Boost Your Co2 Tolerance And Lung Capacity

This session is all about increasing our Co2 tolerance and boosting lung capacity. When the Co2 tolerance is high, we are able to breathe less, slower and calmer, perform better and be more stress resilient. All and all, it's a great measurement of how healthy our breathing capacity is at the moment. The session consists of breath hold rounds, which will increase in length with each round, mixed with coherent breathing which is, in itself, a very beneficial breathing practice for heart and cognitive health.

Transcript

A warm welcome to this breathwork session where we're going to practice our CO2 tolerance.

My name is Emil and I will be your guide.

CO2 tolerance is very important.

It's basically a measurement how much CO2 the body tolerates.

And if we have a very low CO2 tolerance,

That means that we have to breathe a lot and we spend a lot of energy while doing that.

If we can increase our CO2 tolerance,

That means that body won't react as quick to a high level of CO2.

And thanks to that,

We can breathe slower,

We can breathe less frequent,

And we can also perform better in sports and so on.

We can practice CO2 tolerance by holding our breath,

By letting the CO2 rise within and holding our breath,

Keeping calm,

Telling the body it's okay to not breathe even though the CO2 is way higher than usual.

This is a great way to also become more stress resilient.

So many benefits come with practicing this method.

And we're going to go through a few rounds lying down on the floor.

So while you prepare yourself for that,

I'm going to tell you a little bit more about what we're going to do.

So prepare yourself by finding a good soft place to lie on.

It could be anything from your bed to your yoga mat to couch.

And this session will consist of five rounds.

Each round we will start with balanced breathing,

Breathing in and out for about five seconds.

And then we're going to take a big inhalation,

Holding our breath with filled lungs,

Using the epiglottis in the throat to close the airflow and just simply holding the breath with as little effort as possible.

We can also get some help by establishing a focal point,

Either a mental one or a physical one.

Before we start,

I would just like to say also that if you're pregnant,

Please don't practice breath holds.

And if you know that you have other ailments,

Heart disease or chronic stress syndrome,

Please just go sure you speak to your medical advisor before starting this practice.

So just go sure that you're in a comfortable place.

Take a moment to feel where you're at right now in your body,

Allowing everything that happened throughout the day to just be a part of the past.

We're letting the unfoldment of this present moment to just come into our experience.

By doing so,

We allow whatever tensions that might be in your bodies to just melt away.

And now direct your awareness towards your breath.

Just connect to it.

See how you're breathing right now.

As the breath comes in and out,

Charging you up with new energy,

But also allowing the old to be let go of,

To be recycled.

Feeling the surface beneath you,

Holding you at this moment,

Holding you safely,

Secure.

With ease and comfort,

You're just lying there.

And so we're gently now moving into the first round by following the bells.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Through the nose.

In.

Out.

Just continue to follow the bells.

And fully out.

Without forcing,

Without any excess energy flow.

Beautiful.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Breathing slowly but fully.

No pauses in between the breaths.

We're going to continue to breathe like this for three more minutes.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Staying with the breath.

Two more minutes.

In.

Out.

Perfect wave.

In.

Out.

Last minute.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

And out.

In.

And out.

We're preparing for our first breath hold.

So now we take a big inhale.

And we hold up there with filled lungs.

Aiming for 45 seconds here.

So we're holding the breath with very little effort.

Simply holding.

Relaxing.

Establishing our focal point perhaps in between the eyebrows.

15 more seconds.

Five.

And now exhale.

And we'll go back to balanced breathing.

In and out.

Five seconds.

For one minute.

So.

Start to breathe in.

And out.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

We're preparing for our next breath hold.

So take a deep breath in.

Hold your breath on the top.

We're aiming for one minute,

30 second breath hold here.

So find your focal point.

Relax.

Closing the throat with the epiglottis.

And simply holding with very little effort.

One minute to go.

Beautiful work,

45 seconds.

See if you can relax even further.

Trusting the body.

20 seconds to go.

10.

Now letting go of the breath.

Great job.

We're going to go into the third round.

Balanced breathing for two minutes.

Breathing in.

Breathing out through the nose.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Just follow the bells.

Perfect wave.

In and out.

30 seconds to go.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Deep inhale and hold on the top.

Finding your focal point once again.

Relaxing into stillness.

While holding the breath with very little effort.

Holding this round for two minutes.

Just remember that you can always let go.

Relax into your own body.

Trust also that you have all the energy,

All the oxygen you need right now.

The more we are able to relax both physically and mentally.

The easier it is to hold the breath.

The less energy we spend.

So really,

Really establish that firm connection to your focal point.

One minute has already passed.

See if you can relax even further.

Relax into trusting.

30 seconds to go.

20 seconds.

10.

And now we can let go.

Beautiful work.

Preparing ourselves for the fourth round.

Starting with the balanced breathing again.

Two minutes.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

Relaxing the belly.

Allowing the breath to really go deep.

In.

And out.

No pauses in between.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Staying with the breath for another 40 seconds.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

On your next exhale take a deep breath in and hold once again on the top.

Closing the epiglottis in the throat.

Relaxing into stillness.

Connecting to the focal point.

Just allowing the breath to be on hold for a while.

Aiming for 2 minutes 30 seconds.

Softening.

Relaxing.

Finding that inner will.

We're halfway through.

We're gently telling the body to not breathe.

It's okay for now to not breathe for a little bit.

Overriding the signals that the body gives right now.

With gentle ease.

30 seconds to go.

20.

10.

5.

And relaxing.

Exhaling.

Preparing mentally for the last round.

We're gonna do some balanced breathing.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

In.

We're gonna do 3 minutes of balanced breathing in and out through the nose.

In.

Out.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

Staying with the breath.

In.

1 minute to go.

In.

And out.

In.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

On your next inhalation take a deep,

Deep breath in and hold.

Finding for the last round your focal point.

Relaxing even further into stillness.

Finding that inner willpower.

You can do this.

We're aiming for 4 minutes this time.

If you feel that your diaphragm starts to move.

While holding the breath.

See if you can relax.

Just allow it to move a little bit before you exhale.

1 minute has already passed.

All tension is just melting away.

We're safely held by the surface of the planet.

Allowing us to go deeper.

1 minute 30.

Letting the focal point be the anchor.

Relaxing.

Letting the focal point be the anchor.

We're over 2 minutes.

2 minutes and 20 seconds.

2 minutes 40 seconds.

You're doing great.

Just tell yourself that you're capable.

That you're able to do this.

As we're now approaching 3 minutes.

3 minutes 10 seconds.

3 minutes 20.

3 minutes 20.

3 minutes 30.

3 minutes 40.

Amazing job.

Just keep on holding.

You can do it.

3 minutes 50.

Last 10 seconds.

5,

4,

3,

2,

1.

Beautiful work.

We're going to finish this session with balanced breathing for 1 minute.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

In.

And out.

We're going to do this for 1 minute.

Just to rebalance our system.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Out.

In.

And out.

Just releasing all control.

Let the body breathe by itself.

I highly recommend staying in relaxation now for about 10-15 minutes.

Just allow the experience to really integrate into every aspect of your being.

Before rushing back.

I hope you enjoyed this session with me.

And I hope to see you soon.

Reviews

You are right, Emil! My holds are lengthening! 🎉🥳

Very grounding; I can feel the effects of these techniques throughout the whole day. I will be going back to hit that 4 minutes mark ;)

Great practice. I had to take a small breath halfway the 4 minutes to continue however.
Ill keep practicing.
Thank you 🌷

Superb! The best Co2 practice ever. My max now is 2 minutes but with asthma and heart disease, that’s not bad. The deep relaxation aspect is extremely supportive. I feel with regular practice this ecercise will help everything. Thank you, Emil! 🙏🏽

Your calm, encouraging words of direction are a perfect match for this challenge. Thank you Emil, this is a practice I will continue consistently.