...

Jesse has taken everything you need to know to start an effective breathwork method into your daily routine. He covers the needed science to help understand what is going on without getting too technical for those that just need the basics. The book draws you in and it is hard to put down. The best part is all the arranged breathwork sessions at the end which will put you on the right path no matter your goal. If you are interested in breathwork and don't know where to start this should be the first book you read. He also has a great cold training e-book. I hope Jesse continues to write books as he is very gifted in this area.

If you are trying to understand the science of breath work or conscious breathing then this is definitely a good read. So much information on the fundamentals and you are given the tools to make your own techniques as well and it really helped me understand the basics. It’s also a bunch of techniques in the book to help you get started🔥

This Book is an essential reading for those interested in Breath-work. It gives the foundational understanding of the Basic Principles involved in Breathing and Breathwork in a no frills manner. Easy to understand, explained very clearly and can be implemented immediately.

I’ve been tracking and watching Jesse’s YouTube channel intermittently for about a year now and since lockdown started here in Canada and I fully immersed myself in Wim Hof and his breathwork and courses, I found there were questions that Jesse was explaining in his videos (cold exposure, drop in retention times during breathwork, to name a couple).I signed up to his superb and affordable Patreon club ($5USD a month by the way) and have used and continue to use his own videos for WHM breathing, morning and bedtime breathing, as well as during the day when I might need a kick up the rear to wake me up.I’m finding the book a great companion to the Patreon videos as well as his regular “Live” videos on YouTube. I shall be attempting to get my Mum at least (Dad is an old school military lost cause!) as well as my wife and social circle to start trying it out and understanding the power of breathwork.I don’t often write reviews as they tend to be a War and Peace meander through my waffling brain, but hope it sways any potential customers who are on the fence to give it a try.

I’ve been doing breathwork since last October, so 4 months or so, since I stumbled across Wim Hof via Scott Carney’s book What doesn’t kill us. Jesse introduced me to further breathing techniques with varying purposes or outcomes; preparing for exercise/gearing up or calming down/relaxation for example.His book is great in that he explains the various protocols but encourages you to develop your own routines/practice.I’d also highly recommend the audio version because it includes several recorded breathing sessions with Jesse himself guiding you. Thank you Jesse for this book. It’s a great additional tool on my continued breathwork adventure.Check out his YouTube channel too.

Jesse Coomer's work is undeniably awesome. It covers the spots that may not be put so clear by Wim Hof with a great deal of detail. I'd definetely get a physical copy. Kudos to Coomer.However, I'm doubting about the kindle version since it's not compatible with my Kindle X. I've tried everything and Amazon's website keeps on telling me that the book is incompatible with my device. So the bad score goes to Amazon for once unless I get some help, please.

Du interessierst Dich für die Wim Hof Methode, für die Steigerung deiner CO2 Toleranz a la Patrick McKeown oder für Atemtechniken aus dem Yoga etc. ?Disclaimer: Für mich selbst führte der Weg zu Jesse über die Wim Hof Methode die ich seit 9 Monaten an jedem Werktag praktizierte. Auf der Suche nach weiteren Quellen zum Thema Atmung stolperte ich über Jesses YouTube Kanal welchen ich seit einigen Monaten per Patreon unterstützte.So you could consider me as a fanboy so take everything I say with a grain of salt ;)In diesen super Grundlagenwerk für Atemtechniken erklärt Jesse in einfacher englische Sprache das "warum", "wie" und "wofür" von Atemtechniken im allgemeinen und liefert sehr viele praktische Atemübungen mit denen ihr euren Atem und seine Funktion zur Regulation von Stress, Emotionen, Anspannung im Detail kennen lernen werdet.Verglichen mit anderen Entspannungsverfahren, welche ich aus beruflichen Gründe alle lernen und erproben musste, funktionieren Atemtechniken zur Regulation von Stress und Affekten deutlich effektiver und nachhaltiger.Viel Spaß beim erproben und kennenlernen des eigenen Körpers.