Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
by James Nestor
Mentioned 4 times across 2 shows · first heard Aug 2025 on Digital Social Hour.
The general take
Jay Shetty is enthusiastic about Breath, calling it a powerful tool for changing mental state and appreciating how it grounds readers back in the body after years of mind-focused books. He frames breathing as something people have been doing wrong repeatedly throughout their lives, suggesting the book offers practical insight into a fundamental human function.
About
THE MILLION COPY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, FEATURING NEW MATERIAL "I highly recommend this book." —Wim Hof “A fascinating scientific, cultural, spiritual and evolutionary history of the way humans breathe—and how we’ve all been doing it wrong for a long, long time.” —Elizabeth Gilbert "This book is amazing. “ — Joe Rogan No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you’re not breathing properly. There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.
Who said what
Jay Shetty👍 Recommends
…understanding nasal breathing's impact on nervous system, cognition, and emotional state
“Book number 10 is Breath by James Nestor. Here's the lesson. The most powerful tool you have for changing your mental state is not in your mind. It's the thing you've been doing wrong 40,000 times a day. I'm ending with this book because after nine books about the mind, how it thinks, how it decides, how it deceives, how it suffers, this book lands you back in the body and that's exactly where you need to end up. James Nestor is a journalist who spent years investigating something so basic, so overlooked, so absurdly fundamental that the fact we ignore it should embarrass us. Breathing.”
On Purpose with Jay Shetty — 10 Books That Changed My Lifeat 32:04- DO
Declan O'Reilly👍 Recommends
…discussing the importance of taking immediate action after consuming information
“And I see so many people that they make it so complicated. They struggle, dude. I never understood it. Like I read books and so do a lot of people, but they don't take action like I do. Like I'll read this book right here at Breath. I'm immediately buying shit. Implementing. Yeah. Implementing. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. No, yeah. Like I'm buying the retainer. I'm starting the Breath Wim Hof next day. Like I'm immediately taking action on the book.”
Digital Social Hour — Declan OReilly: “AI Is Quietly Replacing Entire Teams And Most Businesses Have No Idea | DSH #1805at 28:59 - MR
MJ Renshaw👍 Recommends
…foundational breathwork literature and science
“There's old books on power breath work, right? Yeah. Power breath work. Read by James Nestor. That's like the one everyone brings up. Love that book.”
Digital Social Hour — MJ Renshaw: Breathe to Heal: Breathwork, Emotions & Real Connection with MJ | DSH #1518at 23:24 
Sean Kelly👍 Recommends
…discussing foundational breathwork literature and its author
“There's old books on our breathwork, right? Yeah. Yeah. Read by James Nestro. That's like the one. Love that book.”
Digital Social Hour — MJ Renshaw: Breathe to Heal: Breathwork, Emotions & Real Connection with MJ | DSH #1515at 03:21
Listener reviews
Bought Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art after hearing about it? Tell everyone how it went.
