My situation being in search of a tool that can help me with Shamanic Journeying - am a bit weak in the drumming/ visualising thing and understand breathwork might help induce the desired trance state. The blurb above suggests this book demonstrates how breathwork can be applied to among others, the shamanic experience.
By page 81 I am feeling a bit discouraged. So far it seems some background has been supplied on the subject with an emphasis on origin, terminology and protocol. It feels like I have attended a very short lecture aimed at people that are interested in running (politically correct) breathwork (workshops). There seems to be a general vagueness at this stage concerning whether one can pursue this independently, with emphasis being on a facilitator/client orientation. I have noted fleeting insignificant parallels drawn between breathwork and shamanism.
By the time I reach it, I am doubting there will be anything in the book that I can use, but because Part Three is titled Beginning Breathwork, I understand perhaps an actual breathwork "how-to" will now be divulged...
The next chapter: Grounding and Awareness provides pointers to prospective breathworkers and exercises for prospective breathers. Some case histories are thrown in to demonstrate elements/ problem areas of Grounding and Awareness, as well as some of the spin-offs. I'm keen to get to the part that says okay, Grounding and Awareness; check, next step.
Instead there are more pointers aimed at the prospective breathworker, and a whole bunch of case histories, and I am really starting to loose my patience. Then potential hazards with breathwork (and how to deal with them). Breath Mastery starts off with a whole bunch more case histories, moves on to some exercises/ experiments and wraps up with more parallels with Shamanism.
That Shamanism provided a framework within which Joy could interpret her interest in breathwork gets explained, so its not quite a "This is how Shamans use this to enter trance" thing.
I'm in two minds about this book at this point. Maybe at another stage it will grab me and progress in my journey will be impossible without it, but at this stage it just frustrates me.
I did kind of feel reassured that at least some of the things I wish to achieve can be achieved with this tool, its just this book felt more like it was ABOUT the tool and was not actually THE tool (but then maybe it was never meant to be...).

The title of this book is very misleading. This book is basically about different breathing theories including holotropic breathwork and rebirthing. The information included on these subjects could have been found by looking online within two minutes. I felt it was a huge advertisement for going to a breathworker. She gives so many references to other books I it doesn't seem like any of the information was her own. I do not recommend this book.