During this weird Covid time, when most gyms and yoga studios are closed, many people are at a loss: How can I exercise? How can I generate carbon dioxide naturally and effectively?
I want to remind you that walking, jogging, and cross-country skiing are, probably, the most effective physical activities to boost CO2, our vital energy. You don’t even need to combine these workouts with breathing exercises; merely inhaling and exhaling through the nose while moving steadily typically generates a significant CO2 rise, indicated by the increase of Control Pause by 5 seconds or more.
I had not used cross-country skis for years, but this winter, longing for a new workout, I purchased a pair. Skiing, a combination of long cardio combined and fresh air, sun, and other natural elements, typically has a positive effect on respiration, making it lighter. After two or three hours of skiing, I always feel and breathe better. And even the next day, my Control Pause is always higher, as well as my energy and enthusiasm for life.
Working with many hyperventilators, especially chronic mouth-breathers, I know that workouts based on nasal breathing can be challenging for some and almost impossible for others. Walking, running, or cross-country skiing can become an adequate exercise for establishing healthy breathing patterns and turning workouts into health improvement tools. As many of you know, when a person breathes through his mouth while exercising, it typically decreases his vital energy and weakens his overall health.
Buteyko workout principles apply to everyone, including athletes who often experience performance limitations imposed by their respiration. For example, a person’s body allows her to run fast for many miles, but she cannot do that because she feels breathless. What happens in this case? She uses her inhaler and pushes herself to inhale and exhale heavily through the mouth: the problem is that it makes her respiration even weaker. Instead, she should choose to strengthen her respiration, making it as strong as her muscles and bones, and even stronger.
The Buteyko Method is instrumental for achieving this goal for athletes, for people experiencing breathing difficulties, especially exercise-induced asthma, or anyone who wishes to improve their health and have fun exercising. More info about Buteyko and Fitness.
