The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healthier, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You

by Patrick McKeown

The problem is not a lack of oxygen in the blood, but that not enough oxygen is being released from the blood to tissues and organs, including the brain, resulting in feelings of lethargy and exhaustion. This happens because too much carbon dioxide has been expelled from the body.

until the first definite desire to breathe. Holding the breath until you feel the first natural desire to breathe provides useful information on how soon the first sensations of breathlessness take place and is a very useful tool for the evaluation of breathlessness.

The breath is taken after a gentle exhalation.

BOLT involves holding your breath only until you feel the first involuntary movements of your breathing muscles. If you need to take a big breath at the end of the breath hold, then you have held your breath for too long.

The most accurate BOLT score is taken first thing after waking. This BOLT measurement is more accurate because you cannot influence your breathing during sleep, and therefore an early morning score will be based on your breathing volume as naturally set by your respiratory center.

On the following page is one of the exercises that I taught to participants in the study. (Please do not practice this exercise if your BOLT score is less than 10 seconds, or if you have high blood pressure or other cardiovascular issues, diabetes, or pregnancy, or have any other serious health concerns.) Like all breathing exercises, the Nose Unblocking Exercise should not be practiced right after eating.

You may have noticed that while we attempt to reset breathing volume toward normal, there is no suggestion of changing the number of breaths per minute, or to time the length of each breath. This is deliberate—using time to measure the size of a breath is a fundamental error. Modern

There is only one way to change your breathing volume and rate, and that is by slowing down and diminishing the size of each breath in order to create a shortage of air.