Book Reviews
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE REVIEWED BY JOHN HAGAN
THE BREATHING REVOLUTION BY YOLANDA BARKER / GREEN TREE $24.99
When I first began my yoga practice over a decade ago, the mantra of my teacher was, ‘Listen to your breath’. After about four downward-dogs I had no trouble listening to my breath – it was roaring in my ears! For the ancient yogis, breathing exercises (pranayama) constituted the fastest path to enlightenment - peace, bliss and wisdom. Barker builds on, and enlarges, this principle, illustrating how the way a person breathes affects the body, mind and emotions, largely through the breath’s connection to the nervous system and the stress response. Barker believes that ‘very few people breathe optimally’, describing how inefficient breathing impacts negatively on physiology resulting in possible high blood pressure, anxiety, low energy, disturbed sleep, palpitations and other incapacitating issues. For those wishing to walk up a flight of stairs without feeling out of breath, calm their emotions, develop clarity, become more physically fit and 76 | THE IRISH SCENE
more energetic, Barker outlines a simple seven day programme of practical exercises, covering such elements as analyzing and recognizing personal breathing habits, use of the correct breathing muscles, exploring breathing rhythms and proper exhalation procedure. In the second section of the book, Barker describes simple breathing techniques including tips for enhanced posture, pelvic floor health, plus advice on how to evoke calmness and develop better sleep patterns. Drawing on her own experience of coping with anxiety and depression, allied to her background as a long-time yoga teacher, Barker shines a profound light on the physiology of stress, and its debilitating effect. Suggested exercises are in dot point form, and illustrated by simple line drawings; instructions are easy to follow making this a really practical book to read. Between its covers, this slim, 160 page publication has the potential to afford us all a new breath of life.
THE ICE COVEN BY MAX SEECK / WELBECK $29.99
Following on from his bestselling Nordic noir novel, The Witch Hunter, Seeck again features police investigator, Jessica Niemi as she continues to lead a small, elite group of officers in Helsinki’s Violent Crimes Unit. Two popular social influencers have suspiciously disappeared after an album launch party by Kex Mace, Finland’s biggest rap star. Next day,
