Breathwork has its uses – but when it comes to ‘unlocking your fullest human potential’, beware the puffery | Antiviral

While some benefits such as stress relief are backed by solid evidence, they can be achieved without expensive hyped-up courses

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In the 2012 film adaptation of the Dr Seuss book The Lorax, a fable about capitalist greed, air is a commodity.

The mayor of Thneedville deprives the city's residents of trees so a company he heads can sells bottles of air. He has, as one advertising lackey puts it, gotten rich selling people air that's fresher' than the stinky stuff outside".

Donna Lu is an assistant editor, climate, environment and science at Guardian Australia

Antiviral is a fortnightly column that interrogates the evidence behind the health headlines and factchecks popular wellness claims