Hello everyone :-)

I wonder if anyone is interested enough in this topic to explore it with me...

I agree with the common verdict by yogis that we, as humans, are highly susceptible to breathe incorrectly. My reason for this is; personal experience, and watching others learn to breathe evenly and deeply in yoga class and what a challenge this can present. 

I am lucky to have a major yoga skeptic in my life, and he is often asking loads of questions that challenge the way I understand what I'm learning in Yoga. He is a scientist, and wants to know how we yogis have come to the conclusion that people in general are often breathing incorrectly.

I wonder if anyone knows of any good chapters in books, or any scientific studies that might simplify the explanation?

I think it's an interesting and perfectly valid question that may come up from beginners to a new class. Why should we ask them to change the way they breathe?

Personally, I trusted in my teachers and followed their advice on breathing and pranayama, and managed to reap the rewards of this. What about the more skeptical student who believes this to be simply placebo? How can we prove to the skeptic that our breathing is often incorrect?

I am looking into this whilst I complete my other essay questions, so if I find interesting information I will list it here. I hope there is someone out there who might add to this also!

So far I have learned from James Hewitt 'The Complete Book of Yoga' in Chapter VI "Yogic Breath Control", that the psychotherapist Reich discovered his neurotic patients had developed muscular blocks against expelling old air from their system. "There is no neurotic individual who is capable of exhaling in one breath, deeply and evenly." (Reich). 

Does anyone else know of any experimental studies on breathing?

Namaste!