Healing Arts Press
Reviewed by Guest Reviewer:
Ramon Porqueres
Optometrist from Andorra
This book is well written, easy to read, the concepts are clearly explained and the material is well structured. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is about the basic concepts of breathing and the sensations that the person can have during the experiments. The second part contains the actual experiments used to explore your breathing. The exercises are designed to improve your breathing. This is a book that I would classify as a self-improvement book. All of us like to add breathing to our vision therapy. A question I wanted answered from the book was why should we coordinate breathing to our vision therapy activities? I was disappointed, however. More than the rational or physiologic thinking, I was looking for a deeper understanding of breathing and the action of breathing over the muscular action at a neurological level. All my questions went unanswered. However, I did end with a much better understanding of breathing and how to improve it.
Think about the experiment of the straw given by Dr. Mel Kaplan* in his writings where you are asked to breathe in and out slowly while performing some visual task. Even though it is an easy activity, I think it is one of the most potent activities in vision therapy. The thing that I was looking for was the exact relationship that exists between rhythmic breathing and extension or flexion of the muscles. This provides a powerful input in the brain that shortens the amount of therapy needed and brings about a higher level of cure. The straw experiment, as modified by Dr Melvin Kaplan, helps me see how many patients do not use efficient breathing. Now it is well known in the literature that breathing affects learning in the same way as the lack of sleep. This book made me take notice of my bad habits in breathing and how I am using my breathing. This is a very good point in the book. Another good point from this book is the author explains all the feelings and the reactions that the student can feel to help avoid feeling afraid. At the same time he takes many precautions to help you to enjoy the breathing without breaking down anything. The diagrams and pictures are clear and illustrate well the text. This is a good book. But it is the responsibility of the reader to make good use of it.