Breath in Action

by Jane Boston (Editor), Rena Cook (Editor)

Breath in Action looks at the significance of breath to human life - not just the simple fact that if we stop breathing, we die, but also the more subtle ways in which our breath interacts with our voice and our being. Written by experts in vocal and holistic practice, the book is divided into four Breath and the Body; Breath and the Mind; Breath and Holistic Practice; Breath and Performance. It offers the latest theories from a variety of disciplines on how we can be taught to breathe better so as to communicate better, act or sing better, feel better, live better. Combining theory with practice, many of the chapters also offer clearly laid out breathing exercises and techniques. Interdisciplinary in its focus, Breath in Action adds to specialist knowledge in the performance field, whilst also offering enlightening information for those interested in therapeutic and healing processes, movement, and voice and speech sciences.

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[AshleyYvonne]

I was excited to dive into the material, but it's a bit dry for my taste. I thought there would be more holistic or anatomical material, flipping back and forth between subjects like yoga and physiology and how they interact. Just way too many esoteric practices relating to acting, and not enough on meditative reflection, modern public speaking, and how the body is affected by proper breathing (which seems to be different depending on what author was contributing).

Nice idea, not so great output. Had to push myself to get through the latter half of the book.