“Inhale fresh, life-giving oxygen… exhale toxic, dead carbon dioxide,” said my yoga teacher. I’ve heard some variation of this hundreds of times in classes. Oxygen is good, carbon dioxide is bad. In with the good, out with the bad. Right?
As it turns out, this kindergarten understanding of breathing physiology is wrong. Most of us could really benefit from more CO2because it opens up your air passageways, relaxes smooth muscle tissues, and allows for greater absorption of oxygen. Lack of CO2actually leads to a lack of oxygen. Confused yet? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
On this week’s show, we’ll set the record straight and help you understand why slow breathing boosts CO2, and why that’s a good thing.
Listen & Learn:
The CO2paradox: why you need carbon dioxide to actually absorb oxygen
Why 4-6 liters of air per minute is what we need but most people breathe 2x that much
How over-breathing reduces (not increases) oxygen levels
Why over-breathing and mouth breathing is associated with dozens of neurological disorders and diseases
Dr. Artour Rahkimov has been teaching the Buteyko method and breath retraining to thousands of students for more than 17 years. He was trained by Ludmila Buteyko and Dr. Andrey Novoh-zhilov, MD, the Chief Physician of the Buteyko Clinic in Moscow. Dr. Artour trained numerous breathing practitioners in the US, Germany and Denmark.
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