Calm your worries and build your bravery — or just relax during a busy day or wind down before bed All day long, you breathe — in and out, in and out — without even thinking about it. But did you know that you can play with your breath, use it to take you on an adventure? All you have to do is find a comfy spot and close your eyes. Does your breath sound like ocean waves? Like the wind before a storm or a breeze at the start of spring? Can you feel it all the way down to the tips of your toes? By the time you open your eyes, you might just feel a little lighter, calmer, more relaxed. In Big Breath, William Meyer’s gentle prompts, alongside Brittany R. Jacobs’s wonderful illustrations, make meditation as fun as a game, but with big results.

A New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of 2020 Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR “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, author of Big Magic and Eat Pray Love 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. The answers aren’t found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of São Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe. Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring, asthma, and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is. Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again.

Victoria worries . . . a lot! She receives some wise advice from her favorite teddy bear, Baxter. Learn how Baxter's special word helps Victoria's worries get much, much smaller. This beautifully illustrated book teaches young children mindful breathing to help them with their worries. Teachers, parents, clinicians and other helpful grown-ups can practice this easy technique with their children to create calmer families, schools, and communities.

It may begin with shortness of breath or perhaps a recurring cough as you inhale. Your ability to take in more air becomes impeded—for any number of reasons. The bottom line is that your body is not receiving the oxygen it requires, and when that happens, your body lets you know it. Exhaustion, depression, lack of focus, and dizziness can all set in, not to mention the organ damage created by a lack of oxygen. Prescription medications or an oxygen tank may provide some relief, but there are also a number of techniques that you can do on your own to improve your condition. Best-selling health writer Meera Patricia Kerr and Dr. Sandra A. McLanahan have teamed up to provide an effective breathing exercise program. Their new book, Take a Deep Breath, is designed to help those who have any number of breathing problems increase their lung capacity safely and naturally. The book is divided into two parts. Part One provides information basic to understanding the authors’ unique program. You will learn the importance of the respiratory system to your health and how you can improve your breathing through specific time-tested exercises. You will also learn about the mental blocks that may prevent you from performing these simple yet important exercises—and how you can overcome them. Part Two presents the full breathing program, from assuming the right postures to carrying out essential techniques for lung improvement. As you will discover, this program offers benefits far beyond easier breathing, including the ability to overcome stress, gain mental clarity, and take greater control over your life. While there may not be a complete cure for every breathing disorder, you can play a crucial role in improving your condition. Take a Deep Breath gives you the tools you need to control your breathing and optimize your health. All it takes is one deep breath at a time.

Big Breath In follows the ups and fateful downs of living with cystic fibrosis (CF), the journey to receiving a double lung transplant, and the hope of a second chance at life that transplant brings. Documenting the daily struggle of living with CF, George outlines both CF’s deadly consequences and how it works. Despite this, he stresses that people with CF are like everyone else, just trying to navigate the unpredictability of regular life, but through a CF lens. Documenting George’s declining health, culminating in being wait-listed for a double lung transplant, Big Breath In speaks to what it’s like to live with significantly decreased lung function, and what the process is to be wait-listed. George reveals his own struggle in trying to accept the "new normals" that his fragile health brought, and his need to let go of his "old life" and accept the new life he finds himself living. Over a year and a half later, perilously close to death, George kept waiting for a phone call that might not come in time. When a match is finally found, the longest wait of his life begins, complete with giant waves of hope and despair. In addition to writing about his surgery and immediate recovery in hospital, he also writes about other character-forming events, including the death of his brother, and meeting, dating, and marrying his wife. His experiences shaped him in incredible ways and helped him fight for his second chance at life.

Breathe Like a Bear is a beautifully illustrated collection of mindfulness exercises designed to teach kids techniques for managing their bodies, breath, and emotions. Best of all, these 30 simple, short breathing practices and movements can be performed anytime, anywhere: in the car to the grocery store, during heavy homework nights at home, or even at a child’s desk at school. Based on Kira Willey's Parents' Choice GOLD Award-winning CD, Mindful Moments for Kids, this one-of-a-kind book is sure to help kids find calm, gain focus, and feel energized during the day, and encourage families to establish a fun and consistent mindfulness practice, whether at home or on the go.

A new and emerging part of a child's development teaches them how to take a deep breath, especially when things don't seem to go their way. Take a Deep Breath by Kristen Schmitt is a story that combines colorful illustrations set to rhythmic scenarios alongside diverse young characters. Take a Deep Breath is written for ages 4-8 years old, but of course younger and older children will certainly benefit, grow into, or be able to reference this book for years to come. Parent and kid-approved!