Great journalism with new research, anecdotes, and curated techniques. It’s a fast-moving personal journey using old and new age advice, and the author makes clear is something still in progress. A monograph from Stanford University Press is cited that was published in 2018, and several studies were mentioned that are currently underway, so breath and orthodontics seem to be going through a revival. A New York dentist, Dr. Michael Gelb, said in the book, “In ten years, nobody will be using traditional orthodontics”.

The entire book wasn’t 5 stars. Part 1 is the author’s personal experiments (interesting and short), Part 2 is the art and science of breathing (easily the best section), and Part 3 was “Breathing +”, which explored pushing the limits of breath and didn’t really interest me at all. This is 5 stars because it’s a quick book with immediate health benefits you can practice (my average systolic dropped 10 below its average for 4 days in a row so far), and the overall ROI covered below.

Optimum breathing rate, tongue posture, lung expanding stretches, different nostril activation, chewing, and clearing nasal passages are some topics covered. The appendix is full of breathing methods to practice, and the audiobook walks you through all of them. The book features Dr Mike Mew of Orthotropics, who if you visit his Youtube channel, covers facial growth guidance like tongue chewing, swallowing, proper facial posture, mewing, exercises, sleeping position, xylitol gum, etc.