DAY 14
WARM-UP: DIRECTING YOUR BREATH
1.
Sit or lie on your back in a relaxed position. Breathe through the nose. Take three deep breaths. Then allow your breathing to become steady and find its calm, natural rhythm.
2.
Breathe into different parts of the body, two breaths at a time. Start by breathing into the diaphragm. The abdomen rises while breathing in.
3.
Direct the breath into the chest. The chest rises while breathing in.
4.
Then, direct the breath into the sides. Feel your sides expand outward while breathing in.
5.
Send your breath to your upper back area. Feel your back rise while breathing in.
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6.
Repeat the breaths for the first minute. For the next two minutes, let your breathing flow naturally without control. Observe where your breath automatically directs itself.
Safely increasing your breath-hold time is based on learning to recognize the signals your body gives you.
WARM-UP: 30-sec ONE-BREATH BREATH-HOLD
1.
Gently blow air out of the lungs through your mouth.
2.
Using pursed lip breathing, slowly fill your lungs with air.
3.
Hold your breath for 30 seconds.
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4.
Empty your lungs and immediately fill them again using pursed lip breathing.
5.
Do many repetitions as you can. The number of repetitions is increased as you continue to follow the exercise program and your body adapts to increased carbon dioxide levels.
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The number of repetitions increases quickly with practice as your body adapts to higher carbon dioxide levels.
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The sensations caused by breath-holding change gradually. These sensations are individual but follow the same pattern and become stronger as breath-hold time increases.
BREATH-HOLD EXERCISE
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1.
Lie on your back. You can keep your legs bent to help keep your abdominal area more relaxed.
2.
Close your eyes and breathe calmly with your diaphragm for 30 seconds. When you hear the signal, fill your lungs.
3.
Follow the breath-hold and breathing intervals according to the video instructions.
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The longest breath-hold in this exercise is 60 seconds. You can always start breathing earlier and extend your breathing time if needed.
6.
On the final round, you can hold your breath a little longer and observe whether the sensation intensifies or if a new sensation appears. If you wish, you can check how long you held your breath and write down your result.
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If you feel tightness in the area of the suprasternal notch, it is often due to a tight diaphragm.
The urge to swallow may be caused by tension in the neck and head area.
Elevated carbon dioxide is most commonly felt as a burning sensation in the front of the chest, and as the diaphragm contracts, distinct sensations can also be felt in the diaphragm itself.
Holding your breath feels more natural in water than on the surface.
The body relaxes more easily, and the sensations caused by breath-holding feel more intuitive.
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If you want to dive in water, you can start by practicing the pool exercises in the book or enroll directly in a course.