Conscious Breathing: Breathwork for Health, Stress Release, and Personal Mastery

Gay Hendricks, Kathlyn Hendricks

Bantam Books, 1995

Agent: Sandra Dijkstra

Conscious Breathing draws on more than twenty years of research and practice to present a simple yet comprehensive program that can be used every day to improve energy, mental clarity, and physical health. As the essential life-force of the body, the breath influences how we feel on every level.  But many traditional breathing programs are limited by esoteric or cultlike elements.  Pioneering therapist Gay Hendricks has refined the most important practices into a mainstream healing tool that can provide dramatic benefits--ranging from lowered blood pressure and pain reduction to elimination of depression and anxiety--in as little as ten minutes a day. At the core of the book are eight key breathing exercises, fully illustrated, with step-by-step instructions, plus the "short form" ten-minute breathing program.  Additional chapters provide breathing techniques for special concerns, including: Breathing to aid in trauma release and recovery from addictions. Treatment of asthma and other respiratory problems. Enhancement of sex and communication between couples. Improved concentration and stamina in sports.

Reviews:
“This handsome handbook, appealingly illustrated and laced with aphorisms about breathing…offers much of value to those just fostering awareness of breathing to such advanced practitioners as singers and athletes.”
Publishers Weekly