Main content

The lost art of breathing

Each of us takes more than 25,000 breaths a day. But are we even doing it right?

After recovering from pneumonia for the third time, journalist James Nestor took decisive action to improve his lungs. He questioned why so many humans - and only humans - have to contend with stuffy noses, snoring, asthma, allergies, sinusitis and sleep apnoea, to name but a few.

James hears remarkable stories of others who have changed their lives through the power of breath. His deep dive into the unconscious and oft-ignored act of human respiration offers us all a way to breathe easier.

With contributions from Dr Richard Brown, who worked with 9/11 survivors; Dr Margaret Chesney, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco on screen apnoea; Mandar Apte and Rosa Lagunas on Sudarshan Kriya Yoga; Chuck McGee III on the Wim Hof Method; Dr Andrew Hubermann, professor of neurobiology at Stanford University on the brain-body relationship and Dr Kevin Boyd, paediatric dentist, on the changes to the human skull.

(Photo: Journalist James Nestor)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 24 Oct 2021 04:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 19 Oct 2021 01:32GMT
  • Tue 19 Oct 2021 08:06GMT
  • Tue 19 Oct 2021 12:32GMT
  • Tue 19 Oct 2021 19:06GMT
  • Sun 24 Oct 2021 04:32GMT

Featured in...