The oxygen advantage and the problem of over breathing

[Kevin]

So recently I read 2 books about breathing which I highly recommend.

Breath

https://www.amazon.com/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/0735213615
The Oxygen Advantage

https://www.amazon.com/Oxygen-Advantage-Scientifically-Breathing-Techniques/dp/0062349473/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?adgrpid=59754427807&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvKfHtLrH-wIV_HRvBB39Gw5IEAAYAiAAEgJOyPD_BwE&hvadid=617005257243&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9033604&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=20529272453064656&hvtargid=kwd-301017250953&hydadcr=15178_13597679&keywords=oxygen+advantage&qid=1669314854&sr=8-2
 

The basic premise of these 2 books is that humans have forgotten how to breathe properly, and dysfunctional breathing is causing many problems for us. Both physical problems and mental problems like insomnia and anxiety. The main problems are mouth breathing and over breathing. Humans are supposed to breathe through our noses at all times. Even during hard exercise. The main problem with over breathing is that it the amount of oxygen we are able to utilize is related to carbon dioxide levels. When we over breathe we get rid of too much carbon dioxide.

 

It is complicated and there is a lot more to it so below I linked a page where someone goes over the main points that are important.

https://jackedathlete.com/10-takeaways-the-oxygen-advantage/

 

Just from my short time experimenting I can say nose breathing and trying the breathing exercises in Oxygen Advantage have been game changers.

I feel like my workout are getting better and better.

 

Also I’ve noticed anxiety is really tied to breathing. I don’t want to oversimplify but I think that all chronic anxiety is just a breathing dysfunction that can be solved through learning to breath properly.

 

Would love to hear if anyone has read these books and tried out the exercises and concepts. If not I highly recommend reading them.

[Phil]

Haven’t read those particular books but 100% yes. Breathing from the stomach (& nose) was a game changer 

[Mandy]

Thanks for sharing, this peaked my interest. How do you only breathe through your nose during hard exercise? I started breathing through my nose while running and noticed no difference, but doing HIIT I'm definitely breathing through my mouth a lot. 😆

[Kevin]

On 12/4/2022 at 2:54 PM, Mandy said:

Thanks for sharing, this peaked my interest. How do you only breathe through your nose during hard exercise? I started breathing through my nose while running and noticed no difference, but doing HIIT I'm definitely breathing through my mouth a lot. 😆

So breathing through your nose will most likely be uncomfortable at first. This is because we are out of practice. The nasal passages will shrink and close up if we mouth breathe too much. So it’s really a process of training your body to revert back to how it naturally is.
 

There are hunter gatherer tribes today that still hunt by chasing down their prey on foot for hours and sometimes days until the animal is exhausted. They all nose breath.

 

There is an Olympic runner named Sanya Richards-Ross who competes in the 400m event. She won 4 gold medals and she talks about how she would nose breath during events.

 

https://medium.com/runners-life/research-confirms-the-secret-ingredient-to-athletic-performance-9db76bc70814

That article is a good summary of all of this. I’m not the best at explaining it.

 

Speaking from personal experience I’ve been practicing only nose breathing for just under a month and it’s been a game changer. I discovered this stuff because I noticed my breath was holding me back in jiu jitsu. I would mouth breathe at every class and I noticed that was causing a lot of anxiety as well as reduced performance. At first when I started nose breathing I felt like I was mildly suffocating but I stuck with it and it’s been getting a lot easier. I can run for a long time on the treadmill at 5 speed and only nose breath. And in jiu jitsu I can wrestle four 6 minute rounds with a minute rest in between and almost the whole time I’m nose breathing. And I feel less tired after my workouts and the anxiety after jiu jitsu went away almost completely. So you definitely can get to a point where nose breathing during high intensity exercise is comfortable but it might take weeks or months. I’ve got a ways to go but it already feels way better for me.

 

I definitely recommend looking into this stuff. everyone talks about diet and exercise being super important for well-being but I think breathing properly should be up there as well.

 

[Mandy]

@Kevin Thanks, that is awesome! I'm definitely intrigued. It's a good excuse to bring more breath awareness into my workouts. I used to do a lot more yoga and running which is really easy or second nature to have great breath awareness with, but recently am doing more strength and HIIT workouts, and that seems to be the piece I'm missing.  

[Kevin]

4 hours ago, Mandy said:

@Kevin Thanks, that is awesome! I'm definitely intrigued. It's a good excuse to bring more breath awareness into my workouts. I used to do a lot more yoga and running which is really easy or second nature to have great breath awareness with, but recently am doing more strength and HIIT workouts, and that seems to be the piece I'm missing.  

Definitely let me know how it works out for you.

[Loop]

On 11/24/2022 at 2:47 PM, Kevin said:

I don’t want to oversimplify but I think that all chronic anxiety is just a breathing dysfunction that can be solved through learning to breathe properly.

When emotions are released breathing gets more stable,

When the Breath is dropped into emotions start to be released. 
 

The roots of healing found in both ways together. 
 

Training/ practicing is just unveiling the already Flow that is there, the breath gets ‘restricted’ from mind & body being de-synched. Conscious Breathing brings about natural healing ability. Focusing on the origin point of breathing in the centre and channeling through the nose seems to be the path of least resistance for returning to the Flow. 

Breathing is always there,

Untangling is constant.

 

Awesome thread 🥰
 

[Kevin]

9 hours ago, Loop said:

When emotions are released breathing gets more stable,

When the Breath is dropped into emotions start to be released. 
 

The roots of healing found in both ways together. 
 

Training/ practicing is just unveiling the already Flow that is there, the breath gets ‘restricted’ from mind & body being de-synched. Conscious Breathing brings about natural healing ability. Focusing on the origin point of breathing in the centre and channeling through the nose seems to be the path of least resistance for returning to the Flow. 

Breathing is always there,

Untangling is constant.

 

Awesome thread 🥰
 

Do you mean you can approach healing through examining emotions or by breathing properly?

[Loop]

@Kevin

 

Essentially yep, top-down & bottom-up approach. Top down is alinement of what you are thinking with how you are feeling, emotional investigation, reaching for better feeling thoughts. Bottom-up is working on the bodies alinement with the Earth on physical level, so things like working on your breathing, relaxing into a stable posture, surrendering to the Natural Flow of how the body wants to be. Both are really two ends of the same Process. 
 

[Kevin]

16 hours ago, Loop said:

@Kevin

 

Essentially yep, top-down & bottom-up approach. Top down is alinement of what you are thinking with how you are feeling, emotional investigation, reaching for better feeling thoughts. Bottom-up is working on the bodies alinement with the Earth on physical level, so things like working on your breathing, relaxing into a stable posture, surrendering to the Natural Flow of how the body wants to be. Both are really two ends of the same Process. 
 

Nice that resonates with me.