Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #192946 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Customer Reviews

Very helpful book. Try it.
This book has helped me to control my asthma.

I've had asthma for over 20 years. After my most recent and scariest episode, I decided I had to do something about it. After reading this book and applying some of the methods like deep breathing and vitamin supplements, I've been able to limit the frequency and severity of attacks.

My asthma isn't "Reversed", but it does seem much more manageable. And some of the symptoms that I thought were asthma related all of these years were actually because of breathing incorrectly. That was an amazing change I saw in the first week.

The author is obviously not a new age, everything must be natural, quack. He combines current medical techniques, breathing techniques, and diet and excercise into a very comprehensive plan. He also recommends discussing this plan with your doctor.

I doubt this book will Reverse your asthma, but it should definitely help control it. I highly recommend it.

Asthmatics- this is not the solution
I read Richard Firsheins book with much interest. Yes, it is well written and contains factual information but I found my asthma was as bad after reading it as it was before. The book did little to improve my condition - it did not reverse it.

In all my search- only one book solved my problem- it is called Asthma Free naturally by Patrick McKeown and it does what it says it will do. It teaches readers how to correct their overbreathing based on the work of Russian respiratory professor Konstantin Buteyko. This book is a real gem and should be made mandatory reading for all asthmatics.

Wrong theory?
Although I greatly admire Dr. Firschein for his initiative, my experience with asthma has taught me to be skeptical of the theory of correcting breathing presented in the book. If you consider how a normal person takes a natural deep breath you will see that the chest is vigorously expanded and the upper abdomen is drawn in and upward (Gray's Anatomy). It therefore seems highly arguable that an asthmatic simply "gets stuck" in his frantic effort to take a deep inspiration, and that the upward straining of the shoulders so typical of an attack is not pathological and the deep breath should be taught by correctly learning from a healthy breather in all details. Also, a healthy breather tends to restrict the inflow of air during the deep inspiration with his lips and/teeth.
If taking a deep breath is regarded as a distinct maneuver (like a yawn or sigh), then it is just a case of an asthmatic failing to do it. It is not a question of his breathing wrongly by being misguided. Therefore, diaphragmatic breathing as advocated in the book should be treated as something of a different kind. Regards, Richard Friedel s3e0101@mailin.lrz-muenchen.de