Amazon Breathe Smart Category:  Health/Wellness Publisher: Zen Yoga Press ISBN-10:  0974324701 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 80 Copyright: June 2, 2008 ISBN-13: 9780974324708 In this little book, Aaron Hoopes brings twenty years of experience in the martial arts, fitness training and meditation to bear on one of the most fundamental dimensions of good health: proper breathing. He calls it a secret not because it is hidden or mysterious, but because so little attention is paid to it. If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly. --Andrew Weil, M.D Aaron's book is simple and pure. It describes in natural language the basics of breathing. --Reza Yavari M.D., Board Certified Yale School of Medicine Breathe Smart is a wonderful little book. Easy to read and providing an important look at breathing. It offers the benefits of a healthy lifestyle without committing a large amount of time. --Dr. Jane E. Rogers Breathe Smart shows us how, through conscious breathing we can raise our level of oxygen intake and reap the benefits of increased energy, better health, and a stronger sense of well-being. Excerpt Ancient stories tell of a long-lost fountain hidden away in some remote, forgotten corner of the world. This mythical fountain was reported to flow with magical elixir that cured illness and granted the drinker eternal youth. The driving force behind much of Ponce de Leon's exploration was his obsession with tales of the Fountain of Youth. The idea of living longer has often become a focus for people as they begin to grow older and feel the effects of age and their inevitable mortality. Recently we have been bombarded with remedies both old and new which claim to extend life. From new or improved chemical food supplements to dark chocolate and even laughter, it seems as if everyone has a special method for prolonging life. However, encouraging the body to do what is natural is most often the best one. Ironically, the simple, natural and most beneficial method is often the most neglected as we continue the quest for a healthier more fulfilling life.

Great Things Really Do Come In Small Packages
have to admit that I have been one of those millions upon millions of people that have really taken their breathing and in fact the very act of breathing for granted for pretty much all of my life. That is until I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this book.

Now I have been a practicing martial artist for over 25 years and have really never delved into the act of breathing and now I realize that if I had, things may have turned out a little different for me by now.

Is breathing important? Just try not doing it for a couple of minutes and see just how important it really is. It is so amazing that we take for granted almost all of our involuntary actions, and those are some of the ones that we really should focus on.

Aaron does a great job of teaching the reader how to breathe correctly in order to improve your overall health both mentally and physically. This book is only 80 pages in length, but what an abundant amount of information on how to breathe correctly is included in those 80 pages. You can easily read through this book in one easy sitting, but to do so is to lose the whole point of this book.

I look upon this book as what I like to call a follow-along book, which means that you follow-along with the techniques the author is trying to teach you, rather than just reading it for readings sake.

I really like the author's reference to smart breathing, which is what we do naturally as babies, but somehow forget to breathe smartly as we get older.

I have now read through this book thrice and am perusing it again as I write this review. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who wants to improve their athletic ability (regardless of the sport you may participate in), or just simply improve their overall health. However, I must caution you that this book is truly not intended to be just read, it should be absorbed into the old gray matter and then utilized on a daily basis. If you do, you will notice some surprisingly good results. I know I did!

I would also recommend the following book from the same author.

Zen Yoga: A Path To Enlightenment Through Breathing, Movement and Meditation

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

An excellent how-to guide for breathing
This is a short book, and every page is packed with information. This is a really good book on how to learn to correctly breathe so you can improve your health, ability to focus, mental clarity, and a whole bunch of other benefits that all too many people miss out on because they breath incorrectly. The author explains how to breathe correctly as well as the benefits of breathing correctly in plain English, without a lot of jargon or foreign terms. This makes the book accessible for anyone, and it's one I'd recommend to anyone.

What I particularly liked is that the author explains in some detail how to do two types of breathing: The type where you breathe in and your belly expands and the type where you deliberately pull you belly in when you breathe in and expand it when you exhale. He explains what the benefits of doing both types of breathing are and provides clear instructions for doing it. Overall an excellent book.


From J. Kaye's Book Blog
Breathe Smart, by Arron Hoopes, is a little book with big benefits. It's about quality breathing and how important breath is to our health and well-being. The explanations of breathing and the simple exercises get you immediate results. For me, one of the side benefits to this was noticing how much I slumped while sitting or driving.

The simple and clear discussions and instructions make this a very quick and understandable read. Hoopes leads us from why to how and to the benefits. Included in the 2nd edition is a new chapter on Stress, Weight Loss & Breathing. I recommend this book to everyone.