Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing (The Self Healing Series) [Audio CD]

Andrew Weil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999 | Series: The Self Healing Series

A complete course of eight breathing exercises that Dr. Andrew Weil uses in his own life, and has prescribed to hundreds of patients over the past two decades. In plain language, Dr. Weil explains the secret of breathwork’s power over our health, and its remarkable ability to influence – and even reprogram – the nervous system. A practical introduction to this crucial aspect of self healing, presented by this bestselling author and influential physician.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Listeners get a complete course of eight breathing exercises that Dr. Weil has used in his own life and prescribed to hundreds of patients to aid in physical healing. To learn the art of healthy breathing, Weil turned to Eastern traditions, including yoga, which view breath as a vital link to the energy of the universe.

About the Author

Andrew Weil, one of America's best known advocates of alternative medicine and holistic healing, attended Harvard Medical School. He has worked for the National Institute of Mental Health and the Harvard Botanical Museum. He is the founder of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center and Associate Director of the Division of Social Perspectives in Medicine, University of Arizona. Weil's books include Spontaneous Healing and Natural Health and Eight Weeks to Optimum Health.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781564557261
• ISBN-13: 978-1564557261
• ASIN: 156455726X
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.4 x 5.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( W ) > Weil, Dr. Andrew
  • #6 in Books > Books on CD > Health, Mind & Body > General
  • #8 in Books > Books on CD > Nonfiction

More About the Author

Andrew Weil, M.D., is a world-renowned leader and pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, a healing oriented approach to health care which encompasses body, mind, and spirit. His next book, "True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure," will be released October 9th, 2012.

View all of Dr. Weil's current speaking engagements here: http://weil.ws/Tojqex

Combining a Harvard education and a lifetime of practicing natural and preventive medicine, Dr. Weil is the founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, where he is also a Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health and the Lovell-Jones Professor of Integrative Rheumatology. Dr. Weil received both his medical degree and his undergraduate AB degree in biology (botany) from Harvard University.

Dr. Weil is an internationally-recognized expert for his views on leading a healthy lifestyle, his philosophy of healthy aging, and his critique of the future of medicine and health care. Approximately 10 million copies of Dr. Weil's books have been sold, including "Spontaneous Healing," "8 Weeks to Optimum Health," "Eating Well for Optimum Health," "The Healthy Kitchen," "Healthy Aging," and "Why Our Health Matters."

Online, he is the editorial director of DrWeil.com, the leading web resource for healthy living based on the philosophy of integrative medicine. He can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/DrWeil, Twitter at twitter.com/DrWeil, and Dr. Weil's Daily Health Tips blog at drweilblog.com.

See a comprehensive list of Dr. Weil's information: about.me/DrWeil

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

280 of 296 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars good intro to something I never thought much about February 20, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

I never really thought much about my breathing but finding out what Andrew Weil says, in conjunction with going to a yoga class where they really emphasize proper breathing, has woken me up to how much this affects my life. The book "Science of Breath" by Swami Rama is also an excellent resource - very highly recommend it. In the short time I've been working with simple breathing exercises I've noticed dramatic effects - stress seems not to affect me as much!

99 of 102 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Guide Breathing Techniques and Stress Reduction! October 24, 2004

By CPTScott

Format:Audio Cassette

Some may think that it's ridiculous to have a program about breathing. We all do it right?

For those of us who take breathing for granted, there is a Zen tale about a young monk who complains to his master that "meditating on the breath is boring". So the master grabs the student, holds him under water plenty long enough to make his point and then looks at the student and asks "Do you still think the breath is boring? ".... Let's just say that this fellow had a change of heart (and took a nice deep breath) :)

While this program isn't specifically a meditation program the point still remains. While it's obvious that all of us who are alive are already breathing and have been doing so our whole lives, our breathing can be either unconscious or conscious.

Likewise we can either choose to live unconsciously or consciously as well. It is to the conscious control of the breath this program deals with and if practiced regularly it can likely affect your ability to live each moment of your life more consciously as well (a nice side benefit and perhaps the most important one at that).

There is a definite connection between rate of breathing and either stress or relaxation. It is very hard to be in a complete state of stress if your breathing is slow and deep. It doesn't mean you won't encounter stressful events, but you can certainly let them take less of a physical toll on you even when you are dealing with unavoidable stressful situations by not letting your breathing put you into overload.

Becoming relaxed doesn't mean you have to be isolated from the world or zoning out, rather you can be active and functioning but still be relaxed internally by learning to work with your breath. You can also become energized by learning breathwork as well, it depends on the technique(s) you apply.

Dr. Weil does an excellent job first of explaining about the connection of breath to physical (and emotional/mental)well being as well as giving examples of case studies. This is done on the first cassette. The second cassette has guided breathing exercises that are very easy to follow and are quite useful.

I personally find that Dr. Weil is very good at putting things in a way that are very down to earth as well as user friendly. He doesn't claim to be some enlightened master or Guru, just a Doctor who has seen this stuff work in real life with real patients.

I've been working with these tapes for several weeks now and they are tremendous tools that you can work with anytime you need to reconnect with your life force. Whether you want to think of the breath as strictly a physical entity or get into the more metaphysical ideas of thinking of it as prana, there is no doubt that breathing is THE master key to being present and feeling alive.

This program, if used as intended, can definitely help give you control over your ability to regulate your stress levels by using breath work, this can certainly only bring positive health benefits.

It is common knowledge to healers of all modalities (be they "conventional" or "alternative"), that stress can profoundly weaken one's immune system and lead to ill health. Breath work can reduce stress and not only make you feel better physically, but improve the overall quality of your life. Let's face it, life is not of a high quality if you're stressed out and exhausted.

So, here is a wonderful tool that is practical and easy to use, all you need to do is make a choice whether to use this tool or just continue on your frantic, stressed out merry way.

One more thing, this sort of breath work is an excellent bridge to developing a meditation practice.

151 of 171 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars It's O.K. January 16, 2002

By Rabia

Format:Audio CD

I would have preferred this CD to be in a book format instead of a soundtrack. It would have been less expensive to buy and easier to use that way. The first CD, which is one hour long talks about breathing & health but I really didn't find it interesting or informative. I was rather bored. I thought everything he said was common sense and there was no fresh information. Basically this first CD is a one-time listening thing, so not really worth the purchase. My problem with the second CD, which has the 7 breathing exercises, is that it's one hour long and there is no way to "jump" between exercises 1 to 7. It is all one track. In the accompanying 6-page CD booklet all the exercises are very clearly explained and detailed in text... so you don't really need the CD at all! On the up side, I'm glad there are exercises out there on this subject that Dr.Weil made available to me. I have not been doing the exercises long enough to notice any changes yet.