m o r e  d e n s e  i n t o  o u r  7 0 s :  Belfor wasn’ t the first researcher to discover this. In 1986, orthodontist Dr . V incent G. Kokich, a professor in the Department of Orthodontics at the University of
W ashington and one of the world’ s experts in dentistry , postulated that adults “retain the
capacity to regenerate and remodel bone at the craniofacial sutures.” Liao, Six-Foot T iger ,  176–
77.t h e  m o r e  s t e m  c e l l s  r e l e a s e :  W e create stem cells throughout the body as well. The stem cells made in the
sutures and jaws are often used for local maintenance in the mouth and face. Stem cells will
ship of f to whatever area needs them most. What they are attracted to are stress signals—in this
case, the signals that come with vigorous chewing. t w o  t o  f o u r  y e a r s  o f  a g e :  “W eaning from the Breast,” Paediatrics & Child Health  9, no. 4 (Apr . 2004):
249–53. l o w e r  i n c i d e n c e :  Bottle-feeding requires less “chewing” and sucking stress, and, as such stimulates less
forward facial growth. For this reason, Kevin Boyd, the Chicago pediatric dentist, recommends
cup feeding infants if breastfeeding isn’ t an option. James Sim W allace, The Cause and
Pr evention of Decay in T eeth  (London: J. & A. Churchill, 1902). Indrė Narbutyte et al.,
“Relationship Between Breastfeeding, Bottle-Feeding and Development of Malocclusion,”
Stomatologija, Baltic Dental and Maxillofacial Journal  15, no. 3 (2013): 67–72; Domenico
V iggiano et al., “Breast Feeding, Bottle Feeding, and Non-Nutritive Sucking: Ef fects on
Occlusion in Deciduous Dentition,” Ar chives of Disease in Childhood 89, no. 12 (Jan. 2005):
1121–23; Bronwyn K. Brew et al., “Breastfeeding and Snoring: A Birth Cohort Study ,” PLoS
One 9, no. 1 (Jan. 2014): e84956. s t i m u l a t e s  t h e  s t r e s s :  Every time I bite down while wearing the Homeblock I’ll be eliciting cyclical
intermittent light force in combination with the light springing pressure that will send a signal
to the ligament around the roots of the teeth to encourage the body to, according to Belfor ,
“begin a cascade of events” which produces more bone cells. The process is called
morphogenesis and it all sounded brutal. But Belfor assured me I won’ t even notice it
happening because I’d only need to wear the retainer while I am sleeping. “ A n  e a r l y  s o f t  d i e t ” :  Ben Miraglia, DDS, “2018 Oregon Dental Conference Course Handout,” Oregon
Dental Conference, Apr . 5, 2018, https://www .oregondental.or g/docs/librariesprovider42/2018-
odc-handouts/thursday---9122-miraglia.pdf?sfvrsn=2 . a n c i e n t  s k u l l s  m e a s u r e d :  Specifically , from 2.12 and 2.62 inches before the Industrial Age to 1.88 to 2.44
inches afterward. J. N. Starkey , “Etiology of Irregularities of the T eeth,” The Dental Sur geon 4,
no. 174 (Feb. 29, 1908): 105–6. “ g r a d u a l l y  b e c o m i n g  s m a l l e r ” :  J. Sim W allace, “Heredity , with Special Reference to the Diminution in
Size of the Human Jaw ,” digest of Dental Recor d , Dec. 1901, in Dental Digest  8, no. 2 (Feb.
1902): 135–40, https://tinyurl.com/r6szdz8 . f e e d i n g  a  g r o u p  o f  p i g s :  Y ucatan minipigs, that is. Russell L. Ciochon et al., “Dietary Consistency and
Craniofacial Development Related to Masticatory Function in Minipigs,” Journal of
Craniofacial Genetics and Developmental Biology 17, no. 2 (Apr .–June 1997): 96–102. s o m e  f o r m  o f  m a l o c c l u s i o n :  These round averages were summarized and verified by Dr . Robert
Corruccini. Further overview context can be found in Mirigalia, “2018 Oregon Dental
Conference Course Handout.”
Chapter Eight: More, on Occasion
t w e l v e  h u n d r e d  m e n :  Micheal Clodfelter , W arfar e and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of
Casualty and Other Figur es, 1492–2015 , 4th ed. (Jef ferson, NC: McFarland, 2017), 277. 3 0  o r  m o r e  t i m e s :  J. M. Da Costa, “On Irritable Heart; a Clinical Study of a Form of Functional Cardiac
Disorder and its Consequences,” American Journal of Medical Sciences,  n.s. 61, no. 121
(1871). T h e  s a m e  s y m p t o m s :  Jef frey A. Lieberman, “From ‘Soldier ’ s Heart’ to ‘V ietnam Syndrome’:
Psychiatry’ s 100-Y ear Quest to Understand PTSD,” The Star , Mar . 7, 2015,
https://www .thestar .com/news/insight/2015/03/07/solving-the-riddle-of-soldiers-heart-post-
traumatic-stress-disorder -ptsd.html ; Christopher Ber gland. “Chronic Stress Can Damage Brain
Structure and Connectivity ,” Psychology T oday , Feb. 12, 2004.2 0  p e r c e n t  o f  s o l d i e r s :  “From Shell-Shock to PTSD, a Century of Invisible W ar T rauma,” PBS
NewsHour , Nov . 11, 2018, https://www .pbs.or g/newshour/nation/from-shell-shock-to-ptsd-a-
century-of-invisible-war -trauma ; Caroline Alexander , “The Shock of W ar ,” Smithsonian,  Sept.
2010, https://www .smithsonianmag.com/history/the-shock-of-war -
55376701/#Mxod3dfdosgFt3cQ.99 . b r e a t h s  a r e  s o  r e l a x i n g :  As well, the lower lungs contain from 60 to 80 percent of blood-saturated alveoli,
for easier and more ef ficient gas exchange. Body , Mind, and Sport , 223.
h a s  a n  o p p o s i t e  r o l e :  Phillip Low , “Overview of the Autonomic Nervous System,” Mer ck Manual ,
consumer version, https://www .merckmanuals.com/home/brain,-spinal-cord,-and-nerve-
disorders/autonomic-nervous-system-disorders/overview-of-the-autonomic-nervous-system . H e a r t  r a t e  i n c r e a s e s :  “How Stress Can Boost Immune System,” ScienceDaily , June 21, 2012; “Functions
of the Autonomic Nervous System,” Lumen, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-
ap/chapter/functions-of-the-autonomic-nervous-system/ . p u p i l s  d i l a t e :  Joss Fong, “Eye-Opener: Why Do Pupils Dilate in Response to Emotional States?,”
Scientific American , Dec. 7, 2012, https://www .scientificamerican.com/article/eye-opener -why-
do-pupils-dialate/ . h e i g h t e n e d  s y m p a t h e t i c  a l e r t :  The sympathetic control center is located not in the brain but in the
vertebral ganglia along the spine, while the parasympathetic system is located further up in the
brain. This may not be a coincidence. Some researchers, such as Stephen Por ges, suggest that
the sympathetic system is a more primitive system while the parasympathetic system is more
evolved. a n  h o u r  o r  m o r e :  “What Is Stress?,” American Institute of Stress, https://www .stress.or g/daily-life . m a n  n a m e d  N a r o p a :  “T ibetan Lama to T each an Introduction to T ummo, the Y oga of Psychic Heat at
HAC January 21,” Healing Arts Center (St. Louis), Dec. 20, 2017,
https://www .thehealingartscenter .com/hac-news/tibetan-lama-to-teach-an-introduction-to-
tummo-the-yoga-of-psychic-heat-at-hac ; “NAROP A,” Garchen Buddhist Institute, July 14,
2015, https://garchen.net/naropa . w r o t e  D a v i d - N é e l :  Alexandra David-Néel, My Journey to Lhasa  (1927; New Y ork: Harper Perennial,
2005), 135. P r o f e s s i o n a l  s u r f e r s ,  m i x e d  m a r t i a l  a r t s  f i g h t e r s :  Nan-Hie In, “Breathing Exercises, Ice Baths: How W im Hof
Method Helps Elite Athletes and Navy Seals,” South China Morning Post , Mar . 25, 2019,
https://www .scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3002901/wim-hof-method-how-ice-
baths-and-breathing-techniques . H i s  p r i m a r y  f o c u s  i s  t h e  v a g u s :  Stephen W . Por ges, The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The
T ransformative Power of Feeling Safe,  Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology (New
Y ork: W . W . Norton, 2017), 131, 140, 160, 173, 196, 242, 234.
c a l l  i t  f a i n t i n g :  Specifically , when the vagus nerve is stimulated, the heart rate slows and the blood
vessels dilate, making it harder for blood to defeat gravity and be pumped to the brain. This
temporary decrease in blood flow to the brain can cause the fainting episode. o r g a n s  c u t  o f f  f r o m  n o r m a l :  Steven Park, Sleep Interrupted: A Physician Reveals the #1 Reason Why So
Many of Us Ar e Sick and T ir ed  (New Y ork: Jodev Press, 2008), Kindle locations 1443–46. l e s s e n  t h e s e  s y m p t o m s :  “V agus Nerve Stimulation,” Mayo Clinic, https://www .mayoclinic.or g/tests-
procedures/vagus-nerve-stimulation/about/pac-20384565 ; Crystal T . Engineer et al., “V agus
Nerve Stimulation as a Potential Adjuvant to Behavioral Therapy for Autism and Other
Neurodevelopmental Disorders,” Journal of Neur odevelopmental Disor ders 9 (July 2017): 20.
l e s s  i n v a s i v e  w a y :  There was also swinging. Rocking chairs and porch swings were very common in
houses before the first half of the twentieth century . They may have been so popular because
swinging shifts blood pressure, which allows messages to more easily travel back and forth
along the vagus nerve. This is why so many autistic children (who often have poor vagal tone
and feel constantly under threat) respond so well to swinging. Cold exposure, like splashingcold water on the face, also stimulates the vagus nerve, which sends messages to the heart to
lower the heart rate. (Place your face in cold water and your heart rate will quickly drop.) Por ges, Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory ,  211–12. s p e e d  u p  o u r  h e a r t :  Some very rare exceptions are demonstrated by yogis; these are discussed in the
final chapter . w h e n  t o  b r e a t h e :  Roderik J. S. Gerritsen and Guido P . H. Band, “Breath of Life: The Respiratory V agal
Stimulation Model of Contemplative Activity ,” Fr ontiers in Human Neur oscience  12 (Oct.
2018): 397; Christopher Ber gland, “Longer Exhalations Are an Easy W ay to Hack Y our V agus
Nerve,” Psychology T oday , May 9, 2019. W i l l i n g  o u r s e l v e s :  Moran Cerf, “Neuroscientists Have Identified How Exactly a Deep Breath Changes
Y our Mind,” Quartzy , Nov . 19, 2017; Jose L. Herrero et al., “Breathing above the Brain Stem:
V olitional Control and Attentional Modulation in Humans,” Journal of Neur ophysiology 119,
no. 1 (Jan. 2018): 145–59. c o n s c i o u s l y  a c c e s s  t h e  a u t o n o m i c :  The nervous system helps explain why breathing into a paper bag to
control hyperventilation often doesn’ t work and can be very dangerous. Y es, capturing your
exhaled breath will increase carbon dioxide levels, but it very often won’ t curb the sympathetic
overload that could have triggered the panic attack to begin it. A paper bag might elicit more
panic, and even deeper breathing. Further , not everyone who is suf fering an attack in the
respiratory system is suf fering from hyperventilation. A study in The Annals of Emer gency
Medicine  found that three patients believed to have been hyperventilating were given a paper
bag to breathe into and died. These patients weren’ t suf fering from a panic or asthma attack;
they were suf fering from a heart attack, and needed as much oxygen as they could get. Instead,
they got lungs full of recycled carbon dioxide. Anahad O’Connor , “The Claim: If Y ou’re
Hyperventilating, Breathe into a Paper Bag,” The New Y ork T imes , May 13, 2008; Michael
Callaham, “Hypoxic Hazards of T raditional Paper Bag Rebreathing in Hyperventilating
Patients,” Annals of Emer gency Medicine 19, no. 6 (June 1989): 622–28. f e e d i n g  a n d  b r e e d i n g :  Moran Cerf, “Neuroscientists Have Identified How Exactly a Deep Breath
Changes Y our Mind,” Quartzy , Nov . 19, 2017; Jose L. Herrero, Simon Khuvis, Erin Y eagle, et
al., “Breathing above the Brain Stem: V olitional Control and Attentional Modulation in
Humans,” Journal of Neur ophysiology  119, no. 1 (Jan. 2018): 145–49. b i o l o g i c a l l y  i m p o s s i b l e :  Matthijs Kox et al., “V oluntary Activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System
and Attenuation of the Innate Immune Response in Humans,” Pr oceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111, no. 20 (May 2014): 7379–84. 1 7  d e g r e e s  F a h r e n h e i t :  I wrote about Benson’ s work briefly in previous books and other writings, but in
no instance did I explore what happens to the body and how , which is what I’m doing in this
chapter . e s t e e m e d  s c i e n t i f i c  j o u r n a l :  Herbert Benson et al., “Body T emperature Changes during the Practice of g
T um-mo Y oga,” Natur e  295 (1982): 234–36. Decades later , not everyone was impressed by
Benson’ s data. Maria Kozhevnikova, at the National University of Singapore, claimed there
was “no evidence, however , indicating that temperatures are elevated beyond the normal range
during g-tummo meditation.” While she never dismissed the stunning ef fects of T ummo,
Kozhevnikova wrote that the way in which the data was presented is misleading. W ith that, it
should be noted that many T ummo practitioners told me that the exercise doesn’ t so much get
them hot; rather , it keeps them fr om getting cold , which has been clearly demonstrated both by
the Buddhists and by W im Hof and his crew . Either way , body heat is only a very small part of
T ummo’ s transformative ef fects, as we’ll soon learn. Maria Kozhevnikova et al.,
“Neurocognitive and Somatic Components of T emperature Increases during g-T ummo
Meditation: Legend and Reality ,” PLoS One 8, no. 3 (2013): e58244. A r c t i c  C i r c l e  s h i r t l e s s :  “The Iceman—W im Hof,” W im Hof Method,
https://www .wimhofmethod.com/iceman-wim-hof .d e e p e n i n g  h i s  p r a c t i c e :  Erik Hedegaard, “W im Hof Says He Holds the Key to a Healthy Life—But W ill
Anyone Listen?,” Rolling Stone , Nov . 3, 2017. A n d r e w  H u b e r m a n :  “Applications,” W im Hof Method, https://www .wimhofmethod.com/applications . t w o  d o z e n  h e a l t h y  m a l e  v o l u n t e e r s :  Kox et al., “V oluntary Activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System.”
b a t t e r y  o f  i m m u n e  c e l l s :  “How Stress Can Boost Immune System,” ScienceDaily , June 21, 2012,
https://www .sciencedaily .com/releases/2012/06/120621223525.htm . s e l f - p r o d u c e d  o p i o i d s :  Joshua Rapp Learn, “Science Explains How the Iceman Resists Extreme Cold,”
Smithsonian.com, May 22, 2018. 5 0  m i l l i o n  p e o p l e :  The National Institutes of Health estimates that up to 23.5 million Americans suf fer
from autoimmune disease. The American Autoimmune Related Disease Association says this
number is a gross underestimate because the NIH only lists 24 diseases associated with
autoimmune disorder; however , there are several dozen other diseases not listed which have a
clear “autoimmune basis.” Y ou can read the sobering statistics at https://www .aarda.or g/ . H a s h i m o t o ’ s  d i s e a s e :  New research shows that narcolepsy is also an autoimmune disease, and perhaps
even asthma. That children with asthma have a 41 percent increased risk of getting type 1
diabetes is likely no coincidence. Alberto T edeschi and Riccardo Asero, “Asthma and
Autoimmunity: A Complex but Intriguing Relation,” Expert Review of Clinical Immunology 4,
no. 6 (Nov . 2008): 767–76; Natasja W ulf f Pedersen et al., “CD8+ T Cells from Patients with
Narcolepsy and Healthy Controls Recognize Hypocretin Neuron-Specific Antigens,” Natur e
Communications 10, no. 1 (Feb. 2019): 837. I ’ d  h e a r d  d o z e n s :  Before trying T ummo, Matt had been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and had C-
reactive protein (CRP), which contributes to the inflammation and soreness in his disease, of
over 20, about seven times the normal level. After three months of practicing T ummo breathing
with exposure to cold, Matt’ s CRP levels were 0.4. All of the soreness in his joints, the
stif fness, the flaky red skin, and the fatigue were gone. Another Matt, from Devon in England,
was diagnosed with lichen planopilaris, an inflammatory disease that mainly af fects the scalp
and results in scaling and permanent patchy hair loss. Matt was put on a prescription for
hydroxychloroquine, a medicine invented in 1955 to treat malaria that suppresses the immune
response. Common side ef fects of hydroxychloroquine include cramps, diarrhea, headaches,
and worse. W ithin a week Matt was having trouble breathing and was coughing up blood. His
doctor told him to push through. Matt got sicker . He learned T ummo breathing and followed
Hof ’ s protocol, practicing the W im Hof Method every day . W im Hof, Y ouT ube, Jan. 3, 2018,
https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=f4tIou2LnOk ; “W im Hof—Reversing Autoimmune
Diseases | Paddison Program,” Y ouT ube, June 26, 2016, https://www .youtube.com/watch? v=lZO9uy  JIP44; “In 8 Months I W as Completely Symptom-Free,” W im Hof Method
Experience, W im Hof, Y ouT ube, Aug. 23, 2019, https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=1nO
v4aNiW ys. r e d u c i n g  i n f l a m m a t o r y  m a r k e r s :  In 2014, Hof took a group of 26 random people, aged 29 to 65, up Mount
Kilimanjaro. Many in the group suf fered from asthma, rheumatism, Crohn’ s, and other
autoimmune dysfunctions. He taught them his version of T ummo breathing, exposed them to
periodic bouts of extreme cold, then hiked 19,300 feet to the top of Africa’ s tallest mountain. Oxygen levels at the top are half of what they are at sea level. The success rate of experienced
climbers is about 50 percent. T wenty-four of Hof ’ s students, including those with autoimmune
disorders, made it to the summit in 48 hours. Half the group ascended bare- chested, wearing
nothing but shorts in temperatures that dip to minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit. None experienced
hypothermia or altitude sickness, and none used supplemental oxygen. T ed Thornhill, “Hardy
Climbers Defy Experts to Reach Kilimanjaro Summit W earing Just Their Shorts and without
Succumbing to Hypothermia,” Daily Mail,  Feb. 17, 2014; “Kilimanjaro Success Rate—How
Many People Reach the Summit,” Kilimanjaro,
https://www .climbkilimanjaroguide.com/kilimanjaro-success-rate . An older estimate put thenumber at 41 percent; the current estimate is probably closer to 60 percent. I’ve split the
dif ference. D a v i d - N é e l  u s e d :  It’ s worth noting that David-Néel eventually became a national hero in France, an idol
to the Beat writers, and had a tea and a tram station named after her , both of which are still in
use today . M a u r i c e  D a u b a r d :  “Maurice Daubard—Le Y ogi des Extrêmes [The Y ogi of the Extremes],”
http://www .mauricedaubard.com/biographie.htm ; “France: Moulins: Y ogi Maurice Daubard
Demonstration,” AP Archive, Y ouT ube, July 21, 2015, https://www .youtube.com/watch? time_continue=104&v=bEZVlgcddZg . S t a n i s l a v  G r o f :  This interview and my experience with Holotropic Breathwork happened several years
before the Stanford experiment, and just a year or so after that jarring experience with
Sudarshan Kriya that sent me on the path to deeper research. I t  w a s  N o v e m b e r  1 9 5 6 :  Grof had told me this event took place in 1954; however , other sources claim it
occurred in 1956. “The T im Ferriss Show—Stan Grof, Lessons from ~4,500 LSD Sessions and
Beyond,” Podcast Notes, Nov . 24, 2018, https://podcastnotes.or g/2018/1 1/24/grof/ . T h e  e x p e r i e n c e  w o u l d  g u i d e :  “Stan Grof,” Grof: Know Thyself, http://www .stanislavgrof.com . B y  1 9 6 8 ,  t h e  U . S . g o v e r n m e n t :  Mo Costandi, “A Brief History of Psychedelic Psychiatry ,” The Guar dian ,
Sept. 2, 2014,
https://www .theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2014/sep/02/psychedelic-psychiatry . E y e r m a n  l e d  m o r e  t h a n  1 1 , 0 0 0 :  James Eyerman, “A Clinical Report of Holotropic Breathwork in 11,000
Psychiatric Inpatients in a Community Hospital Setting,” MAPS Bulletin , Spring 2013,
http://www .maps.or g/news-letters/v23n1/v23n1_24-27.pdf . “ f i g u r e  o u t  w h y ” :  Eyerman continued: “When you think about it, W estern industrial civilization is the
only group in entire human history that doesn’ t hold non-ordinary states of consciousness in
high esteem, [that] doesn’ t appreciate and want to understand them,” he told me. “Instead, we
pathologize them, we numb them with tranquilizers. This works as a band-aid works, as a
temporary fix, but it does not address the core problem and just leads to more psychological
problems later on.”
s m a l l e r  s t u d i e s  f o l l o w e d :  Sarah W . Holmes et al., “Holotropic Breathwork: An Experiential Approach to
Psychotherapy ,” Psychotherapy: Theory , Resear ch, Practice, T raining 33, no. 1 (Spring 1996):
114–20; T anja Miller and Laila Nielsen, “Measure of Significance of Holotropic Breathwork in
the Development of Self-A wareness,” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine  21,
no. 12 (Dec. 2015): 796–803; Stanislav Grof et al., “Special Issue: Holotropic Breathwork and
Other Hyperventilation Procedures,” Journal of T ranspersonal Resear ch 6, no. 1 (2014);
Joseph P . Rhinewine and Oliver Joseph W illiams, “Holotropic Breathwork: The Potential Role
of a Prolonged, V oluntary Hyperventilation Procedure as an Adjunct to Psychotherapy ,”
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 13, no. 7 (Oct. 2007): 771–76. h a v i n g  l e s s  o x y g e n  i n  t h e  b r a i n :  Specifically , all that huf fing depleted our bloodstream of carbon dioxide,
and thus, cut of f blood flow the brain needs to function properly . Stanislav Grof and Christina
Grof, Holotr opic Br eathwork: A New Appr oach to Self-Exploration and Therapy ,  SUNY Series
in T ranspersonal and Humanistic Psychology (Albany , NY : Excelsior , 2010), 161, 163;
Stanislav Grof, Psychology of the Futur e: Lessons fr om Modern Consciousness Resear ch
(Albany , NY : SUNY Press, 2000); Stanislav Grof, “Holotropic Breathwork: New Approach to
Psychotherapy and Self-Exploration,” http://www .stanislavgrof.com/resources/Holotropic-
Breathwork;-New-Perspectives-in-Psychotherapy-and-Self-Exploration.pdf [inactive]. D u r i n g  r e s t ,  a b o u t  7 5 0  m i l l i l i t e r s :  “Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism,” Neurosur g.cam.ac.uk,
http://www .neurosur g.cam.ac.uk/files/2017/09/2-Cerebral-blood-flow .pdf . B l o o d  f l o w  c a n  i n c r e a s e :  Jordan S. Querido and A. W illiam Sheel, “Regulation of Cerebral Blood Flow
during Exercise,” Sports Medicine 37, no. 9 (2007): 765–82.d e c r e a s e  b y  4 0  p e r c e n t :  On average, cerebral blood flow will reduce about 2 percent for every 1mmHg
decrease of carbon dioxide in the blood (PaCO2 ). During one heavy breathing exercise
recording at a laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco, my PaCO2  clocked in
at 22 mmHg, which is about 20 below normal. During that time my brain was receiving about
40 percent less blood flow than normal. “Hyperventilation,” OpenAnesthesia,
https://www .openanesthesia.or g/elevated_icp_hyperventilation . T h e  a r e a s  m o s t  a f f e c t e d :  An interesting summary , including several scientific studies, is available on this
webpage: http://www .anesthesiaweb.or g/hyperventilation.php . s i g n a l s  t h r o u g h o u t  t h e  b o d y :  “Rhythm of Breathing Af fects Memory and Fear ,” Neur oscience News , Dec.
7, 2016, https://neurosciencenews.com/memory-fear -breathing-5699/ . Chapter Nine: Hold It
A  c o u p l e  y e a r s  l a t e r :  Details of Kling’ s research and the following account of S. M. were drawn from
Justin S. Feinstein et al., “A T ale of Survival from the W orld of Patient S. M.,” in Living
without an Amygdala , ed. David G. Amaral and Ralph Adolphs (New Y ork: Guilford Press,
2016), 1–38. Other details were pulled from Kling’ s articles, including Arthur Kling et al.,
“Amygdalectomy in the Free-Ranging V ervet ( Cer copithecus aethiops ),” Journal of
Psychiatric Resear ch 7, no. 3 (Feb. 1970): 191–99. a l a r m  c i r c u i t  o f  f e a r :  “The Amygdala, the Body’ s Alarm Circuit,” Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory DNA
Learning Center , https://dnalc.cshl.edu/view/822-The-Amygdala-the-Body-s-Alarm-
Circuit.html . c l u s t e r  o f  n e u r o n s :  W e have two kinds of chemoreceptors in our respiratory system: peripheral and
central. Peripheral chemoreceptors, in the carotid artery and aorta, are for the most part
responsible for detecting changes in the amount of oxygen in the blood as it leaves the heart. Central chemoreceptors, located in the brain stem, detect very minute changes in the levels of
carbon dioxide within arterial blood via the pH of the cerebrospinal fluid. “Chemoreceptors,”
T eachMe Physiology , https://teachmephysiology .com/respiratory-
system/regulation/chemoreceptors . f l e x  a n d  s h i f t  w i t h  c h a n g i n g  e n v i r o n m e n t s :  People with injuries in the area of the brain stem that holds the
central chemoreceptors lose the ability to gauge and react to carbon dioxide levels in the
bloodstream. W ith no autonomic trigger to alert them that carbon dioxide is building, each
breath they take requires a conscious and concerted ef fort. They’ll suf focate in their sleep
without a respirator because their bodies won’ t know when to breathe. The condition is called
Ondine’ s disease, and gets its name from a water sprite in a European folk tale. Ondine told her
husband, Hans, that she was “the breath in [his] lungs,” and warned him that if he ever cheated
on her he would lose his ability to unconsciously breathe. Hans cheated and suf fered from
Ondine’ s curse. “A single moment of inattention and I for get to breathe,” Hans said before he
died. Iman Feiz-Erfan et al., “Ondine’ s Curse,” Barr ow Quarterly  15, no. 2 (1999),
https://www .barrowneuro.or g/education/grand-rounds-publications-and-media/barrow-
quarterly/volume-15-no-2-1999/ondines-curse/ . a l t i t u d e s  8 0 0  f e e t  b e l o w  a n d  1 6 , 0 0 0  f e e t :  T welve thousand years ago, ancient Peruvians inhabited enclaves
12,000 feet above sea level. The current highest inhabited city is La Rinconada, Peru, at an
elevation of 16,728 feet above sea level. T ia Ghose, “Oldest High-Altitude Human Settlement
Discovered in Andes,” Live Science, Oct. 23, 2014, https://www .livescience.com/48419-high-
altitude-setllement-peru.html ;
s o m e  e l i t e  m o u n t a i n  c l i m b e r s :  According to some reports, athletes like freedivers tend to have about the
same carbon dioxide tolerance as people who are not acclimated to taking repeated, very long
breath holds. The hypothesis is that such top-tier athletes have much lar ger lungs and may also
be able to slow their metabolism down to such a level that they consume less oxygen and
produce less carbon dioxide, allowing them to hold their breath for longer without feelinganxious. But this doesn’ t explain why people with chronic anxieties and other fear -based
disorders almost always have very limited breath-holding ability , regardless of their lung size
or how much they inhaled or exhaled before the test. Some interesting (if not limited) context
can be found on the Deeper Blue freediving forum:
https://forums.deeperblue.com/threads/freediving-leading-to-sleep-apnea.82096/ . Colette
Harris, “What It T akes to Climb Everest with No Oxygen,” Outside,  June 8, 2017,
https://www .outsideonline.com/2191596/how-train-climb-everest-no-oxygen . E i g h t e e n  p e r c e n t  o f  A m e r i c a n s :  Jamie Ducharme, “A Lot of Americans Are More Anxious Than They
W ere Last Y ear , a New Poll Says,” T ime , May 8, 2018, https://time.com/5269371/americans-
anxiety-poll/ . o f f e r e d  t h i s  a d v i c e :  The Primor dial Br eath: An Ancient Chinese W ay of Pr olonging Life thr ough Br eath
Contr ol , vol. 1, trans. Jane Huang and Michael W urmbrand (Original Books, 1987), 13. “ t e r r i b l y  d a m a g i n g ” :  See a detailed explanation of the damages caused by oxidative stress and nitric
oxide synthase by Dr . Scott Simonetti at www .mrjamesnestor .com/breath . c o n t i n u o u s  p a r t i a l  a t t e n t i o n :  Megan Rose Dickey , “Freaky: Y our Breathing Patterns Change When Y ou
Read Email,” Business Insider , Dec. 5, 2012, https://www .businessinsider .com/email-apnea-
how-email-change-breathing-2012-12?IR=T ; “Email Apnea,” Schott’ s V ocab, The New Y ork
T imes, Sept. 23, 2009, https://schott.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/email-apnea/ ; Linda Stone,
“Just Breathe: Building the Case for Email Apnea,” The  Huffington Post ,
https://www .huf fpost.com/entry/just-breathe-building-the_b_85651 ; Susan M. Pollak,
“Breathing Meditations for the W orkplace,” Psychology T oday , Nov . 6, 2014,
https://www .psychologytoday .com/us/blog/the-art-now/20141 1/email-apnea . o u t  o f  o u r  c o n t r o l :  Dozens of studies are accessible through the United States National Library of
Medicine at the National Institutes of Health website PubMed. Here’ s a few that were helpful
to me: Andrzej Ostrowski et al., “The Role of T raining in the Development of Adaptive
Mechanisms in Freedivers,” Journal of Human Kinetics 32, no. 1 (May 2012): 197–210; Apar
A vinash Saoji et al., “Additional Practice of Y oga Breathing W ith Intermittent Breath Holding
Enhances Psychological Functions in Y oga Practitioners: A Randomized Controlled T rial,”
Explor e: The Journal of Science and Healing  14, no. 5 (Sept. 2018): 379–84; Saoji et al.,
“Immediate Ef fects of Y oga Breathing with Intermittent Breath Holding on Response
Inhibition among Healthy V olunteers,” International Journal of Y oga 11, no. 2 (May–Aug. 2018): 99–104. t o  w a r  w o u n d s :  Serena Gianfaldoni et al., “History of the Baths and Thermal Medicine,” Macedonian
Journal of Medical Sciences 5, no. 4 (July 2017): 566–68. “ c u r e d  a l m o s t  w i t h  c e r t a i n t y ” :  Geor ge Henry Brandt, Royat (les Bains) in Auver gne, Its Mineral W aters
and Climate (London: H. K. Lewis, 1880), 12, 18; Peter M. Prender gast and Melvin A.
Shif fman, eds., Aesthetic Medicine: Art and T echniques  (Berlin and Heidelber g: Springer ,
2011); W illiam and Robert Chambers, Chambers’ s Edinbur gh Journal , n.s. 1, no. 46 (Nov . 16,
1844): 316; Isaac Burney Y eo, The Therapeutics of Mineral Springs and Climates  (London:
Cassell, 1904), 760. “ T h e  s t u d y ”   . . . a  B r i t i s h  d o c t o r :  After Brandt returned to Britain and raved about Royat, another doctor
and fellow at the Royal College of Sur geons left to visit Royat to confirm Brandt’ s findings,
and reported them “quite in accordance with my own experience and observations.” Geor ge
Henry Brandt, Royat (les Bains) in Auver gne: Its Mineral W aters and Climate  (London: H. K.
Lewis, 1880), 12, 18.
s c i e n t i f i c  r e s e a r c h  d i s a p p e a r e d :  According to Dr . Lewis S. Coleman, a California anesthesiologist and
medical researcher , the backlash against carbon dioxide probably had less to do with the facts
and more to do with private interests. Carbon dioxide was an inexpensive by-product of oil
processing, whereas other clinical treatments were expensive and required real expertise toadminister . Lewis S. Coleman, “Four For gotten Giants of Anesthesia History ,” Journal of
Anesthesia and Sur gery  3, no. 1 (2016): 68–84. s k i n  d i s o r d e r s :  See dozens of studies on the benefits of carbon dioxide bathing at
mrjamesnestor .com/breath . J o s e p h  W o l p e   . . . D o n a l d  K l e i n :  In the late 1950s, W olpe was looking for alternative treatments for free-
floating anxiety , a form of stress for which there is no specific cause, which today af fects about
10 million Americans. He was floored by how quickly and ef fectively carbon dioxide worked. Between two and five inhalations of a 50/50 mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen, W olpe
found, was enough to lower the baseline level of anxiety in his patients from 60 (debilitating)
to zero. No other treatment came close. “It will be hoped that the recently awakened interest in
carbon dioxide will lead to active research,” wrote W olpe in 1987. But the same year W olpe
published his carbon dioxide call to arms, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first
SSRI drug, fluoxetine, which would become better known by its trade names Prozac, Sarafem,
and Adofen. A decade after W olpe’ s study was published, Donald F . Klein, a Columbia
University psychiatrist, found what he thought was the mechanism that triggered panic,
anxiety , and related disorders. It was a “physiologic misinterpretation by a suf focation monitor
[that] misfires an evolved suf focation alarm system,” wrote Klein in his paper “False
Suf focation Alarms, Spontaneous Panics, and Related Conditions.” And that false suf focation
was coming from chemoreceptors that had grown to become too sensitive to fluctuations in
carbon dioxide. Fear , at its core, could be as much a physical problem as a mental one. Joseph
W olpe, “Carbon Dioxide Inhalation T reatments of Neurotic Anxiety: An Overview ,” Journal of
Nervous and Mental Disease 175, no. 3 (Mar . 1987): 129–33; Donald F . Klein, “False
Suf focation Alarms, Spontaneous Panics, and Related Conditions,” Ar chives of General
Psychiatry  50, no. 4 (Apr . 1993): 206–17. h a l f  o f  u s  w i l l  s u f f e r :  This is Feinstein’ s estimate. Hard numbers are dif ficult to pin down because so
many people with anxiety disorders suf fer from depression, and vice versa. For instance, an
estimated 18 percent of the population suf fers from anxiety disorders; some 8 percent suf fer
from major depressive disorder , and millions more with milder systems; one quarter suf fer
from a diagnosable mental disorder; and one half of all Americans are expected to suf fer from
some mental illness throughout their lives. “Half of US Adults Due for Mental Illness, Study
Says,” Live Science, Sept. 1, 2011, https://www .livescience.com/15876-mental-illness-strikes-
adults.html ; “Facts & Statistics,” Anxiety and Depression Association of America,
https://adaa.or g/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics
1 3  p e r c e n t :  Further , depression, anxiety , and panic are all closely related, each rooted in the same
misinterpretation of fear . A third of patients currently on SSRIs suf fer from other forms of
anxiety and many will be treated with dif ferent drugs for those conditions. Laura A. Pratt et al.,
“Antidepressant Use Among Persons Aged 12 and Over: United States, 2011–2014,” NCHS
Data Brief no. 283 (Aug. 2017): 1–8. d e s c r i b e d  a s  “ w e a k ” :  These findings, as you might imagine, were controversial. Y ou can read more
about the ongoing debate of this study in Fredrik Hieronymus et al., “Influence of Baseline
Severity on the Ef fects of SSRIs in Depression: An Item-Based, Patient-Level Post-Hoc
Analysis,” The Lancet,  July 11, 2019,
https://www .thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(19)30383-9/fulltext ; Fredrik
Hieronymus, “How Do W e Determine Whether Antidepressants Are Useful or Not? Authors’
Reply ,” The Lancet , Nov . 2019, https://www .thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-
0366(19)30383-9/fulltext ; Henry Bodkin, “Most Common Antidepressant Barely Helps
Improve Depressive Symptoms, ‘Shocking’ T rial Finds,” The T elegraph  (UK), Sept. 19, 2019,
https://www .telegraph.co.uk/science/2019/09/19/common-antidepressant-barely-helps-
improve-depression-symptoms .e x p o s u r e  t h e r a p y :  An overview of treatments and ef ficacy is available here: Johanna S. Kaplan and
David F . T olin, “Exposure Therapy for Anxiety Disorders,” Psychiatric T imes , Sept. 6, 2011,
https://www .psychiatrictimes.com/anxiety/exposure-therapy-anxiety-disorders . a n o r e x i a  o r  p a n i c :  Some 40 percent of panic disorder patients suf fer from depression, and 70 percent
have some other mental health condition. All of these conditions, Feinstein says, are rooted in
fear . Paul M. Lehrer , “Emotionally T riggered Asthma: A Review of Research Literature and
Some Hypotheses for Self-Regulation Therapies,” Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
22, no. 1 (Mar . 1998): 13–41. h o l d i n g  t h e i r  b r e a t h :  Panic suf ferers visit the doctor five times more often than other patients, and are six
times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders. Thirty-seven percent of them will
seek some treatment, usually drugs, behavior therapy , or both. But none of these therapies
directly address what could be contributing to this condition: chronic poor breathing habits. That 60 percent of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease also have anxiety or
depressive disorders is not a coincidence. These patients are very often breathing too much, too
fast, panicking in anticipation of not being able to take another breath. “Proper Breathing
Brings Better Health,” Scientific American , Jan. 15, 2019,
https://www .scientificamerican.com/article/proper -breathing-brings-better -health/ . h y p e r s e n s i t i z e d  t o  c a r b o n  d i o x i d e :  Eva Henje Blom et al., “Adolescent Girls with Emotional Disorders
Have a Lower End-T idal CO2  and Increased Respiratory Rate Compared with Healthy
Controls,” Psychophysiology 51, no. 5 (May 2014): 412–18; Alicia E. Meuret et al.,
“Hypoventilation Therapy Alleviates Panic by Repeated Induction of Dyspnea,” Biological
Psychiatry CNNI (Cognitive Neur oscience and Neur oimaging)  3, no. 6 (June 2018): 539–45;
Daniel S. Pine et al., “Dif ferential Carbon Dioxide Sensitivity in Childhood Anxiety Disorders
and Nonill Comparison Group,” Ar chives of General Psychiatry 57, no. 10 (Oct. 2000): 960–
67. A l i c i a  M e u r e t :  “Out-of-the-Blue Panic Attacks Aren’ t without W arning: Data Show Subtle Changes
before Patients’ [ sic ] A ware of Attack,” Southern Methodist University Research,
https://blog.smu.edu/research/201 1/07/26/out-of-the-blue-panic-attacks-arent-without-
warning/ ; Stephanie Pappas, “T o Stave Of f Panic, Don’ t T ake a Deep Breath,” Live Science,
Dec. 26, 2017, https://www .livescience.com/9204-stave-panic-deep-breath.html . c a p n o m e t e r s ,  w h i c h  r e c o r d e d :  “New Breathing Therapy Reduces Panic and Anxiety by Reversing
Hyperventilation,” ScienceDaily , Dec. 22, 2010,
https://www .sciencedaily .com/releases/2010/12/101220200010.htm ; Pappas, “T o Stave Of f
Panic.”
s o u n d l e s s  r o o m :  Floatation, as Feinstein has found through five years of clinical research, was
particularly ef fective in treating anxiety , anorexia, and other fear -based neuroses. “The
Feinstein Laboratory ,” Laureate Institute for Brain Research,
http://www .laureateinstitute.or g/current-events/feinstein-laboratory-publishes-float-study-in-
plos-one . “ s u p e r  e n d u r a n c e ” :  See Buteyko’ s chart of optimum (and dangerously low) carbon dioxide levels at
https://images.app.goo.gl/DGjT3bL8PMDQYmqL7 . r e p o r t s  f r o m  p u l m o n a u t s :  Recently , carbon dioxide therapy has made a bit of a comeback, not just with
Olsson and his crew of DIY pulmonauts. It’ s now being used, again, to treat hearing loss,
epilepsy , and various cancers. The U.S. health care provider Aetna of fers carbon dioxide
therapy as an experimental treatment for patients. “Carbogen Inhalation Therapy ,” Aetna,
http://www .aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/400_499/0428.html . c h e m o r e c e p t o r s  a r e  n o r m a l l y :  Chemoreceptors designed to analyze the tiniest fluctuations in carbon
dioxide, a fraction of one percent. Chapter T en: Fast, Slow , and Not at Allh e a v y  d o s e  o f  s t r e s s  h o r m o n e s :  Even an hour after the T ummo practice ended. Think of the lungs as a solar
panel; the lar ger the panel, the more cells there are to soak up sunlight, the more available
ener gy . W im Hof ’ s heavy breathing can increase available space for gas exchange by about 40
percent—a tremendous amount. W ith this bonus space, Hof, for instance, was able to consume
double the normal amount of oxygen 40 minutes after he finished the exercises. Isabelle Hof,
The W im Hof Method Explained  (W im Hof Method, 2015, updated 2016), 8,
https://explore.wimhofmethod.com/wp-content/uploads/ebook-the-wim-hof-method-explained-
EN.pdf . s n o w  f o r  h o u r s  a n d  n o t :  Joshua Rapp Learn, “Science Explains How the Iceman Resists Extreme Cold,”
Smithsonian.com, May 22, 2018, https://www .smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/science-
explains-how-iceman-resists-extreme-cold-180969134/#WUf1Swaj7zYCkVDv .99 . b r e a t h e  s l o w  a n d  l e s s :  Herbert Benson et al., “Body T emperature Changes during the Practice of g T um-
mo Y oga,” Natur e 295 (1982): 234–36; W illiam J. Cromie, “Meditation Changes
T emperatures,” The Harvar d Gazette , Apr . 18, 2002.
t h e y  c e r t a i n l y  a r e  n o t :  I queried this conundrum to Dr . Paul Davenport, a renowned physiologist and
Distinguished Professor at the University of Florida. He replied within a few hours. “Interesting problem,” he wrote in an email. “My answer will be appropriately , academically
vague :) Bottom line, the ef fect of voluntary hyperventilation depends on multiple factors
including regional blood distribution, degree of blood gas changes, reduced buf fering capacity
of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), changes in cardiac output, pH balance compensation, time and
factors yet unknown. (Is that ambiguous enough?) Research on the physiological response of
blood and CSF to voluntary hyperventilation is relatively straight forward. However , the
cognitive responses to the physiological changes is much more ambiguous and complex.” At
the end of the email, he told me he was working on a detailed analysis of the problem, which
would take some time to put together . As of this writing, he was still writing it. I will post it on
my website: mrjamesnestor .com/breath . In the interim, you can peruse a few studies here: I. A.
Bubeev , “The Mechanism of Breathing under the Conditions of Prolonged V oluntary
Hyperventilation,” Aer ospace and Envir onmental Medicine  33, no. 2 (1999): 22–26; J. S.
Querido and A. W . Sheel, “Regulation of Cerebral Blood Flow during Exercise,” Sports
Medicine  37, no. 9 (Oct. 2007), 765–82. m e c h a n i s m  b e h i n d  t h e s e  t e c h n i q u e s :  Iuriy A. Bubeev and I. B. Ushakov , “The Mechanism of Breathing
under the Conditions of Prolonged V oluntary Hyperventilation,” Aer ospace and Envir onmental
Medicine 33, no. 2 (1999): 22–26; Seymour S. Kety and Carl F . Schmidt, “The Ef fects of
Altered Arterial T ensions of Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen on Cerebral Blood Flow and
Cerebral Oxygen Consumption of Normal Y oung Men,” Journal of Clinical Investigation 27,
no. 4 (1948): 484–92; Querido and Sheel, “Regulation of Cerebral Blood Flow during
Exercise”; Shinji Naganawa et al., “Regional Dif ferences of fMR Signal Changes Induced by
Hyperventilation: Comparison between SE-EPI and GE-EPI at 3-T ,” Journal of Magnetic
Resonance Imaging 15, no. 1 (Jan. 2002): 23–30; S. Posse et al., “Regional Dynamic Signal
Changes during Controlled Hyperventilation Assessed with Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent
Functional MR Imaging,” American Journal of Neur oradiology  18, no. 9 (Oct. 1997): 1763–
70.
s a m e  t i m e  i n  I n d i a  a n d  C h i n a :  More specifically , written references to prana appeared in India about 3,000
years ago, and in China during the Y ing and Zhou periods about 2,500 years ago. p r a n a  p o w e r  l i n e s :  Ancient Indians believed the body contained from 72,000 to 350,000 channels. How
they might have counted them, nobody knows. n e v e r  o b s e r v e d  p r a n a :  Sat Bir Singh Khalsa et al., Principles and Practice of Y oga in Health Car e
(Edinbur gh: Handspring, 2016). c o n f i r m e d  t h a t  i t  e x i s t s :  There was, however , some very weird, and fascinating, government-supported
research into the possibilities of moving this “vital ener gy .” Check out this gem of a study from1986 that somehow seeped through the cracks of the CIA website: Lu Zuyin et al., “Physical
Ef fects of Qi on Liquid Crystal,” CIA, https://www .cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-
RDP96-00792R000200160001-8.pdf . a  g r o u p  o f  p h y s i c i s t s :  Justin O’Brien (Swami Jaidev Bharati), W alking with a Himalayan Master: An
American’ s Odyssey  (St. Paul, MN: Y es International, 1998, 2005), 58, 241; Pandit Rajmani
T igunait, At the Eleventh Hour: The Biography of Swami Rama  (Honesdale, P A: Himalayan
Institute Press, 2004); “Swami Rama, Researcher/Scientist,” Swami Rama Society ,
http://www .swamiramasociety .or g/project/swami-rama-researcherscientist/ . B y  t h e  a g e  o f  t h r e e :  “Swami Rama, Himalayan Master , Part 1,” Y ouT ube,
https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=S1sZNbRH2N8 . a  s m a l l ,  p i c t u r e l e s s  o f f i c e :  “Swami Rama at the Menninger Clinic, T opeka, Kansas,” Kansas Historical
Society , https://www .kshs.or g/index.php?url=km/items/view/226459 . V e t e r a n s  A d m i n i s t r a t i o n  h o s p i t a l :  Dr . Daniel Fer guson, chief of the medical hygiene clinic of the V eterans
Administration Hospital in Minnesota, had shown a few months earlier that Swami Rama had
the ability to make his pulse “disappear” for minutes at a time. Erik Peper et al., eds.,
Mind/Body Integration: Essential Readings in Biofeedback  (New Y ork: Plenum Press, 1979),
135.
f o r  3 0  s e c o n d s :  Actual recorded time was 17 seconds, but Rama had entered into this heart-fluttering
zone several seconds earlier before the technicians were prepared. This detail was taken from
Justin O’Brien’ s The W ellness T r ee: The Six-Step Pr ogram for Cr eating Optimal W ellness  (Y es
International, 2000). T h e  r e s u l t s  o f  t h e  e x p e r i m e n t :  Gay Luce and Erik Peper , “Mind over Body , Mind over Mind,” The New
Y ork T imes , Sept. 12, 1971. W i t h i n  1 5  m i n u t e s :  Marilynn W ei and James E. Groves, The Harvar d Medical School Guide to Y oga
(New Y ork: Hachette, 2017); Jon Shirota, “Meditation: A State of Sleepless Sleep,” June 1973,
http://hihtindia.or g/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/swamiramaprobe1973.pdf . t e l e v i s i o n  t a l k  s h o w s :  “Swami Rama: V oluntary Control over Involuntary States,” Y ouT ube, Jan. 22,
2017, 1:17, https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=yv_D3A TDvVE . F r e n c h  c a r d i o l o g i s t :  Mathias Gardet, “Thérèse Brosse (1902–1991),” https://repenf.hypotheses.or g/795 ;
“Biofeedback Research and Y oga,” Y oga and Consciousness Studies,
http://www .yogapsychology .or g/art_biofeedback.html ; Brian Luke Seaward, Managing Str ess:
Principles and Strategies for Health and W ell-Being  (Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett
Learning, 2012); M. A. W enger and B. K. Bagchi, “Studies of Autonomic Functions in
Practitioners of Y oga in India,” Behavioral Science 6, no. 4 (Oct. 1961): 312–23. w i t h  t h e  g o a l  o f  r e a c h i n g :  “Swami Rama T alks: 2:1 Breathing Digital Method,” Swami Rama. Y ouT ube,
May 23, 2019, https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=PYV rB36FrQw ; “Swami Rama T alks: OM
Kriya pt. 1,” Swami Rama. Y ouT ube, May 28, 2019, https://www .youtube.com/watch? v=ygvnWEnvWCQ . R a m a  o b v i o u s l y  h a d  l e a r n e d :  Rama, apparently , wasn’ t all peacefulness and light. In 1994 a female
student who’d attended the Himalayan Institute char ged that Rama had initiated sexual abuse
when she was 19 and he was in his late 60s. Four years later , after Rama’ s death, a jury
awarded the woman almost two million dollars in damages. Management at the Himalayan
Institute contend the trial was unfair , as Rama was not even present to of fer his side of the
story . Nonetheless, the incident stained Rama’ s legacy at home and abroad. W illiam J. Broad,
“Y oga and Sex Scandals: No Surprise Here,” The New Y ork T imes , Feb. 27, 2012. A l b e r t  S z e n t - G y ö r g y i :  Biographical information is summarized from the following sources: Robyn
Stoller , “The Full Story of Dr . Albert Szent-Györ gyi,” National Foundation for Cancer
Research, Dec. 9, 2017, https://www .nfcr .or g/blog/full-story-of-dr -albert-szent-gyor gyi/ ; Albert
Szent-Györ gyi, “Biographical Overview ,” National Library of Medicine,
https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/wg/feature/biographical ; Robert A. Kyle and Marc A.Shampo, “Albert Szent-Györ gyi—Nobel Laureate,” Mayo Clinic Pr oceedings  75, no. 7 (July
2000): 722; “Albert Szent-Györ gyi: Scurvy: Scour ge of the Sea,” Science History Institute,
https://www .sciencehistory .or g/historical-profile/albert-szent-gyor gyi . “ A l l  l i v i n g  o r g a n i s m s ” :  Albert Szent-Györ gyi, “Muscle Research,”  Scientific American  180 (June 1949):
22–25. t h e  m o r e  alive  i t  i s :  According to researchers at the University of Arizona, in T ucson, what separated
animals with small brains from those with lar ge and rapidly evolving brains was their capacity
for endurance exercise. The higher the capacity , the lar ger the brain. What fueled this capacity ,
and these brains, were lar ger lungs capable of better respiratory ef ficiency . This helps explain
why mammals have lar ger brains than non-mammals, and why human, whale, and dolphin
brains kept growing so rapidly over millions of years as reptilian brains didn’ t. Oxygen equals
ener gy equals evolution. Our ability to breathe lar ge and full breaths, in some ways, helped
make us human. David A. Raichlen and Adam D. Gordon, “Relationship between Exercise
Capacity and Brain Size in Mammals,” PLoS One 6, no. 6 (June 2011): e20601; “Functional
Design of the Respiratory System,” medicine.mcgill.ca,
https://www .medicine.mcgill.ca/physio/resp-web/TEXT1.htm ; Alexis Blue, “Brain Evolved to
Need Exercise,” Neuroscience News, June 26, 2017, https://neurosciencenews.com/evolution-
brain-exercise-6982/ . m i l l i o n s  o f  y e a r s :  Bettina E. Schirrmeister et al., “Evolution of Multicellularity Coincided with
Increased Diversification of Cyanobacteria and the Great Oxidation Event,” PNAS 110, no. 5
(Jan. 2013): 1791–96. “ t h e  l i v i n g  s t a t e ” :  Albert Szent-Györ gyi, “The Living State and Cancer ,” Physiological Chemistry and
Physics , Dec. 1980. “ s i m p l e  b u t  s u b t l e ” :  Szent-Györ gyi attributes this phrase to personal communication with P . Ehrenfest,
an Austrian- Dutch theoretical physicist. b e g i n  t o  b r e a k  d o w n :  G. E. W . W olstenholme et al., eds., Submolecular Biology and Cancer  (Hoboken,
NJ: John W iley & Sons, 2008): 143.
e n v i r o n m e n t s  o f  l o w  o x y g e n :  J. Cui et al., “Hypoxia and Miscoupling between Reduced Ener gy Ef ficiency
and Signaling to Cell Proliferation Drive Cancer to Grow Increasingly Faster ,” Journal of
Molecular Cell Biology , 2012; Alexander Greenhough et al., “Cancer Cell Adaptation to
Hypoxia Involves a HIF-GPRC5A-Y AP Axis,” EMBO Molecular Medicine , 2018. “ I n  e v e r y  c u l t u r e  a n d  i n  e v e r y  m e d i c a l  t r a d i t i o n ” :  This quotation has been attributed to Szent-Györ gyi’ s
lecture “Electronic Biology and Cancer ,” which he presented at the Marine Biological
Laboratory , W oods Hole, Massachusetts, July , 1972.
f i l l e d  w i t h  c o p i e s :  “Master DeRose,” enacademic.com,
https://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/1 1708766 . n o w  A f g h a n i s t a n ,  P a k i s t a n :  The Indus V alley descriptions and details are taken from the following:
“Indus River V alley Civilizations,” Khan Academy ,
https://www .khanacademy .or g/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-
india/a/the-indus-river -valley-civilizations ; Saifullah Khan, “Sanitation and W astewater
T echnologies in Harappa/Indus V alley Civilization (ca. 2600–1900 bce),”
https://canvas.brown.edu/files/61957992/download?download_frd=1 . l a r g e s t  g e o g r a p h i c a l l y :  T o put this in perspective, 300,000 square miles is equivalent to all East Coast
states from Florida to New Y ork. Craig A. Lockard, Societies, Networks, and T ransitions: A
Global History  (Stamford, CT : Cengage Learning, 2008). A  s e a l  e n g r a v i n g :  Y an Y . Dhyansky , “The Indus V alley Origin of a Y oga Practice,” Artibus Asiae  48,
nos. 1–2 (1987), pp. 89–108. b i r t h p l a c e  o f  y o g a :  A thorough description of the history , epistemology , and evolution of Samkhya and
the earliest yoga can be found in this excellent academic paper at the Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy , https://www .iep.utm.edu/yoga/ .o f  N a z i  l o r e :  The word Aryan  comes from the Sanskrit ērān , which was the basis for the modern
country name of Iran. The term never had anything to do with white supremacy until the Nazis
appropriated it some four thousand years later . l a n g u a g e  o f  S a n s k r i t :  Steve Farmer et al., “The Collapse of the Indus-Script Thesis: The Myth of a
Literate Harappan Civilization,” Electr onic Journal of V edic Studies  11, no. 2 (Jan. 2014): 19–
57, http://laurasianacademy .com/ejvs/ejvs1 102/ejvs1 102article.pdf . C h a n d o g y a  U p a n i s h a d s :  From a philosophy called Samkhya. Samkhya was based on reason and proof. The noun root of Samkhya means “number”; the verb root means “to know .” “Either you know
or you don’ t,” DeRose told me. “Spirituality had nothing to do with it!” The foundation of
Samkhya was secular , based on empirical studies, not opinions. He told me that there was no
mention of any praying hands or standing yoga postures in the earliest Upanishads because
these exercises were never part of the practice. The earliest yoga was a technology developed
to influence and control prana. It was a science of meditation and breathing. Possibly the
earliest reference to pranayama (the ancient Indian art of breath control) is listed in hymn
1.5.23 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which was first documented around 700 B C E . “One
should indeed breathe in (arise), but one should also breathe out (without setting) while saying,
‘Let not  the misery that is dying reach me.’ When one would practice that (breathing), one
should rather desire to thoroughly realize that (immortality). It is rather through that
(realization) that he wins a union with this divinity (breath), that is a sharing of worlds.” The
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad,  book 1, trans. John W ells, Darshana Press,
http://darshanapress.com/Brihadaranyaka%20Upanishad%20Book%201.pdf . I n d i a ,  C h i n a ,  a n d  b e y o n d :  By the sixth century B C E , Siddhartha Gautama, the son of an Indus V alley
warrior king and queen, found his way to beneath a ficus tree in northeast India. He sat down
and started practicing these ancient breathing and meditation techniques. Gautama became
enlightened, and took of f to teach the wonders of breathing, meditation, and enlightenment
throughout the East. Siddhartha would later become known as the Buddha, founder of the
Buddhist faith. B y  a r o u n d  5 0 0  BCE :  Michele Marie Desmarais, Changing Minds: Mind, Consciousness and Identity in
Patanjali’ s Y oga-sutra and Cognitive Neur oscience  (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2008). e x t e n d i n g  e x h a l a t i o n s :  The actual passage is much more vague. According to DeRose, it translates to
something along these lines: “The fourth type of pranayama transcends inhalation and
exhalation.” Interpretations of the Y oga Sutras vary broadly; the interpretation I listed, by
Swami Jnaneshvara, I found the most elucidating and accessible. More here:
http://swamij.com/yoga-sutras-24953.htm , http://www .swamij.com/yoga-sutras-
24953.htm#2.51 . t h e  i n s t r u c t o r s  w o u l d  y e l l :  Mestre DeRose, Quando É Pr eciso Ser Forte: Autobiografia  (Portuguese
edition) (São Paulo: Egrégora, 2015). o n l y  i n  t h e  t w e n t i e t h  c e n t u r y :  After Patanjali, yoga was further compressed and rewritten. The Bhagavad
Gita described it as more of a mystical and metaphysical practice, a spiritual tool to be used to
bring self-realization and enlightenment. The Hatha tradition of yoga, which was formally
developed in the 1400s, used the ancient techniques to honor the Lord Shiva and converted the
seated asanas into 15 poses, many of them in a standing position. “Contesting Y oga’ s Past: A
Brief History of Āsana in Pre-modern India,” Center for the Study of W orld Religions, Oct. 14,
2015, https://cswr .hds.harvard.edu/news/2015/10/14/contesting-yoga’ s-past-brief-history-
āsana-pre-modern-india . A n  e s t i m a t e d  t w o  b i l l i o n  p e o p l e :  “T wo Billion People Practice Y oga ‘Because It W orks,’” UN News, June
21, 2016, https://news.un.or g/en/audio/2016/06/614172 ; Alice G. W alton, “How Y oga Is
Spreading in the U.S.,” Forbes , https://www .forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2016/03/15/how-
yoga-is-spreading-in-the-u-s/#3809c047449f/ .B u t  w h a t  h a v e  w e  l o s t :  In his book Pranayama  (I received a prepublication copy), DeRose details 58
breathing techniques whose roots go back thousands of years to the origins of Samkhya. A few
of these techniques are of fered at the end of this book. K r i s h n a  t o  J e s u s  C h r i s t :  “The Most Ancient and Secretive Form of Y oga Practiced by Jesus Christ: Kriya
Y oga,” Evolve+Ascend, http://www .evolveandascend.com/2016/05/24/ancient-secretive-form-
yoga-practiced-jesus-christ-kriya-yoga ; “The Kriya Y oga Path of Meditation,” Self-Realization
Fellowship, https://www .yogananda-srf.or g/The_Kriya_Y oga_Path_of_Meditation.aspx . t e n s  o f  m i l l i o n s  o f  p e o p l e :  “Research on Sudarshan Kriya Y oga,” Art of Living,
https://www .artofliving.or g/us-en/research-sudarshan-kriya . A r t  o f  L i v i n g :  I can’ t describe how to do Sudarshan Kriya because there are no written instructions. Shankar is the only one who conducts these sessions, and does so through a crackly old
recording like the one I heard so many years ago. Anyone who wants to try Sudarshan Kriya
will need to head out to an Art of Living outpost or scour the Internet for a bootleg. I’ve done
both. o r  a n y  o t h e r  b r e a t h i n g  p r a c t i c e :  This is one reason why randomly hyperventilating or practicing
nontraditional breathing techniques can be so damaging and dangerous. Epilogue: A Last Gasp
“ M o r e  t h a n  s i x t y  y e a r s ” :  Albert Szent-Györ gyi, “The Living State and Cancer ,” in G. E. W . W olstenholme et al., eds., Submolecular Biology and Cancer  (Hoboken, NJ: John W iley &
Sons, 2008), 17.
t h e  t o p  k i l l e r s :  “The T op 10 Causes of Death,” W orld Health Or ganization, May 24, 2018,
https://www .who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death ; “Leading
Causes of Death,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
https://www .cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm . G e n e s  c a n  b e  t u r n e d  o f f :  Danielle Simmons, “Epigenetic Influences and Disease,” Nature Education,
https://www .nature.com/scitable/topicpage/epigenetic-influences-and-disease-895/ . 3 0  p o u n d s  o f  a i r :  “Each day about 30 pounds of air participates in this tidal flow , compared with less
than 4 pounds of food and 5 pounds of water .” Dr . John R. Goldsmith, “How Air Pollution Has
Its Ef fect on Health (2)—Air Pollution and Lung Function Changes,” Pr oceedings: National
Confer ence on Air Pollution U.S. Department of Health, Education, and W elfar e  (W ashington,
DC: United States Government Printing Of fice, 1959), 215. “ I f  I  h a d  t o ” :  Andrew W eil, Br eathing: The Master Key to Self Healing , Sounds T rue, 1999.
b a c t e r i a l  i n f e c t i o n :  I still had remnants of bacterial infestation in my nose, but it was almost nonexistent. The results: “A 2+ Corynebacterium pr opinquum : Rare number Gram Positive Cocci; rare to
small number of Gram Positive Rods; No polymorphonuclear cells.”
“ T h e  d i f f e r e n c e  i n  b r e a t h i n g ” :  Carl Stough and Reece Stough, Dr . Br eath: The Story of Br eathing
Coor dination  (New Y ork: W illiam Morrow , 1970), 29.
r o u g h e r ,  r a w e r ,  a n d  h e a r t i e r  f o o d s :  Charles Matthews, “Just Eat What Y our Great-Grandma Ate,” San
Francisco Chr onicle , Dec. 30, 2007, https://michaelpollan.com/reviews/just-eat-what-your -
great-grandma- ate/ .A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
INDEX
The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take
you to the beginning of that print page. Y ou may need to scroll forward from that location to find the
corresponding reference on your e-reader . adenoids, 122
ADHD
nasal breathing and, 50
obstructions in mouth and, 120
tonsil or adenoid removal and, 122
adrenaline, 153
aerobic life, 9 –10, 170 , 193 –94
aerobic respiration, 24 –25
aging
lungs / lung capacity and, 55 –56
malleability of internal or gans, 56
alkalosis, 140
alternate nostril breathing techniques, 42 –45, 219 –20. See also  nadi shodhana
alveoli, 73
amygdalae, 166 –69, 211
anaerobic life, 192 –93
anaerobic respiration, 24 –25
Anderson, David, 172
anorexia, 177
anxiety disorders
amygdalae and, 167 , 211
carbon dioxide therapies and, 171 , 176 –77
chemoreceptor -amygdalae communication and, 211 –12
slow breathing and, 83
vagus nerve stimulation and, 150
Art of Living Foundation, 198 –99, 228
arteries, 74
asthma, 174
carbon dioxide therapies and, 177density of nasal hairs and, 39
exhalation and, 63 , 209
less breathing and, 90 , 98 –101
obstructions in mouth and, 120
athletic performance
anaerobic versus aerobic respiration and, 24 –25
Counsilman’ s training of U.S. Olympic swim team, 95 –96
Douillard’ s bike experiment, 23 –24
heart rate and, 25 –26
Hof ’ s heavy breathing techniques and, 151 –53
and mouthbreathing, 23 –24
Stough’ s exhalation work with athletes and, 65 –66, 209
atoms, 192
atrial flutter , 190
autoimmune diseases, 150 , 154
autonomic nervous system, and breathing, 143 –45
bacteria, 7
balloon sinuplasty , 118
Belfor , Theodore, 129 –35, 225
Benson, Herbert, 151
Bhagavad Gita, 171
bhandas, 200
Bhavanani, Ananda Balayogi, 40
bike experiment, and mouthbreathing, 23 –24
Biobloc, 127
blood flow , and heavy breathing, 163
body mass index (BMI), 85
Bohr , Christian, 75 –76
Bön monks, 186
bone growth, Belfor ’ s research on, 131 –35
Book on Br eath by the Master Gr eat Nothing of Sung-Shan, A , 171 –72
box breathing, 229
Boyd, Kevin, 11 , 12 , 32
Brandt, Geor ge Henry , 174
breastfeeding, 132
breath/breathing, xiii –xxii
anatomical journey of, 73 –74
ancient texts and, xvii –xviii
author ’ s initial experience practicing, xiii –xvi
autonomic nervous system, influence on, 143 –45
Breathing+. See  Breathing+ techniques
chemoreceptors and, 169 –70
evolution and, 9 –10, 12 –13, 15 –16
exhalation. See  exhalation
freediving and, xvi –xvii
holding. S ee  holding breath
importance of learning how to breathe, xx –xxii
internal or gans, influence on, 143
less breathing. See  less breathingmodern medicine’ s view of, xviii
mouthbreathing. See  mouthbreathing
nasal breathing. See  nasal breathing
as preventative maintenance, 205
rate of. See  respiratory rates
religions practicing, xxi –xxii
skull development research and, 10 –13
weight loss through, 74 –75
Br eath of Life, The  (Catlin), 48 , 52
Breathe Right strips, 118
breathing coordination, 65 , 66 , 220 –21
Breathing+ techniques, 139 –64, 210
author ’ s practice of Holotropic Breathwork, 161 –64
author ’ s practice of T ummo, 142 –43, 147 –48, 150 , 153 –54
autonomic nervous system and, 143 –45
Benson’ s research, 151
blood flow and, 163
David-Néel’ s first reporting of T ummo, 146 –47, 150 –51
Hof ’ s athletic feats and T ummo practice, 151 –53
Hof ’ s breathing method, 156
Holotropic Breathwork, 158 –64, 186 –87
hormones released by T ummo, 153
Irritable Heart Syndrome, discovery and chronicling of, 140 –42, 147 –48
McGee’ s discovery of, and use of Hof ’ s techniques, 153 –55
potential negative consequences of, 140
pranayama techniques. See  pranayama techniques
T ummo (Inner Fire Meditation), 145 –48, 150 –58, 186 , 210 , 226 –27
vagal system and, 148 –50
BreathIQ, 213
Brihadaranyaka, 196
bronchioles, 73
bronchitis, 63 , 174
Brosse, Thérèse, 191
Brown, Richard, 83 –84
Buddhist monks
mantra of, 82
slow breathing and, 186
Buddhists, xvii
Burhenne, Mark, 49 –50, 51
Buteyko, Konstantin Pavlovich, 89 –90, 92 –93, 97 –98, 101
Buteyko technique, 221 –24.
_OceanofPDF.com_Breath_-_James_Nestor.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        m o r e  d e n s e  i n t o  o u r  7 0 s :  Belfor wasn’ t the first researcher to discover this. In 1986, orthodontist Dr. V incent G. Kokich, a professor in the Department of Orthodontics at the University of
W ashington and one of the world’ s experts in dentistry, postulated that adults “retain the
capacity to regenerate and remodel bone at the craniofacial sutures. ” Liao, Six-Foot T iger,  176–
77. t h e  m o r e  s t e m  c e l l s  r e l e a s e :  W e create stem cells throughout the body as well. The stem cells made in the
sutures and jaws are often used for local maintenance in the mouth and face. Stem cells will
ship of f to whatever area needs them most. What they are attracted to are stress signals—in this
case, the signals that come with vigorous chewing. t w o  t o  f o u r  y e a r s  o f  a g e :  “W eaning from the Breast,” Paediatrics & Child Health  9, no. 4 (Apr. 2004):
249–53. l o w e r  i n c i d e n c e :  Bottle-feeding requires less “chewing” and sucking stress, and, as such stimulates less
forward facial growth. For this reason, Kevin Boyd, the Chicago pediatric dentist, recommends
cup feeding infants if breastfeeding isn’ t an option. James Sim W allace, The Cause and
Pr evention of Decay in T eeth  (London: J. & A. Churchill, 1902). Indrė Narbutyte et al. ,
“Relationship Between Breastfeeding, Bottle-Feeding and Development of Malocclusion,”
Stomatologija, Baltic Dental and Maxillofacial Journal  15, no. 3 (2013): 67–72; Domenico
V iggiano et al. , “Breast Feeding, Bottle Feeding, and Non-Nutritive Sucking: Ef fects on
Occlusion in Deciduous Dentition,” Ar chives of Disease in Childhood 89, no. 12 (Jan. 2005):
1121–23; Bronwyn K. Brew et al. , “Breastfeeding and Snoring: A Birth Cohort Study,” PLoS
One 9, no. 1 (Jan. 2014): e84956. s t i m u l a t e s  t h e  s t r e s s :  Every time I bite down while wearing the Homeblock I’ll be eliciting cyclical
intermittent light force in combination with the light springing pressure that will send a signal
to the ligament around the roots of the teeth to encourage the body to, according to Belfor,
“begin a cascade of events” which produces more bone cells. The process is called
morphogenesis and it all sounded brutal. But Belfor assured me I won’ t even notice it
happening because I’d only need to wear the retainer while I am sleeping. “ A n  e a r l y  s o f t  d i e t ” :  Ben Miraglia, DDS, “2018 Oregon Dental Conference Course Handout,” Oregon
Dental Conference, Apr. 5, 2018, https://www. oregondental. or g/docs/librariesprovider42/2018-
odc-handouts/thursday---9122-miraglia. pdf. sfvrsn=2. a n c i e n t  s k u l l s  m e a s u r e d :  Specifically, from 2. 12 and 2. 62 inches before the Industrial Age to 1. 88 to 2. 44
inches afterward. J. N. Starkey, “Etiology of Irregularities of the T eeth,” The Dental Sur geon 4,
no. 174 (Feb. 29, 1908): 105–6. “ g r a d u a l l y  b e c o m i n g  s m a l l e r ” :  J. Sim W allace, “Heredity, with Special Reference to the Diminution in
Size of the Human Jaw,” digest of Dental Recor d, Dec. 1901, in Dental Digest  8, no. 2 (Feb. 1902): 135–40, https://tinyurl. com/r6szdz8. f e e d i n g  a  g r o u p  o f  p i g s :  Y ucatan minipigs, that is. Russell L. Ciochon et al. , “Dietary Consistency and
Craniofacial Development Related to Masticatory Function in Minipigs,” Journal of
Craniofacial Genetics and Developmental Biology 17, no. 2 (Apr. –June 1997): 96–102. s o m e  f o r m  o f  m a l o c c l u s i o n :  These round averages were summarized and verified by Dr. Robert
Corruccini. Further overview context can be found in Mirigalia, “2018 Oregon Dental
Conference Course Handout. ”
Chapter Eight: More, on Occasion
t w e l v e  h u n d r e d  m e n :  Micheal Clodfelter, W arfar e and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of
Casualty and Other Figur es, 1492–2015, 4th ed. (Jef ferson, NC: McFarland, 2017), 277. 3 0  o r  m o r e  t i m e s :  J. M. Da Costa, “On Irritable Heart; a Clinical Study of a Form of Functional Cardiac
Disorder and its Consequences,” American Journal of Medical Sciences,  n. s. 61, no. 121
(1871). T h e  s a m e  s y m p t o m s :  Jef frey A. Lieberman, “From ‘Soldier ’ s Heart’ to ‘V ietnam Syndrome’:
Psychiatry’ s 100-Y ear Quest to Understand PTSD,” The Star, Mar. 7, 2015,
https://www. thestar. com/news/insight/2015/03/07/solving-the-riddle-of-soldiers-heart-post-
traumatic-stress-disorder -ptsd. html ; Christopher Ber gland. “Chronic Stress Can Damage Brain
Structure and Connectivity,” Psychology T oday, Feb. 12, 2004. 2 0  p e r c e n t  o f  s o l d i e r s :  “From Shell-Shock to PTSD, a Century of Invisible W ar T rauma,” PBS
NewsHour, Nov. 11, 2018, https://www. pbs. or g/newshour/nation/from-shell-shock-to-ptsd-a-
century-of-invisible-war -trauma ; Caroline Alexander, “The Shock of W ar,” Smithsonian,  Sept. 2010, https://www. smithsonianmag. com/history/the-shock-of-war -
55376701/#Mxod3dfdosgFt3cQ. 99. b r e a t h s  a r e  s o  r e l a x i n g :  As well, the lower lungs contain from 60 to 80 percent of blood-saturated alveoli,
for easier and more ef ficient gas exchange. Body, Mind, and Sport, 223. h a s  a n  o p p o s i t e  r o l e :  Phillip Low, “Overview of the Autonomic Nervous System,” Mer ck Manual,
consumer version, https://www. merckmanuals. com/home/brain,-spinal-cord,-and-nerve-
disorders/autonomic-nervous-system-disorders/overview-of-the-autonomic-nervous-system. H e a r t  r a t e  i n c r e a s e s :  “How Stress Can Boost Immune System,” ScienceDaily, June 21, 2012; “Functions
of the Autonomic Nervous System,” Lumen, https://courses. lumenlearning. com/boundless-
ap/chapter/functions-of-the-autonomic-nervous-system/. p u p i l s  d i l a t e :  Joss Fong, “Eye-Opener: Why Do Pupils Dilate in Response to Emotional States. ,”
Scientific American, Dec. 7, 2012, https://www. scientificamerican. com/article/eye-opener -why-
do-pupils-dialate/. h e i g h t e n e d  s y m p a t h e t i c  a l e r t :  The sympathetic control center is located not in the brain but in the
vertebral ganglia along the spine, while the parasympathetic system is located further up in the
brain. This may not be a coincidence. Some researchers, such as Stephen Por ges, suggest that
the sympathetic system is a more primitive system while the parasympathetic system is more
evolved. a n  h o u r  o r  m o r e :  “What Is Stress. ,” American Institute of Stress, https://www. stress. or g/daily-life. m a n  n a m e d  N a r o p a :  “T ibetan Lama to T each an Introduction to T ummo, the Y oga of Psychic Heat at
HAC January 21,” Healing Arts Center (St. Louis), Dec. 20, 2017,
https://www. thehealingartscenter. com/hac-news/tibetan-lama-to-teach-an-introduction-to-
tummo-the-yoga-of-psychic-heat-at-hac ; “NAROP A,” Garchen Buddhist Institute, July 14,
2015, https://garchen. net/naropa. w r o t e  D a v i d - N é e l :  Alexandra David-Néel, My Journey to Lhasa  (1927; New Y ork: Harper Perennial,
2005), 135. P r o f e s s i o n a l  s u r f e r s,  m i x e d  m a r t i a l  a r t s  f i g h t e r s :  Nan-Hie In, “Breathing Exercises, Ice Baths: How W im Hof
Method Helps Elite Athletes and Navy Seals,” South China Morning Post, Mar. 25, 2019,
https://www. scmp. com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3002901/wim-hof-method-how-ice-
baths-and-breathing-techniques. H i s  p r i m a r y  f o c u s  i s  t h e  v a g u s :  Stephen W. Por ges, The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The
T ransformative Power of Feeling Safe,  Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology (New
Y ork: W. W. Norton, 2017), 131, 140, 160, 173, 196, 242, 234. c a l l  i t  f a i n t i n g :  Specifically, when the vagus nerve is stimulated, the heart rate slows and the blood
vessels dilate, making it harder for blood to defeat gravity and be pumped to the brain. This
temporary decrease in blood flow to the brain can cause the fainting episode. o r g a n s  c u t  o f f  f r o m  n o r m a l :  Steven Park, Sleep Interrupted: A Physician Reveals the #1 Reason Why So
Many of Us Ar e Sick and T ir ed  (New Y ork: Jodev Press, 2008), Kindle locations 1443–46. l e s s e n  t h e s e  s y m p t o m s :  “V agus Nerve Stimulation,” Mayo Clinic, https://www. mayoclinic. or g/tests-
procedures/vagus-nerve-stimulation/about/pac-20384565 ; Crystal T. Engineer et al. , “V agus
Nerve Stimulation as a Potential Adjuvant to Behavioral Therapy for Autism and Other
Neurodevelopmental Disorders,” Journal of Neur odevelopmental Disor ders 9 (July 2017): 20. l e s s  i n v a s i v e  w a y :  There was also swinging. Rocking chairs and porch swings were very common in
houses before the first half of the twentieth century. They may have been so popular because
swinging shifts blood pressure, which allows messages to more easily travel back and forth
along the vagus nerve. This is why so many autistic children (who often have poor vagal tone
and feel constantly under threat) respond so well to swinging. Cold exposure, like splashingcold water on the face, also stimulates the vagus nerve, which sends messages to the heart to
lower the heart rate. (Place your face in cold water and your heart rate will quickly drop. ) Por ges, Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory,  211–12. s p e e d  u p  o u r  h e a r t :  Some very rare exceptions are demonstrated by yogis; these are discussed in the
final chapter. w h e n  t o  b r e a t h e :  Roderik J. S. Gerritsen and Guido P. H. Band, “Breath of Life: The Respiratory V agal
Stimulation Model of Contemplative Activity,” Fr ontiers in Human Neur oscience  12 (Oct. 2018): 397; Christopher Ber gland, “Longer Exhalations Are an Easy W ay to Hack Y our V agus
Nerve,” Psychology T oday, May 9, 2019. W i l l i n g  o u r s e l v e s :  Moran Cerf, “Neuroscientists Have Identified How Exactly a Deep Breath Changes
Y our Mind,” Quartzy, Nov. 19, 2017; Jose L. Herrero et al. , “Breathing above the Brain Stem:
V olitional Control and Attentional Modulation in Humans,” Journal of Neur ophysiology 119,
no.
Dr. Vincent G. Kokich is not mentioned in the text. The text actually mentions Dr. V incent G. Kokich, an orthodontist who postulated that adults "retain the capacity to regenerate and remodel bone at the craniofacial sutures."
Who is Dr. Vincent G. Kokich, and what is his research about?
The text states that bottle-feeding requires less "chewing" and sucking stress, which can lead to forward facial growth.
What is the relationship between breastfeeding and facial growth?
The text does not mention the Homeblock device. It only mentions the use of a retainer while sleeping to stimulate bone growth.
What is the purpose of the Homeblock device?
The text does not explicitly state the connection between stress and the immune system. However, it mentions that stress can boost the immune system.
What is the connection between stress and immune system?
The text does not explicitly discuss the relationship between yoga and the vagus nerve. It only mentions the importance of the vagus nerve in the context of T ummo breathing and its effects on the body.
What is the relationship between yoga and the vagus nerve?
The text does not mention Dr. Albert Szent-Györgyi's work on the relationship between carbon dioxide and the brain.
Who is Dr. Albert Szent-Györgyi, and what is his work related to?