Breathing

Less than a week until Deep Week Thailand — meeting up in Phuket. There’ll be a Junior Group for Eva. The past few weeks I’ve been training breath holds on dry land. You can actually learn to breathe.

Why does it feel like you’re suffocating earlier than you should? It’s not about running out of oxygen — it’s about the buildup of carbon dioxide. That’s what causes the discomfort and the urge to breathe. The first signals kick in around the one-minute mark. Turns out, if you immediately ignore the anxious images in your head, you can hold your breath a little longer. At first it feels strange, like nothing is happening. But once you get the hang of it, it becomes a form of meditation, training the relaxation of mind and body. You disconnect from the spacesuit from the inside.

For expanding your consciousness I recommend “Breath” by James Nestor. Easy to read, he tries everything himself, and the information is fascinating. For example, for blood to release oxygen, there must be carbon dioxide in it — otherwise gas exchange won’t happen. We “draw out” oxygen by having used it well.

The book also covers Wim Hof — I recommend his videos too. Fluctuations of oxygen and carbon dioxide help flush oxidants from the body. Hyperventilation, meaning lowering carbon dioxide levels, causes changes in perception. I start my meditations with these exercises. Clearing the cobwebs in the process.

What’s the benefit of breath holds? In everyday life we barely breathe: we don’t engage the diaphragm, we don’t breathe with full lungs. Breath holds clean out and strengthen the attic, expand the lungs, and improve oxygen delivery.

A simple exercise: inhale through equal intervals. One slow inhale through the mouth, starting from the belly, with the diaphragm and then full chest. You can start with a minute and repeat several times. Over time you increase the hold intervals and shorten the rest periods.

• James Nestor https://www.litres.ru/author/james-nestor/
• Training with Molchanov https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68vM9t7oc0
• Deep Week Dry Training https://freedivingvisualizations.com/deep-week-thailand-dry-training/
• Wim Hof https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tybOi4hjZFQ
• Deep Week Thailand https://freedivingfamily.com/deep-week-thailand