Imagine a breathing technique that can increase oxygen uptake and delivery to the cells, improve blood circulation, and unblock the nose. Perhaps it can help open the airways of the lungs, enhance blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain, improve sleep, and bring calmness to the mind. It might even restore bodily functions disturbed by stress, build greater resilience, and help you to live longer. You might think this description sounds farfetched. But it isn’t.

You have been breathing your whole life; now, learn how to breathe better to positively influence your mental and physical well-being. This book is exactly what it says it is - a practical guide. Nothing esoteric. Nothing “woo woo”. What you will find in this book can be applied today in a real way to improve your life. Learn how to use your breath to communicate to your physiology and psychology in predictable and replicable ways using nothing more than focused conscious breathing.

Achieve more with less effort: The secret to weight loss, fitness, and wellness lies in the most basic and most overlooked function of your body - how you breathe. One of the biggest obstacles to better health and fitness is a rarely identified problem: chronic overbreathing. We often take many more breaths than we need without realizing it, contributing to poor health and fitness, including a host of disorders, from anxiety and asthma to insomnia and heart problems.

Thrive or die: That's the rule of evolution. Despite this brutal logic, some species have learned to survive in even the most hostile conditions. Others couldn't - and perished. While incremental genetic adaptations hone the physiology of nearly every creature on this planet, there's another evolutionary force that is just as important: the power of choice. In this explosive investigation into the limits of endurance, journalist Scott Carney discovers how humans can wedge control over automatic physiological responses into the breaking point between stress and biology.

Holotropic means "moving toward wholeness," from the Greek holos (whole) and trepein (moving in the direction of). The breathwork utilizes the remarkable healing and transformative potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness. These states engender a rich array of experiences with unique healing potential - reliving childhood memories, infancy, birth and prenatal life, and elements from the historical and archetypal realms of the collective unconscious.