Breathe Well, Be Well: A Program to Relieve Stress, Anxiety, Asthma, Hypertension, Migraine and Other Disorders for Better Health

"Although this book was not what I had expected it to be (i.e. a detailed book
with many pages devoted to breathing exercises e.g. paced breathing techniques etc)
I did not regret the purchase, in fact I was very impressed.

The reason why I rate this work so highly is because it offers a fresh perspective on
dealing with so called psychosomatic/psychophysiological ailments e.g. panic attacks, phobias
including headaches, migranes, hyperventilating, gasping for breath, Raynaud's condtions,
cold hands etc. The idea that irregular breathing patterns are at the heart of most disorders,
although not surprising, is explained extremely well in terms of acid-base levels in the blood.

The primary topic dicussed in this book is hyperventilation. And as an Asthma sufferer I did
not think this work would be useful to me (since I usually struggle to get any air let alone overbreathe!),
but I was very wrong!! This book was a great buy, because I now understand
the driving factors for my breathing difficulties from a scientific point of view.
i.e. inhale/exhale ratios, CO2 levels, warms/cold hands etc.

I only have 2 criticisms, the last chapter about Music and Breathing seemed a little out
of place and mostly irrelevent. And secondly there isnt much on breathing techniques,
the only thing that is covered is deep diaphragmatic breathing (whist in the sitting position)
- which is great if thats all you want!

5 stars for information/nutrition/theory content
2 stars for practical exercises with deep breathing"
~ Written on 2005-09-14