Review: The Power of Breathwork: Simple Practices to Promote Wellbeing

The Power of Breathwork: Simple Practices to Promote Wellbeing by Jennifer Patterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been practicing meditation/mindfulness for over 2 years now, so when I saw this book, I thought it would be interesting to explore a related area. Before I get onto reviewing the contents, let me just say what a beautiful little book this is! The cover is lovely (in fact it is the reason I was drawn in), and every single page has an attractive background and border. 

I think this is a good introduction to the subject. It covers the basic concepts, what breathwork can be used for, and so on, in an informative way that is suitable for a complete beginner such as myself. I don’t feel that building an altar would be for me, and I was disappointed by the lack of science (or even brief references to where you could look it up), but otherwise a good overview.

The volume then covers a number of different breathwork exercises to use, varying in difficulty and length. I like the way these are laid out, it makes it very clear what you will need, and what to do. There are clear diagrams accompanying the text instructions, which I found helpful. I was slightly disappointed that although it is mentioned in the previous section to use whatever position you are comfortable in, there are no examples of ideal alternative positions (for disabled people, such as myself, who are limited as to sitting and so on) under each exercise, as I would assume that after initially reading the book, people will just turn to the exercise they wish to carry out. However, it is mentioned that a voice recorder or similar, can be used instead of handwriting post exercise. I unfortunately haven’t had time to try out any of the exercises.

Overall, I felt this was an excellent introduction to the practice of breathwork, easy to read, and beautiful to look at. If there are future books or editions, it would be lovely to see it become more easily inclusive.

I was given a free copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

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