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gumpi
United Kingdom
546 Posts |
 Posted - May 18 2007 : 02:36:39 AM
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| Does anyone know what the quickest and most effective type of pranayama is for increasing the oxygen content in the blood? And how long the effects would last? |
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Blue Opal
33 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2007 : 06:16:17 AM
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| bhastrika |
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Scott
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2007 : 10:07:38 AM
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| I've found that all types of breath control actually decrease the oxygen content in the blood, but kevala kumbhaka increases it. The lungs don't work so simply, like where if you breathe in more air you'll get more oxygen. It would be good to research physiology and respiration. |
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Nirodha
New Zealand
86 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2007 : 11:59:26 AM
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Hi gumpi,
I'll outline a secular approach that was taught to me by a psychologist when I was dealing with an anxiety disorder: (People experiencing anxiety tend to shallow breathe. Thereby, decreasing the amount of available oxygen in the bloodstream.)
1. Exhale, slowly and deeply, until the lungs are as empty as possible, through the mouth. It's useful if one shapes one's lips as if one were trying to whistle.
2. Inhale, fully and deeply, through the nose, until one has filled the lungs. It's not necessary to hold one's breath or to inhale slowly.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until one has completed 10 repetitions.
4. Please do this once per hour for maximum effect.
The technique is known as super oxygenating, and it works by speeding up the removal of waste gases (carbon dioxide, nitrogen, ammonia, methane, etc.) from the bloodstream. With excess waste gases removed from the blood, this allows more oxygen to be carried by it.
By the way, this technique is commonly used by athletes, soldiers, or anyone else needing a performance boost.
Peace,
Nirodha
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Edited by - Nirodha on May 18 2007 12:04:39 PM |
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Blue Opal
33 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2007 : 2:54:08 PM
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| Wow, this is better than pranayama! |
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Kyman
530 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2007 : 4:00:24 PM
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If you use every muscle you can to do this breath with force of Will, you can tone much of your body.
If you cannot feel the kundalini coil on the spine, doing this particular breathing exercise will help you to. Just be mindful as usual, about the intricate firing patterns of the muscles, the dance between tensed and relaxed states.
Just realize, the entire breath is the result of energy coiling up and down your spine.
In order for the in and out breath to occur, specific nerves spiraling around will tense and relax causing muscles to contort the body.
As you squeeze and tense the stomach muscles, the back is relaxed, causing you to bend in half. When you breath back into the belly it is more relaxed and the muscles in the chest are tensing up.
A breath is really an orchestration, and a good conductor uses the instruments of mind, body, and soul that are available to him. When the symphony begins to play, you'll hear it.
Do you recall what it feels like to jump off of a treadmill?
You want to keep running because specific muscles in the body, specific nerve, have been firing off in the same pattern over and over. CHI FLOW builds more and more, and you just want to AUTO-walk.
Do the same thing with the breath, and you will create a powerful and natural chi flow that comes to breath for you. You begin to feel the breath coursing through your entire body. Just breathing consistently, and use all of your muscles while doing so.
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Edited by - Kyman on May 18 2007 4:05:56 PM |
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Scott
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2007 : 5:50:37 PM
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It should be made very clear that these types of breath control practices are dangerous. Also, like I said before, they won't necessarily increase the oxygenation of your bloodstream or make you healthier. Respiration is kind of counter intuitive. The oxygenation of the cells depends more on the cell, than on how much air you're breathing in. Also, if more oxygen comes in, it doesn't necessarily mean more CO2 comes out.
quote:
The technique is known as super oxygenating, and it works by speeding up the removal of waste gases (carbon dioxide, nitrogen, ammonia, methane, etc.) from the bloodstream. With excess waste gases removed from the blood, this allows more oxygen to be carried by it.
I wish I had a source for this info, but it's from my physiology class and I sold the book back...but the body doesn't get rid of carbon dioxide except through exercise. There are tests you can do where you breathe into a pink liquid (sorry, the name escapes me) to determine the CO2 content of your breath. Hyperventilation doesn't increase the CO2 expelled.
Also, CO2 and oxygen aren't opposites. It's not like if you have more oxygen you'll have less CO2 and vice versa. The way the two work together is that CO2 indicates to the brain that the body needs more oxygen, so it breathes more. If you have too much oxygen, the lungs don't really get rid of that much more CO2 than normal. Exercise is pretty much THE way to lower CO2 levels.
Exposing yourself to more oxygen than usual makes the body used to that environment, so that when you are in a less oxygenated environment, you don't get enough oxygen and you'll feel the need to breathe more and you'll also feel dizzy and kind of nauseous. The way to make sure you're properly oxygenating your cells and getting rid of toxins is to get some light to medium exercise every day.
Like I said before, kevala kumbhaka (effortless pranayama breath holding) oxygenates the blood the best. I'm not sure why it works. It's accomplished not by trying to do anything, but by reaching samadhi through meditation. The body completely relaxes and the breathing ceases (sort of). It's not that the body isn't getting any more oxygen, but it's using all of the oxygen in the residual breath. Even when you expel all of the air from your lungs, you still have residual air.
The next healthiest thing, if you can't achieve kevala kumbhaka, is allowing your breath to be as natural as possible without influencing its pattern or depth. The body knows exactly what it needs to survive, and us interfering with that causes problems.
It's true that you can tone your muscles by breathing forcefully, or breath forcefully by flexing your muscles...but is this healthy? Does it bring about a peaceful mental state, or does it make the mind more coarse? Does it make you feel good, or does it make you light headed and woozy?
Try it out if it seems like it makes sense, but keep your ability to tell a good technique from a bad one. |
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Kyman
530 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2007 : 11:11:56 PM
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"It's true that you can tone your muscles by breathing forcefully, or breath forcefully by flexing your muscles...but is this healthy?"
Don't misconstrue what I am saying.
I think you should breath as naturally as possible without influencing its pattern or depth. The body knows exactly what it needs.
And we should be weary of trying to fall into someone else's breathing pattern. We all have the same model, but we are all approaching it in our own unique way.
Depending on what is happening in your body, you may be doing one kind of breathing over another.
So the best thing to do is know they are normal, are out there, have benefits and drawbacks, but just know them, so the soul can more easily surrender to them when they unfold.
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Scott
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2007 : 11:40:38 PM
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Sounds good, Kyman.
BTW, I didn't mean any offense. |
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Kyman
530 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2007 : 12:36:11 AM
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I'm aware, and likewise.
I think we both agree it is important to convey the power these techniques have, and that any practices you do must be in accordance with your own unique physiological space time, or biological reference point, or where you be on the path to wholeness.
Cheers.
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Edited by - Kyman on May 19 2007 12:37:31 AM |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2007 : 09:44:21 AM
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Most people have blood cells that are stuck together and move in clumps, decreasing their usefulness. It's a result of our modern lifestyle.
This breathing technique has been shown to keep blood platelets from sticking together and thereby increase their ability to oxygenate. From an Anthony Robbins speech:
Inhale for four counts
Hold for eight counts
Exhale for sixteen counts
repeat ten times, twice a day
the problem clears in a couple weeks or less |
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Nirodha
New Zealand
86 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2007 : 11:33:59 AM
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Hi Scott,
The technique I wrote about earlier is not hyperventilation, it's called 'super oxygenating'. And, it's used safely by many people worldwide. If it was harmful the military would not teach it to soldiers, coaches would not teach it to athletes, and psychologists would not teach it to their patients.
However, I'm going to disagree with your book and your assertion. Every time we inhale and exhale we take in O2 and release waste gases. If we didn't we'd have to exercise all the time in order to ventilate waste gases, and avoid a lethal buildup of them, according to your assertions.
Your assertion that the only way to release CO2 is through exercise just doesn't not stand up in light everyday experience and the facts of biology.
Peace,
Nirodha |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2007 : 8:18:15 PM
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Yes your deep breathing technique is quite useful. Probably because it is so easy to get caught up in partial breathing when we are stressed, and it is common for people to be stressed a lot today.
Of course it is an exaggeration that the "only" way to release CO2 is exercise, but daily exercise, especially strenuous or aerobic has magical effects on the body that science doesn't emphasize enough in our health education. Probably because people don't want to hear it.
Not only is there the platelet clumping that I talked about above that impedes oxygenation,
but a lot or research suggests that robust digestion depends on daily exercise of abdominal muscles, which also affects getting rid of toxins.
Then the real selling point is our entire immune system depends on the circulation of the lymphatic system, which has no pump other than during heavier than normal breathing with the abdominal muscles during strenuous exercise. So it is obvious that the body was built for regular strenuous or aerobic exercise for optimal health. But people don't want to hear that, and doctors don't make money from that information. It's easy to prove for yourself.
I think what Scott meant is that CO and CO2 can attach to some blood cells and not let go, and that exercise makes those release so they are available for optimum exchange.
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Kyman
530 Posts |
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riptiz
United Kingdom
741 Posts |
Posted - May 20 2007 : 12:59:28 PM
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Hi Etherfish,
Certainly in my experience ones that take regular exercise have less congested energy systems which is validated for me when I do work on them.Those that are regular with exercise get less effect from energy work and as we all know their immune systems are more effective.
L&L
Dave |
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emc
2072 Posts |
Posted - May 20 2007 : 1:32:34 PM
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A researcher in Sweden, Bo von Schéele, has been working a lot with biofeedback and stressreducing breathing techniques. He measures the CO2 and oxygen in the breath air, the blood pressure and pulse, giving the patient direct feedback via a computor. By watching the graphs at the computor screen, the patient can practice to get down to the most optimal stressreducing and relaxing tempo. A lot of research has shown that maximum oxygen and lowest blood pressure is attained by a tempo of 6 deep breaths (inhale + exhale) per minute. If you get down to at least 10 deep breaths, down to the lower stomach, you will start to see the effect. If you get slower than 5 breaths per minute, the benefits fade out and a slower tempo than 6 is thus not necessary and can be dangerous (actually a sort of hyperventilating, pushing the system).
The parasympathetic nervous system is activated and rebalances a stressed body. I leads to a widening of the blood vessels that lower the blood pressure and opens up the system, redirecting the blood stream, so that the oxygen reaches every cell.
I have tried his biofeedback system and it is marvellous. I thought I had a correct stomach deep breathing (being a trained choir singer and used to exercise) but the direct biofeedback took me to other insights. I did not breath correctly. The difference when I found the pace and correct endstation in my stomach was considerate!
After having read Thich Nhat Hanh, I also understand that at first when you practice breath techniques, the inhale will naturally be shorter than the exhale. The longer you practice, though, the more the inhale and exhale will become equal in length, and that is somehow optimal. Then you are in total balance. According to him you can force this by will, first breathing naturally and count the seconds of the inhale and exhale. Then try to alter one second in every direction and practice until that becomes effortless. Continue until you have reached balance. And it doesn't matter how many years that takes! 
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Edited by - emc on May 20 2007 1:42:50 PM |
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spinal_tap
Indonesia
40 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2009 : 10:15:03 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Kyman
If you use every muscle you can to do this breath with force of Will, you can tone much of your body.
Hi, can you explain how one can attempt to use every muscle to do that breathing? I always do this kind of breathing since I mistook it as a correct way to do pranayama. Now that I know its not pranayama, I will still do it since I love the feeling I get when I'm doing it. The idea of toning my body while doing this breathing is very interesting. please teach me. =) |
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gumpi
United Kingdom
546 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2009 : 11:25:42 AM
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| Sorry but kyman seems to have left cyberspace altogether. I was in contact with him via Messenger for a long time and then he abruptly stopped all messenging and writing on the internet. I hope he is ok. |
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spinal_tap
Indonesia
40 Posts |
Posted - Feb 07 2009 : 04:44:04 AM
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Maybe he decided to spend sometime alone to advance his development, I hope he will be back again to teach me about breathing with the force of will.  |
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Propundit
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - Feb 16 2009 : 12:52:59 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Scott
...
I wish I had a source for this info, but it's from my physiology class and I sold the book back...but the body doesn't get rid of carbon dioxide except through exercise. There are tests you can do where you breathe into a pink liquid (sorry, the name escapes me) to determine the CO2 content of your breath. Hyperventilation doesn't increase the CO2 expelled.
...
Scott, hyperventilation does lower CO2 levels in the blood, while possibly increasing oxygen (in fit and healthy individuals, oxygen is normally saturated due to hemoglobin).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperventilation |
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Scott
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - Feb 16 2009 : 5:13:05 PM
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Wikipedia isn't a reputable source of medical information.
However I'll agree that I was wrong in saying, "the body doesn't get rid of carbon dioxide except through exercise". Of course it gets rid of CO2. My point though, was that hyperventilation is not a good way to increase oxygen and decrease CO2. The only decent way to improve gas exchange is regular exercise.
And I'll stand by my point that hyperventilation doesn't increase the CO2 expelled (or at least doesn't do it nearly as well as exercise), because I actually tested it in lab.
Also, I have a new opinion of what the best exercise for increasing oxygen is:
1) Be in the most open position, without any tension, so that the lungs will be the most filled by the breath.
2) Breathe out in a relaxed way so that you can't hear the breath.
3) Then when you've exhaled comfortably without tension, let the body breathe an inhale. Don't influence it at all.
4) Repeat.
I still think kevala kumbhaka is the best, but this works for people who can't get into that state. |
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best pranayama for increased oxygen
