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Title: CapnoBreath Training
Date: 02/08/2008
CapnoBreath Training
Peter M. Litchfield, Ph.D. in California Biofeedback. Vol. 21, No. 3 (Fall 2005)
Good respiration requires neither relaxation nor a specific mechanical prescription, save one:
“The varied melodies of breathing mechanics must ultimately play the music of balanced chemistry.”
Although nearly everyone agrees that good respiration is basic to healthy physiology and psychology, only a
very few people who do breathing training know much about respiration and how its chemistry regulates
fundamental physiology critical to good health and optimal performance. Deregulated respiratory chemistry
is commonplace, and may have profound immediate and long-term effects that trigger, exacerbate, and/or
cause a wide variety of serious emotional, perceptual, cognitive, attention, behavioral, and physical deficits in
health and performance. Breathing evaluation and training, without regard to chemistry, leave out perhaps
the most fundamental, practical, and profound factors that account for (1) the far-reaching effects of
deregulated breathing, as well as for (2) the surprising benefits of proper breathing re-education.
Breathing is a behavior, and as a behavior it meets multiple objectives, including, among others:
respiration
acid-base balance
prophylactic intervention
communication
relaxation
performance enhancement
psychological access
flight-fight preparation
consciousness exploration
meditation.
The fundamental of these, however, are acid-base balance and respiration (also itself, regulated by shifts in
acid-base balance). CapnoBreath Training is about serving these two inextricably associated objectives,
while setting the stage for the others.
THE HENDERSON AND HENDERSON-HASSELBACH EQUATIONS
Breathing chemistry is about carbon dioxide (CO2) regulation. Carbon dioxide plays a critical role in acidbase
physiology, where contained therein are the principles of oxygen transport and distribution. The
Henderson equation, known to virtually everyone who has studied acid-base, renal, and pulmonary
physiology, tells us that hydrogen ion concentration, [H+], in extracellular fluids (plasma, cerebrospinal,
lymph, and interstitial) is regulated by the relationship between partial pressure arterial carbon dioxide,
PaCO2, regulated by breath, and bicarbonate concentration, [HCO3
?], regulated by the kidneys: [H+] = K x
PaCO2 ? [HCO3
?], where K is the dissociative constant of carbonic acid (H2CO3). In other words, acid-base
physiology is regulated by changes in the relative contributions of pulmonary and renal physiologies: [H+] =
lungs ? kidneys. These contributions shift so as to maintain healthy fluid pH levels, e.g., 7.4 in plasma.
Changing the numerator of the Henderson equation may result in respiratory acidosis/alkalosis, whereas
changing the denominator may result in metabolic acidosis/alkalosis. When either the numerator or
denominator changes, there is a corresponding compensatory change in the other, although this
compensation is always incomplete, and can result in serious side effects unrecognized by practitioners
everywhere. The Henderson-Hasselbach equation, which was developed later, states the same relationship
in terms of pH, which is the negative logarithm of [H+],: pH = pK + log [HCO3
?], where pK is the negative
logarithm of the dissociation constant (for H2CO3), or in essence pH = kidneys ? lungs
The clinical physiology literature describes how disease, dysfunction, and deficit impact the Henderson
equation, along with the consequences of disturbed acid-base balance and the price for its partial
compensation. The origins of acid-base disturbances in this literature are addressed exclusively from a
medical perspective, where only minimal lip service, at best, is paid to the behavioral contributions which
continuously, immediately, and significantly regulate the numerator of the Henderson acid-base balance
equation.
Breathing is behavior, and like any other behavior, it is regulated in varying degrees by learning, and thus by
motivation, emotion, cognition, perception, and memory. Integrating learning with this physiology means that
the Henderson equation can be expressed in yet another way: [H+] = breathing behavior ? kidney physiology,
OR interestingly perhaps, acid-base regulation = psychology ? physiology. Changes in acid-base physiology
regulate not only our physiology, but also our psychology, e.g., emotions, cognition, and even personality.
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Breathing mediated neurophysiological pH regulation, for example, suggests that breathing may play an
important role in the titration of subtle shifts in states of consciousness that mediate changes in cognitive,
emotional, and behavioral patterns and hierarchies. It is surely an understatement to say that this profound
relationship between behavior and physiology has been overlooked by both medical science and behavioral
science practitioners. Even biofeedback and neurofeedback practitioners, who are trained in applied
psychophysiology, are rarely familiar with this physiology and its far-reaching implications, e.g., how
breathing mediates symptoms, deficits, and homeostatic deregulation resulting from stress.
HYPOCAPNIA AND ITS EFFECTS
Although CO2 is, of course, excreted in the exhale, a significant portion of it is retained in the blood where it
regulates pH levels vital to the distribution of oxygen and glucose to tissues such as the brain. In fact, while
at rest, only about 12 to 14 percent of the CO2 that travels in blood through the capillary bed of the lungs is
actually excreted. In a healthy person, arterial CO2 is precisely maintained (40 mmHg), even during exercise
when CO2 production may increase by tenfold.
Deregulated CO2 chemistry results from either underbreathing or overbreathing. Underbreathing behavior,
contrary to popular opinion, is rare in healthy people; it results in respiratory acidosis, which precipitates
obvious, immediate, and uncomfortable sensations which in most cases are easily overcome by more rapid
and/or deeper breathing. Overbreathing behavior, on the other hand, is common; it precipitates respiratory
alkalosis (increased pH) brought about by a deficiency in extracellular fluid carbon dioxide (e.g., blood
plasma), a physiological condition known as hypocapnia (CO2 deficit). The effects can be insidious and
dramatic.
Hypocapnia leads to physiological changes such as hypoxia (oxygen deficit), hemoglobin alterations
(effecting release of oxygen and nitric oxide), cerebral vasoconstriction, coronary constriction, cerebral
glucose deficit, ischemia (localized anemia), buffer depletion (bicarbonates and phosphates), bronchial
constriction, gut constriction, neuronal excitability (sodium shifts), magnesium-calcium imbalance,
hypokalemia (plasma potassium deficit), hyponatremia (plasma sodium deficiency), antioxidant depletion,
platelet aggregation, and muscle fatigue, spasm (tetany), weakness, and pain.
These disturbances in physiology can trigger and exacerbate health-related complaints of all kinds, as well
as deficits in physical performance (e.g., sports), including: phobias, migraine phenomena, hypertension,
attention disorder, asthma attacks, angina attacks, heart attacks, cardiac arrhythmias, thrombosis (blood
clotting) panic attacks, hypoglycemia, epileptic seizures, altitude sickness, sexual dysfunction, sleep
disturbances (apnea), allergy, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), repetitive strain injury (RSI), and chronic
fatigue. The symptoms precipitated by overbreathing are dependent upon individual differences, including
physiological propensities, physical compromise, health status, and psychological history. Overbreathing
may also, of course, constitute a compensatory response to metabolic acidosis, e.g., ketoacidosis, by
increasing pH.
The potentially debilitating combination of cerebral hypoxia and cerebral hypoglycemia, along with
hemoglobin that is disinclined to give up its oxygen and the nitric oxide required for vasodilation, can result in
profound psychological and behavioral changes: (1) deficits in ability to attend, focus, concentrate, imagine,
rehearse the details of an action, engage in complex tasks, perform perceptual motor-skills (e.g., piloting
vehicles), parallel-process information, problem solve, access relevant memory (e.g., test performance),
think, and communicate effectively (e.g., public speaking); (2) emotional reactivity (e.g., marital conflict) that
may trigger or exacerbate debilitating stressful states of consciousness, including, apprehension, anxiety,
anger, frustration, fear, panic, vulnerability, and low self-esteem; and (3) personality shifts or dissociative
states that result in social disconnectedness, emotional withdrawal, defensive posturing, emotional
numbness, and inability to be present. How many neurofeedback practitioners consider the effects of
hypocapnia?
Overbreathing is undoubtedly an insidious and debilitating response to everyday challenges, insidious
because its presence goes unrecognized and its effects unidentified. In fact, surveys suggest that 10
percent or more of the US population suffers from chronic overbreathing and that 60 percent of all
ambulance calls in major US cities are the result of overbreathing (Fried 1999)! For every person who shows
up in emergency, how many more show up in physician’s offices with unexplained symptoms? For every
person who goes to see a physician, how many more simply go to work? And for everyone who reports a
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“medical symptom” how many more suffer with performance deficits? Overbreathing is a behavior that
precipitates changes in chemistry that can mediate these “unexplained symptoms,” misunderstood
performance deficits, and acute and chronic “effects of stress.” The resulting effects of hypocapnia are
profound and deserve full attention by virtually anyone doing breathing training.
THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING THE PHYSIOLOGY “RIGHT”
Faulty assumptions and understandings about respiratory physiology are implicit in breathing training
practices everywhere, which unfortunately, in many cases, may actually lead to counterproductive practice.
Teaching good respiration through insistence on the mechanics associated with relaxation, for example, may
create a problem rather than offer a solution; good respiration should not depend on being relaxed. And,
teaching deep breathing for relaxation can, as a result of CO2 deficit, trigger emotions, cognitive deficits, and
misinterpreted physical effects. Breathing objectives, such as relaxation, must be ultimately subordinated to
good respiration, and not the reverse as some would have it. Evaluating, monitoring, and teaching good
chemistry through breathing deserve serious attention by virtually anyone, layperson or professional,
involved in learning and/or teaching breathing. How many biofeedback practitioners are doing so?
Breathing training should not simply statistically favor good respiration, where the mechanisms responsible
for positive outcomes are (1) only implicit in the training methodology, (2) unknown by both practitioner and
client, and (3) often dismissed as not important in the name of “what we do works and that’s what counts.”
Emphasis on slow breathing rather than on deregulated chemistry, for example, may statistically favor
improvement of respiration, however it is easy to overbreathe while breathing slowly and does not by itself
constitute better chemistry. It is important to know the underlying physiology that accounts for the positive
outcomes of one’s educational and therapeutic efforts, to make the implicit explicit, wherein relevant
mechanisms are addressed directly rather than incidentally. And, in fact, as described earlier, some of these
mechanisms are well documented in the fields of pulmonary and acid-base physiology, where focusing
directly on chemistry and the basic mechanics that serve it, point the way to far greater efficacy, not to
mention credibility.
Making the implicit explicit provides for direct focus on the variables that count, the ones that provide for the
efficacy, including the kinds of clients that can be helped, the degree to which clients are helped, and the
speed and cost of doing so. It also means (1) helping practitioners to evolve their interventions based on
facts, rather than on tradition or professional rumors, (2) avoiding mixing effective factors with irrelevant
ones, that take time, cost money, and side-track progress, (3) avoiding unwitting introduction of
counterproductive elements of training, such as deep breathing, (4) avoiding faulty assumptions and
misconceptions about what is required for healthy breathing, such as the suppositions by many that
relaxation and slow breathing are necessarily prerequisite to good respiration, and (5) providing high impact
patient education, where both the perceived efficacy and credibility of breathing self-regulation are
enhanced.
GOOD CHEMISTRY TRAINING IS IMPLICITLY EMBEDDED
The relevance of breathing and acid-base physiology is illustrated below, as an example of how CO2 and its
regulation is implicitly embedded in breathing training traditions everywhere, in this case diaphragmatic
breathing training for people who suffer with asthma.
(1) Fact: Increasing airway resistance, reducing lung compliance, and increasing bronchial constriction make
it more difficult to breathe.
(2) Fact: Increasing airway resistance, reducing lung compliance, and increasing bronchial constriction
increase the likelihood of asthma symptoms and attack.
(3) Fact: Lowering CO2 levels in airways (local hypocapnia), through overbreathing, increases airway
resistance, reduces lung compliance, and the likelihood of bronchial constriction.
(4) Fact: Making it more difficult to breathe, increases the effortfulness of breathing, and may introduce a
sense of not being able to get one’s breath, worry about breathing, and intentional efforts to get more air.
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(5) Fact: Effortful breathing, “trying to get one’s breath,” increases the likelihood of overbreathing, which
lowers CO2 levels and results in increased airway resistance, reduced lung compliance, and increased
bronchial constriction. These effects, as stated above, may then lead to greater difficulty in breathing and an
increased likelihood of an asthma symptoms and attack.
(6) Fact: These factors described above, taken together, provide the ideal circumstances for vicious circle
learning described in classical learning theory, involving both Pavlovian (emotional responses) and operant
conditioning (breathing behavior) principles.
The vicious circle might go as follows:
(a) Anticipation of difficulty in breathing leads to fear of not getting enough air.
(b) Fear leads to reaching for more air.
(c) Reaching for air leads to overbreathing.
(d) Overbreathing leads to airway (local) hypocapnia.
(e) Airway hypocapnia increases the difficulty in breathing and likelihood of symptoms.
(f) Increased difficulty in breathing increases apprehension, worry, and fear.
(g) Cerebral hypocapnia exacerbates emotionality, and triggers fear, disorientation, and symptoms.
(h) Cerebral hypocapnia results in dissociation, e.g., emergence of defensive (asthma) personality.
(i) Emotionality and defensiveness result in “trying harder,” failure, and sense of helplessness.
(j) Overbreathing sets the stage for the development of learned helplessness.
(k) Secondary gain for overbreathing sets the stage for learning dysfunctional breathing.
(l) Overbreathing generalizes as a coping style and becomes embedded in defensive personality.
(7) Fact: It has been clearly demonstrated that reducing breathing effortfulness through learning good
diaphragmatic breathing helps people with asthma. This is the based on which “incentive spirometry” is
implemented as a behavioral intervention worldwide to help reduce the likelihood of asthma attacks.
Why can incentive spirometers be so helpful? What is the physiology that explains these results?
It is hypothesized by many that the following considerations taken together make asthma
symptoms and attacks less likely:
(1) Diaphragmatic breathing means much more air per breath.
(2) Diaphragmatic breathing means fewer breaths per minute for greater volumes of air.
(3) Diaphragmatic breathing by itself is less effortful than multi accessory muscle (chest) breathing.
(4) Greater use of the diaphragm eliminates the need for using accessory muscles.
(5) Effortless breathing reduces the physical “struggle” associated with “getting one’s breath.”
(6) Effortless breathing reduces fear, anxiety, and worry about breath.
(7) Diaphragmatic breathing results in slower breathing.
(8) Diaphragmatic breathing translates into relaxation, relief, a sense of confidence in breathing.
AND, teaching effortless diaphragmatic breathing may lead to:
(1) self-management of underbreathing,
(2) reduction of autonomic arousal, and
(3) a sense of self-empowerment.
Clearly, in the case of pulmonary pathology, good diaphragmatic breathing may very significantly improve
tidal volume, and be absolutely essential to matching ventilation with perfusion, i.e., to ensuring adequate
ventilation. This is the physiological basis for the benefits of learning through incentive spirometry. Although
this is a significant self-management tool for increasing tidal volume, it says little, if anything, about factors
that set the stage for bronchial constriction, increased airway resistance, reduced lung compliance, and the
onset of asthma symptoms. In accounting for these physical changes, many practitioners point to the
importance of emotional triggers and concomitant autonomic changes as the key factors, and hence to the
importance of learning effortless breathing, relaxation, positive self talk, and physical confidence building.
Simply pointing to autonomic correlates, however, does not directly account for the physiological changes
and symptoms associated with asthma. For example, how does autonomic arousal increase airway
resistance, when, in fact, sympathetic activity actually decreases, not increases, airway resistance? And,
how do slower breathing, decreased fear, and effortless breathing actually reduce the likelihood of asthma
symptoms and attacks? Some of the physiology accounting for these considerations is likely to include: (1)
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reduced airway (local) hypocapnia and its effects on airway resistance, lung compliance, and bronchial
activity, and (2) reduced systemic hypocapnia (e.g., cerebral) and its effects on emotional reactivity and
physical symptoms.
Diaphragmatic breathing is regulated by the brain stem medullary dorsal respiratory group (DRG) in
accordance with the Henderson and Henderson-Hasselbach equations, which includes changes in pH or
[H+], HCO3
? (bicarbonates), and PaCO2 (and other fluid PCO2). Using other breathing accessory muscles,
such as during so-called “chest breathing,” may quickly result in deregulation of this basic brain stem reflex,
and increase the likelihood of deregulated chemistry; in fact, the onset of its effects, overlooked by most,
may even be falsely attributed to both asthma and autonomic arousal. And, of course, breathing training
which decreases the likelihood of hypocapnia, reduces the probability of deregulation. Here is a partial
accounting of such variables:
Factors that trigger hypocapnia Factors leading to hypocapnia prevention
Worry about breathing Breathing self-confidence, trust
Using accessory muscles Diaphragmatic control
Intentional breathing Allowing breathing to happen
Deep breathing Quiet effortless breathing
Rapid breathing Allowing for exhale and its transition
Fear and anxiety Relaxation
Defensiveness Embracement
Negative self-talk Self-affirmations
Misinformation about breathing Education
Secondary responses to physical symptoms Counterconditioning
Variables that decrease the likelihood of hypocapnia are implicitly embedded in effective breathing training
protocols, e.g., incentive spirometry training. Unfortunately, however, behaviors which increase the
likelihood of hypocapnia are also often encouraged by trainers, who unfortunately don’t know about the basic
biochemistry involved. Emphasis on deep diaphragmatic breathing during incentive spirometry training may
result in the self-defeating effects of hypocapnia, whereas emphasis on quiet effortless diaphragmatic
breathing is likely to normalize PCO2 levels.
OVERBREATHING BEHAVIOR
Optimal respiration means regulating chemistry, through proper ventilation of CO2, relaxed or not, such as
during the acrobatics of talking, emotional encounters, and professional challenges. Good breathing
chemistry establishes a system-wide context conducive to optimizing physical and psychological
competence, where chemistry needs to be balanced regardless of what we are doing, thinking, or feeling.
Nevertheless, overbreathing behavior, like any other maladaptive behavior can be quickly and easily learned,
and unfortunately, like so many habits, are often challenging to disengage, manage, modify, or eliminate; the
learning principles, are the same.
Overbreathing can be learned as a defensive response to specific challenges (e.g., performing before an
audience, or confronting a distressed partner), or it can mediate shifts in consciousness that set the stage for
learning constellations of defensive behaviors that serve to protect against trauma, including people, things,
and oneself. The desire or need for “control” is a metaphor frequently embedded in deregulated breathing
behavioral patterns. These defensive behaviors, like many vicious circle behaviors, may come at a high
cost, as described above: physical symptoms, emotional reactivity, cognitive deficits, and performance
decrements with immediate, long-term, and profound effects. Herbert Fensterheim (Timmons & Lay, 1994),
an internationally prominent psychotherapist, points to these considerations in addressing mental health
professionals when he says:
“Given the high frequency of incorrect breathing patterns in the adult population, attention to the symptoms of
hyperventilation [overbreathing] should be a routine part of every psychological evaluation, regardless of the
specific presenting complaints. Faulty breathing patterns affect patients differently. They may be the central
problem, directly bringing on the pathological symptoms; they may magnify, exacerbate, or maintain symptoms
brought on by other causes; or they may be involved in peripheral problems that must be ameliorated before
psychotherapeutic access is gained to the core treatment targets. Their manifestations may be direct and
obvious, as when overbreathing leads to a panic attack, or they may initiate or maintain subtle symptoms that
perpetuate an entire personality disorder. Diagnosis of hyperventilatory [overbreathing] conditions is crucial.”
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Although breathing is subject to the same learning principles as any other behavior, it is a unique behavior in
a number of significant ways, ways which makes its deregulation of very special
concern to practitioners interested in teaching self-regulation for health and performance:
(1) It is a “perpetual” behavior. It does not emerge only at specific times and places. It takes place
virtually all of the time, and when briefly it does not, its absence is still relevant.
(2) It is a behavior that is necessarily woven into virtually every mindful-physiology tapestry. It is an
inevitable part of every behavioral topography. It transitions from one topography into the next, and may
carry with it behaviors, emotions, memories, thoughts, symptoms, senses of self,
personality styles, and physical reactions from the previous topography.
(3) It is serves as a gateway wherein it set stages, creates backdrops of meaning, establishes contexts, and
changes states for management of the mindfulness of physiology.
(4) It is controlled centrally from diverse neurophysiological sites as well as locally by cells and
tissues. Throughout the day it is voluntary and involuntary, conscious and unconscious.
(5) It is critical to basic human functions, including not only acid-base physiology and the delivery
of oxygen and glucose, but is vital to social behaviors such as verbal communication.
(6) Its basic nature is reflexive. Intentional practice can be difficult because you can’t do it for a while, take a
break, and then continue again when you feel more confident. It will happen anyway. You can’t avoid it. It’s
always there. You can’t put it aside if you don’t like it.
CAPNOBREATH TRAINING
CapnoBreath Training (where “capno” means CO2) is about learning and teaching adaptive respiratory
chemistry within a wide range of breathing mechanics. It means precision coordinating of breathing rate and
depth through reflex control of the diaphragm, a brain stem coordinated reflex mechanism which can be
easily deregulated, consciously or unconsciously. CapnoBreath training is about reinstating this reflex
mechanism. It means integrating knowledge of respiratory chemistry with the mechanics of breathing, where
emphasis is on the relationship dynamics of breathing mechanics for achieving good chemistry, rather than
on specific “mechanics” prescriptions (e.g., a specific breathing rate), where the effects of breathing
chemistry are neither accounted for during initial evaluation nor included as a part of self-regulation learning.
Good respiration requires neither relaxation nor a specific mechanical prescription, save one: the varied
melodies of breathing mechanics must ultimately play the music of balanced chemistry.
CapnoBreath training includes exploration, education, play, and training as follows:
(1) exploration: originating and sustaining factors and circumstances;
(2) identification: dysfunctional breathing patterns, when and where;
(3) phenomenology: feelings, memories, thoughts, and sense of self;
(4) knowledge-learning: understanding basic breathing concepts;
(5) sign-learning: recognizing physical, psychological, and behavioral symptoms;
(6) mechanics-learning: play for diaphragmatic, rate, & depth awareness;
(7) visceral-learning: developing an internalized sense of chemistry; and
(8) state-learning: developing a sense of chemistry for consciousness (e.g., emotions).
CapnoBreath training, in the larger context, is about learning “to embrace” (or to engage) a challenge rather
than to “defend from” a challenge. Embracing means “being present,” connecting, and learning, where
defending (or bracing) means armoring, isolating, and disconnecting. Healthy breathing should not be state
or context specific, e.g. during meditation, relaxation, or prophylactic intervention. CapnoBreath training is
about learning to breathe with the whole body; every cell breathes, not just the lungs. Learning good
respiration is learning about what breathing “feels like,” and is ultimately not about what breathing “looks
like.” CapnoBreath training is about learning to breathe inside-out, rather than outside-in.
THE EFFICACY OF CAPNOBREATH TRAINING
Clinicians and researchers everywhere substantiate the “efficacy” of their techniques, protocols,
interventions, training methods, and educational programs based on how they “stack up” based on whether
or not, and to what degree they impact, for example, hypertension. But, what about the efficacy of reducing
hypertension itself on heart attack or stroke? Does reducing hypertension through biofeedback, for example,
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actually reduce the likelihood of a heart attack, or is this just an assumption based on statistics about
hypertension? Few of us ask these questions. We simply assume that biofeedback regulated blood
pressure is synonymous with reducing the likelihood of heart attack or stroke: the link is simply a leap of
faith, not science.
Curiously, on the other hand, although the clinical research literature very clearly, without controversy, and
with exceptionally well documented science, points to the profound effects of hypocapnia, no one talks about
substantiating the efficacy of their interventions, e.g., biofeedback, based on changes in PaCO2 which lie at
the very heart of acid-base physiology and its effects on health and performance! Additionally, and important
to point out, is the fact that breathing regulation is under our immediate and direct control (in healthy people),
and unlike methods contributing to changes in blood pressure physiology, shifts in breathing are not indirect
and do not require life style changes.
Although the importance, relevance, and efficacy of breathing training is indisputably acclaimed and widely
practiced in professional and lay circles worldwide, it is curious, indeed, that the practical relevance and
efficacy of breathing chemistry (CapnoBreath) training, which rests on the firm ground of a vast empirical
science, is so frequently challenged and questioned by these very same practitioners. It is this chemistry
which, in fact, offers up perhaps the most fundamental reason for the efficacy of breathing learning and
training so widely embraced by all.
Making the case for (1) the clinical and educational relevance of the management of hypocapnia, and (2) the
potential effectiveness of clinical and educational interventions for its amelioration, far exceeds making the
case for blood pressure reduction, or most any other behavioral intervention that involves physiological selfregulation
learning. Why is training for good chemistry not widely recognized and practiced by practitioners
everywhere? The answer is simple: this fundamental, highly-documented, non-controversial practical
science has not been adequately and effectively brought to their attention. Now is the time.
Note: When perfusion is greater than ventilation, some of the blood that passes through the pulmonary capillary network
is not ventilated. This means that some of the CO2, which would otherwise diffuse into the alveoli, is returned to the
arterial system. This blood mixes with the blood that has been partially or fully ventilated, with the result that the arterial
PaCO2 is higher than it would be otherwise. This is known as “CO2 retention,” a phenomenon identified with people who
suffer with asthma and other pulmonary disorders. There is, of course, immediate compensation for “CO2 retention,” as
a result of increased ventilatory drive, which restores normal PaCO2 (arterial) levels.
Although PaCO2 levels may be normalized (eucapnia), ETCO2 levels (end-tidal CO2) will be lower, giving the uniformed
observer the false impression of overbreathing and hypocapnia. The readings are lower because of (1) the mixture of
alveolar gases containing different partial pressures of CO2, and (2) the diffusion of proportionately greater amounts of
CO2 in alveoli which are fully ventilated. Thus, although alveolar and end-tidal CO2 are low, PaCO2 may be normal. This
is often the explanation as to why people with asthma “overbreathe:” they have “CO2 retention.” If this is true, of course,
they aren’t really overbreathing: there is no (systemic) hypocapnia. Unfortunately, this “organic variable,” leads many to
precluding further behavioral considerations, when in fact its very presence establishes the basis for learning
dysfunctional breathing: the resulting local airway hypocapnia may produce asthma symptoms, leading to the vicious
circle learning pattern described above, with the consequence of systemic hypocapnia (low PaCO2) and its effects on
emotionality and physical symptoms. Mismatch of ventilation and perfusion does not preclude overbreathing behavior in
people with asthma, but rather serves to set the stage for its acquisition.
REFERENCES
Fried, R. (1999). Breathe well, be well. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
HealthCare Professional Guides (1998). Anatomy and Physiology. Springhouse: Springhouse Corporation.
Laffey, J.G., & Kavanagh, B.P. (2002). Hypocapnia. New England Journal of Medicine, 347(1) 43-53.
Levitzky, M. G., (2003). Pulmonary Physiology. New York: McGraw Hill.
Thomson, W. S. T., Adams, J. F., & Cowan, R. A. (1997) Clinical Acid-Base Balance.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Timmons, B. H., & Ley, R. (editors, 1994). Behavioral and psychological approaches to breathing disorders.
New York: Plenum Press.
Friday, September 11, 2009
ENZYMES DEPEND ON HEALTHY BLOOD LEVELS OF C02 FOR PROPER FUNCTIONING
Date: 02/08/2008
Rapid breathing, sighing, rapid exhalation causes you to loose too much Carbon Dioxide and it is this loss that can make you ill. Carbon dioxide is a cohort of oxygen and without enough you will end up being oxygen deficient as well.
C02 is a regulator of proteins. Every protein in the body has attached to it a group called an amine. Amines are sticky and attached themselves to Carbon dioxide. If there is not enough Carbon Dioxide in the body these amines will instead attach to sugars in the blood stream.
A protein with a sugar attached is toxic and becomes a waste product that needs to be removed from the body.
What is the role of proteins in the body? Each of the thousands of proteins in our body has a different role; they may be hormones, neurotransmitters, enzymes or antibodies. The above are considered structural proteins that build our bodies and keep us healthy.
While there are thousands of enzymes in the body acting as catalysts to make something happen, let`s look at one of these, the digestive enzymes. As we age we seem to be using up our digestive enzymes and as a result of this we are not properly digesting our foods and absorbing the nutrients they have to offer us. Enzymes with a sugar attached to the amine are not functioning as they should. This is a problem in addition to the whole argument of cooked versus raw foods. One has nothing to do with the other, other than exacerbating the problem.
Without adequate levels of C02 due to over-breathing, we will end up eating more, digesting less and progressively absorbing less and less.
I visited China years ago and had the most remarkable eating experience. We were served at least 14 barely braised vegetables each day along with other foods. This visit was a Chi Qong trip where I practiced my breathing from 6 am until midnight each day. I can attest to the above digestive experience of eating good food and breathing properly and consciously all day. I had so little bowel excretion during this time I was amazed. I felt wonderful.
Eat well and breathe properly to have the best of health!
By Rosemary MacGregor RN, MS info@themangotreespa
506 2786 5300
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
Rapid breathing, sighing, rapid exhalation causes you to loose too much Carbon Dioxide and it is this loss that can make you ill. Carbon dioxide is a cohort of oxygen and without enough you will end up being oxygen deficient as well.
C02 is a regulator of proteins. Every protein in the body has attached to it a group called an amine. Amines are sticky and attached themselves to Carbon dioxide. If there is not enough Carbon Dioxide in the body these amines will instead attach to sugars in the blood stream.
A protein with a sugar attached is toxic and becomes a waste product that needs to be removed from the body.
What is the role of proteins in the body? Each of the thousands of proteins in our body has a different role; they may be hormones, neurotransmitters, enzymes or antibodies. The above are considered structural proteins that build our bodies and keep us healthy.
While there are thousands of enzymes in the body acting as catalysts to make something happen, let`s look at one of these, the digestive enzymes. As we age we seem to be using up our digestive enzymes and as a result of this we are not properly digesting our foods and absorbing the nutrients they have to offer us. Enzymes with a sugar attached to the amine are not functioning as they should. This is a problem in addition to the whole argument of cooked versus raw foods. One has nothing to do with the other, other than exacerbating the problem.
Without adequate levels of C02 due to over-breathing, we will end up eating more, digesting less and progressively absorbing less and less.
I visited China years ago and had the most remarkable eating experience. We were served at least 14 barely braised vegetables each day along with other foods. This visit was a Chi Qong trip where I practiced my breathing from 6 am until midnight each day. I can attest to the above digestive experience of eating good food and breathing properly and consciously all day. I had so little bowel excretion during this time I was amazed. I felt wonderful.
Eat well and breathe properly to have the best of health!
By Rosemary MacGregor RN, MS info@themangotreespa
506 2786 5300
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
WHAT IS QIGONG, CHI, QI, KI, PRANA, OR SPIRIT? CAN EAST MEET WEST?
Date: 02/08/2008
WHAT IS QIGONG, CHI, QI, KI, PRANA, OR SPIRIT?
CAN EAST AND WEST REALLY MEET?
It is a well known Chinese saying that "Qigong can cure 100 illnesses".
The Chinese dictionary will define "Qigong" as an ancient Taosist breathing exercise. Qi or chi literally means breath, health, steam, air and weather, the flowing of the unseen life force. For a long time, Chinese medicine has put breathing methodology on a pedestal above all other medical practices. Not only is it a cardinal to diagnosis, it is also essential to well-being.
With little outside influence, it is no wonder that Qigong is well-practiced and prescribed in all Chinese communities throughout Asia. It is both a discipline as well as an energy revitalizer.
To understand more about Qigong and Chi, I , a Stress Management and Biofeedback therapist, invited Master Frank Tu and his wife, Nancy to visit me in Seattle . Frank Tu was at that time the Qigong and Kung Fu master of Taiwan. Tu learned this form of "healing?" from his father who learned it from his father, who learned it from his teachers who learned it from their teachers all the way back to the 4th century B.C. on Mt. Hen in mainland China`s south range. Frank Tu earned the title of "Grand Master?"of Qigong at the very young age of 26 at Uoodong Mountain, the Qigong center of China. He has a master`s degree in Chinese medicine from the China Academy of Medicine.
In Taiwan, Tu`s health center is called the "Everlasting Energy Health Research Center". What is the benefit for his pupils? How about more energy, younger looks, motivation, power and sex drive? With a menu like that, I really wanted to understand the essence of this thing called "Chi", "Qigong", "everlasting energy" or whatever it was. I hoped to invite Tu over, interview him and derive the essence of Qigong. I wanted to bridge the understanding between the Chinese concept of chi and my understanding of breathing.
According to Master Tu, there are three components to Qigong: breathing exercises, concentration, and Tan t.`ien Tan t`ien is a TAOIST term referring to a center of energy approximately two inches below the navel or belly-button. Tan means medicine and t`ien means a "field of cinnabar". This is a TAOIST saying that refers to "energies latent in man". When breathing into this field of cinnabar, man can begin to produce the "elixir of immortality": He can begin to "grow the medicine".
When asked more specifically, "why this area", his answer was predictably "Chinese". I began to see I was going to have problems when he said this was the area of "power generation". I asked him to explain. He said, "notice where you kick from or the area where you contract the most to stand up,"this is the tan t`ien. I could see exactly what he was talking about.
Qigong is the oldest, most prestigious form of Chinese medicine. We don`t totally understand it in the West; yet I think there is a craving for this understanding. The concepts of Qigong or Chigong may represent an analogy in the hungering Western soul for "spirit". Part of the problem could be due to differences in language, concepts, upbringing and orientation. Perhaps this is why Chinese medicine and why are Chinese medical techniques to difficult to understand? With poetic terms like "field of cinnabar?" it is hard to bridge to our Western scientific thinking. These names or descriptions would seem to belong more to poetry than medicine. We fail to believe or relate to such analogies.
Talking to and understanding the Chinese mind can be difficult. If you ask the Chinese how they learn to write a composition, they will tell you they learn by reading existing composition over and over. Once they learn it, they recite the composition many times. This becomes their background and basis for future writings. One can see this might foster regeneration rather than creativity. In the West, we learn the structure of good composition through the breakdown of grammar and syntax into rules. We begin with a formula and always seem to be seeking ways to "stretch the rules". We are free to create our own story, limited only by a loose structure.
It seems that both the Chinese and Western culture adheres to these same precepts. This is certainly true of Chinese medicine and healing practices. For thousands of years the same stories, methods and practices have been recited over and over and handed down from one generation to the next. For example, if you ask a Chinese "Why do you use the gallbladder of the bear to cure back problems, the antlers of the buck, or the penis of the tiger marinated in whiskey for one year to cure impotency", he will simply agree, tell you that it works and that it is an old remedy used for thousands of years. Our Western mind looks for the science. For acceptance of this as a prescribed medicine, my mind wants to understand that the buck is hunted and killed in a time of stress when the androgen hormones are intensified in the antlers. Immediately, the antlers are cut off, put in some form of alcohol and now we have a tincture full of male hormones. Yes, I can see that. I can?t accept being told it will work as my mind jumps to conclusions instead about placebo.
So, with a brief introduction to the Chinese mind, I will now tell you of my week long encounter with Frank Tu and my efforts to understand Qigong and Chi.
Master Tu summarized his three month training program as follows:
To preserve energy and learn to use energy conservatively, a student learns:
Movement
body, feet, legs and tummy
concentration
Relaxation
thought focusing
pressure point focusing
concentration on the whole line (meridian) of pressure points
focusing on beautiful scenery?.(visualization)
Breathing
nose, inhaling really slowly, long, evenly, softly and naturally
blowing out, five different ways for different ailments
To absorb outside energy and to dispatch it properly requires:
The importance of the specific location of practice
to increase energy: sun, moon, grass, trees, mountains, streams, waterfalls
placing your belief in God so he can help you
Transfer your inner energy to the outside
Transmit this energy to another for health and illness
To be given this most orderly outline of his Qigong teaching seemed a goldmine. Actually, I felt overtones of my own biofeedback practice, stress management, meditation and spiritual practices. Deriving energy from another source sounded like the Chinese practice of Feng Shui, where location of one`s home is paramount to ones well being and longevity. I thought how much more grounded in nature and essence this formula seemed than our own Western habits of rush, rush living.
I was most interested in the breathing techniques used in Qigong as I have understood them to be the basis of this practice. I also study and teach breathing to athletes, mountain climbers and clients who see me for stress management and biofeedback. I asked Frank Tu how breathing came to be of such importance to health. He explained that the Chinese have learned breathing by observing the baby. Babies breathe deeply into their stomachs (when relaxed). During the gestation period, the baby is attached to the mother by the umbilical cord and placenta. At birth this cord is cut. Instead of being nourished by way of the naval connection, the infant gasps for air and is suddenly taking it`s nourishment through the mouth. It is from this observation that the Chinese believe and say we must use the mouth to absorb the energy. The ancient Chinese texts talk of "swallowing the air". According to Tu, one can stave off the appetite and eat less by using the Qigong breathing exercises. My Western mind thinks of swallowing air, filling the stomach and feeling full.
Qigong teaches various breathing exercises. These exercises involve primarily consciousness about breathing and different methods of exhaling. I asked Frank to explain the different methods of exhaling. He mentioned five: a ?Ha? breath, a hissing breath, a whistle-like exhaling, blowing though slightly pursed lips and breathing with a slightly open mouth. Frank explained that each type of breathing could, according to Chinese traditional medicine, cure a particular organ system of the body. In other words, through consciously practicing a particular technique, specific diseases could be cured. "Ha" breathing was for the heart, "hissing" for the lungs, "blowing]" for the kidneys, "whistling" for the liver, and "exhaling" for the pancreas.
Now my curiosity was truly piqued. I asked Frank how exhaling with a "Ha" sound could "cure" heart disease. He began very matter-of-factly saying the "Ha" sound would release the "heat of the heart". Now what was that supposed to mean? The heat of the heart. When I asked for more explanation he seemed puzzled that I should ask, that was his not a sufficient explanation. After all, the Chinese had been teaching this for thousands of years and it was therefore not to be questioned. I persisted, feeling like I was questioning the Gods, or Mother Nature herself. I simply wanted a more scientific explanation for the "Ha" and "heat of the heart". After thinking very carefully, Master Tu said that dogs don`t sweat when they are hot, instead their tongues hang out and they pant, "ha, ha, ha, ha, ha" to release the heat. I thought how brilliant, novel, right-on and simplistic this was.
The "ha" sound was very similar to the sighing behavior one sees in overly stressed individuals and cardiac patients. I thought maybe we Westerners need to do some successive sighs or "ha`s" to release our heat, to let out our steam. One big sigh might not be enough.
Frank Tu went on to describe the kidney patient, or the one who was trained to blow out his air. Frank said this person was "overly cool". Now this was something different. This person is taught to blow through slightly pursed lips. Frank showed me and encouraged me to notice the cool air that came out when I blew the air out through pursed lips, while hot air came out when I did a "ha" breath. He pointed out (before I questioned the rationale) that when we have a cup of hot soup we blow on it to cool it. Furthermore that the blowing breath was taught in the Winter when it is already too cold outside and having too much cold inside us we can blow off this cold air leaving us warm. "Ha" is also taught in the summer to blow off the heat leaving us cool. "Ha" was also the choice for fevers; simply blow off the heat.
My mind was really beginning to enjoy this wonderfully, simplistic logic, obviously based on animal observations. Was there truth to this? I loved how the Chinese logic would have us exorcise a malady by elimination through subtraction, while in the West we would try to exorcise a malady though addition of drugs. They do that too, but we don?t usually take responsibility for our illness and take an active part by changing our behavior.
My physiological mind searches for an explanation to justify all that I have just heard. Blowing through slightly pursed lips causes an increase in partial pressure of oxygen, a slowing of the exhaled air-stream, a subsequent rise in the body?s carbon dioxide level, a shift in the Bohr curve to the left and a subsequent change in respiratory pH. As the inhaled air becomes more acid and as carbon dioxide levels increase in the blood, more oxygen is released from the hemoglobin molecule to be available to the tissues. The change in carbon dioxide would lead to a peripheral, surface, and cerebral vaso-dilatation response. The result of this would be a feeling of warming up as hands, feet and surface blood vessels relaxed, allowing more blood to pass through them. Blowing out in the "Ha" (sighing) fashion would cause a blowing out of excessive carbon dioxide very quickly sending a message to the blood vessels of the hands, feet and skin surface to constrict and thereby cause a feeling of cooling. I was beginning to appreciate that the Chinese could come to the conclusions they had from such wonderful observations of nature.
I eagerly asked Master Tu form more information. He delved into the basis of Chinese medical philosophy. Tu talked of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. He said there were also five metaphysical or physical powers with creative as well as subduing properties. (From my study of martial arts I knew that "subdue" could also mean "neutralize"). Master Tu explained that, in Qigong heart belongs to fire or anger. One must get rid of the hot, angry air and bring in cool air. The result would be a balancing of the yin/yang or neutrality.
Again, I could see the parallel derived on one hand through observation and on the other through "science". Study upon study in the West have shown a direct connection between the hostility/anger factor of the cardiac patient and his inability to free his heart of these most damaging emotions, his need to "open his heart".
Tu then explained, "when hot and dehydrated, don`t drink water, especially cold water. Use the`ha` breath to blow off the heat". He said, this would lead to a natural self-adjustment.
I wondered about this as I had noted the very behavior amongst the porters and Sherpas of Nepal while in transit to altitude. We Westerners had all been advised to drink at least four quarts of water a day to prevent the symptoms of altitude sickness and dehydration (from the over-breathing we were doing). We had been told that quarts of breathing are lost with altitude breathing (hyperventilation). The Sherpas and porters would refuse our offers of nice cool filtered water. Instead they would only drink occasionally and if they did it was always hot tea. I noted that they also breathed differently. They breathed diaphragmatically and through pursed lips making a little whistle with each breath. We were told they refused our water for religious reasons but that does not account for their drinking of hot tea.
Master Tu went on to describe a magnetic air-field that must be respected in learning and practicing breathing exercises. He said that the practitioner must face the sun or a window in absence of the sun. He said, "you must face the light, as the light is further energizing. We draw chi from the sun`s magnetic field."
We sun worshippers would certainly agree to the energizing, nourishing effects of the sun. Those with Seasonal Attitudinal Depression (SAD`s) would also concur with the positive effects of the sun, but never did we think to just face the sun and breathe to become energized. Many do sun worship when home building. The Western exposure is most decidedly a selling point when buying a home. It is not for the purpose of connecting with the heavens or to obtain flow. With the practice of Feng Shui, the Chinese have almost taken this to the sublime. Feng Shui is the artful practice of finding a site with the proper Chi on it to build a house, tomb or city. In the practice two aspects of site are sought after: a site where Chi flows or a site that resonates with Heaven. A proper arrangement of mountains, water and wind can lead to the proper flow of Chi through the land. Heaven is often a resonated in the analog of different shapes of hills. Urban planning Western style seems rather sterile and mainly pragmatic and cost effective.
The Chinese believe a proper balance of Chi in the body places one in harmony with the earth and the universe. Similarly, the proper balance of chi in the living environment places it in harmony with the universe. To the Chinese, longevity, health, wealth, high position and numerous descendants are the goals of their life. They believe these can all be accomplished by the proper balance of chi within one`s living environment and in one`s body.
The Chinese believe "good health follows the proper flow of Chi". So, what exactly is chi? Some describe chi as "matter on the verge of becoming energy, or energy at the point of materializing", or "body electricity", or "vital breath". Some describe chi as proper breathing or air pressure, i.e. the ability to control the process of breathing, to distribute oxygen to all parts of the body, to concentrate and release the power supply at will. We simply do not have a comparable concept in the West, unless of course it is "spirit" and what the Indians call "prana". Chi, spirit and prana all have the components of breath and life. The Chinese say that Chi comes from three sources: our parents at conception, from the air that is breathed and from the food that is ingested. For the most part Western medicine assumes if you are breathing you must be breathing properly. The assumption is, breathing is automatic and we don`t need to worry about it. To be aware of breathing, intentionally practicing proper breathing is very foreign to Western living. "Sprit", another possible interpretation of Chi is considered ?"New Age". Once I was accused by a medical doctor of doing some kind of "spiritual" work with one of my patients, as if it were something bad. Ah, to be "in..spired "by God! Are Westerners so scientific that we have lost all touch with spirit? Are we preoccupied with our affluence, the externals that we have forgotten? The Chinese in believing in the concept of Chi have kept the internal focus. With little affluence, internal survival becomes a focus and Chi can be everything. In the West, while proper breathing is something we are born with, we loose it in our affluence, our conditioning, our stress and our external focus.
The Chinese have long been observers of nature. They have existed through observation of nature and natural systems of operation. Very few have been scientifically educated. Nature was and is the teacher, the teacher in the school of survival. In watching the praying mantis fighting with the grasshopper, it was observed that the praying mantis, although smaller and wary, delivers exacting blows, artfully executed, attacking and retreating at exactly the right moment until the grasshopper dies. From this and other similar observations martial arts came to fruition, imitating the movements of the animals.
As keen observers of animal behavior, controlled breathing was noted in times of extreme physical effort to be of most importance. The animal model was one of efficient movements, proper breathing and concentration of energy. This was later developed into skills such as being able to deliver a deadly punch with a fist while holding a bird?s egg in the hollow of that same lethal punch. Concentration of energy was paramount to such feats. The Chinese learned to breathe deeply, tighten the stomach muscles to unbelievable levels (for visceral protection this was their armor), remain centered and relax with the rest of the body. They claimed breathing training or the practice of chi was the method.
Master Tu has his students begin to learn "everlasting energy" by first getting conscious of air movement. This makes them aware of the power in breathing. He says to "adjust the chi by breathing deep into the abdomen (Most Westerners breathe deeply by lifting the chest), activate the tan t`ien, letting the Chi circulate throughout the entire body without hindrance, making all movements active and alert". Breathing control is the most important aspect of Qigong. The importance of inhaling and exhaling correctly cannot be over-stressed. By breathing deeply into the abdomen, focusing approximately 2 inches below the navel (tan t`ien), the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, telling the brain there is no stress, thereby relaxing the muscles, dilating peripheral, surface and cerebral blood vessels in particular allowing oxygen rich blood to flow (chi) to all parts of the body nourishing the entire being. For Chi to move naturally, correct breathing in vital. With practice one only needs to breathe 4-5 times a minute, instead of the average 15 - 20 times. With correct breathing, harmony can occur between concentration and motion.
Correct breathing is the basis of all exercises recommended in China for longevity, as well as for curing disease. According to the philosopher, Chuang-tzu, men of wisdom draw their breath from deep inside and below, while ordinary men breathe with their larynx alone. The percentage of civilized men who breathe properly is very small. The Chinese in their wisdom of observation of the ways of nature (the Tao) show that physical health and mental well-being depends upon correct breathing. The ability to properly distribute Oxygen to all parts of the body, to control and release this supply of vital energy at will is what the Masters call Chi.
"In the beginning to learn the proper use of breath, one should inhale a breath through the nose. Stop up the nose and mentally count one`s heart beats. The breath should be exhaled through the mouth. In this method of breathing, everyone should make it his aim that his own ears might not hear the sound of either inhalation of exhalation. The rule is to inhale generously and exhale sparingly. One should suspend the feather of a wild goose in front of the nose and mouth that the feather might not stir while the breath is being e expelled should be one`s aim. With gradual practice, One should increase correspondingly the count of the heart beats during which the breath is held. After a very long period of time, one should be able to count a thousand heart beats. When an old man has arrived at that stage, then he will be transformed into a young man , each day adding to the transformation." Pao Po Tzu.
Dr. Ko Hung 470 B.C.
By Rosemary MacGregor RN, MS info@themangotreespa
506 2786 5300
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
Rosemary MacGregor
WHAT IS QIGONG, CHI, QI, KI, PRANA, OR SPIRIT?
CAN EAST AND WEST REALLY MEET?
It is a well known Chinese saying that "Qigong can cure 100 illnesses".
The Chinese dictionary will define "Qigong" as an ancient Taosist breathing exercise. Qi or chi literally means breath, health, steam, air and weather, the flowing of the unseen life force. For a long time, Chinese medicine has put breathing methodology on a pedestal above all other medical practices. Not only is it a cardinal to diagnosis, it is also essential to well-being.
With little outside influence, it is no wonder that Qigong is well-practiced and prescribed in all Chinese communities throughout Asia. It is both a discipline as well as an energy revitalizer.
To understand more about Qigong and Chi, I , a Stress Management and Biofeedback therapist, invited Master Frank Tu and his wife, Nancy to visit me in Seattle . Frank Tu was at that time the Qigong and Kung Fu master of Taiwan. Tu learned this form of "healing?" from his father who learned it from his father, who learned it from his teachers who learned it from their teachers all the way back to the 4th century B.C. on Mt. Hen in mainland China`s south range. Frank Tu earned the title of "Grand Master?"of Qigong at the very young age of 26 at Uoodong Mountain, the Qigong center of China. He has a master`s degree in Chinese medicine from the China Academy of Medicine.
In Taiwan, Tu`s health center is called the "Everlasting Energy Health Research Center". What is the benefit for his pupils? How about more energy, younger looks, motivation, power and sex drive? With a menu like that, I really wanted to understand the essence of this thing called "Chi", "Qigong", "everlasting energy" or whatever it was. I hoped to invite Tu over, interview him and derive the essence of Qigong. I wanted to bridge the understanding between the Chinese concept of chi and my understanding of breathing.
According to Master Tu, there are three components to Qigong: breathing exercises, concentration, and Tan t.`ien Tan t`ien is a TAOIST term referring to a center of energy approximately two inches below the navel or belly-button. Tan means medicine and t`ien means a "field of cinnabar". This is a TAOIST saying that refers to "energies latent in man". When breathing into this field of cinnabar, man can begin to produce the "elixir of immortality": He can begin to "grow the medicine".
When asked more specifically, "why this area", his answer was predictably "Chinese". I began to see I was going to have problems when he said this was the area of "power generation". I asked him to explain. He said, "notice where you kick from or the area where you contract the most to stand up,"this is the tan t`ien. I could see exactly what he was talking about.
Qigong is the oldest, most prestigious form of Chinese medicine. We don`t totally understand it in the West; yet I think there is a craving for this understanding. The concepts of Qigong or Chigong may represent an analogy in the hungering Western soul for "spirit". Part of the problem could be due to differences in language, concepts, upbringing and orientation. Perhaps this is why Chinese medicine and why are Chinese medical techniques to difficult to understand? With poetic terms like "field of cinnabar?" it is hard to bridge to our Western scientific thinking. These names or descriptions would seem to belong more to poetry than medicine. We fail to believe or relate to such analogies.
Talking to and understanding the Chinese mind can be difficult. If you ask the Chinese how they learn to write a composition, they will tell you they learn by reading existing composition over and over. Once they learn it, they recite the composition many times. This becomes their background and basis for future writings. One can see this might foster regeneration rather than creativity. In the West, we learn the structure of good composition through the breakdown of grammar and syntax into rules. We begin with a formula and always seem to be seeking ways to "stretch the rules". We are free to create our own story, limited only by a loose structure.
It seems that both the Chinese and Western culture adheres to these same precepts. This is certainly true of Chinese medicine and healing practices. For thousands of years the same stories, methods and practices have been recited over and over and handed down from one generation to the next. For example, if you ask a Chinese "Why do you use the gallbladder of the bear to cure back problems, the antlers of the buck, or the penis of the tiger marinated in whiskey for one year to cure impotency", he will simply agree, tell you that it works and that it is an old remedy used for thousands of years. Our Western mind looks for the science. For acceptance of this as a prescribed medicine, my mind wants to understand that the buck is hunted and killed in a time of stress when the androgen hormones are intensified in the antlers. Immediately, the antlers are cut off, put in some form of alcohol and now we have a tincture full of male hormones. Yes, I can see that. I can?t accept being told it will work as my mind jumps to conclusions instead about placebo.
So, with a brief introduction to the Chinese mind, I will now tell you of my week long encounter with Frank Tu and my efforts to understand Qigong and Chi.
Master Tu summarized his three month training program as follows:
To preserve energy and learn to use energy conservatively, a student learns:
Movement
body, feet, legs and tummy
concentration
Relaxation
thought focusing
pressure point focusing
concentration on the whole line (meridian) of pressure points
focusing on beautiful scenery?.(visualization)
Breathing
nose, inhaling really slowly, long, evenly, softly and naturally
blowing out, five different ways for different ailments
To absorb outside energy and to dispatch it properly requires:
The importance of the specific location of practice
to increase energy: sun, moon, grass, trees, mountains, streams, waterfalls
placing your belief in God so he can help you
Transfer your inner energy to the outside
Transmit this energy to another for health and illness
To be given this most orderly outline of his Qigong teaching seemed a goldmine. Actually, I felt overtones of my own biofeedback practice, stress management, meditation and spiritual practices. Deriving energy from another source sounded like the Chinese practice of Feng Shui, where location of one`s home is paramount to ones well being and longevity. I thought how much more grounded in nature and essence this formula seemed than our own Western habits of rush, rush living.
I was most interested in the breathing techniques used in Qigong as I have understood them to be the basis of this practice. I also study and teach breathing to athletes, mountain climbers and clients who see me for stress management and biofeedback. I asked Frank Tu how breathing came to be of such importance to health. He explained that the Chinese have learned breathing by observing the baby. Babies breathe deeply into their stomachs (when relaxed). During the gestation period, the baby is attached to the mother by the umbilical cord and placenta. At birth this cord is cut. Instead of being nourished by way of the naval connection, the infant gasps for air and is suddenly taking it`s nourishment through the mouth. It is from this observation that the Chinese believe and say we must use the mouth to absorb the energy. The ancient Chinese texts talk of "swallowing the air". According to Tu, one can stave off the appetite and eat less by using the Qigong breathing exercises. My Western mind thinks of swallowing air, filling the stomach and feeling full.
Qigong teaches various breathing exercises. These exercises involve primarily consciousness about breathing and different methods of exhaling. I asked Frank to explain the different methods of exhaling. He mentioned five: a ?Ha? breath, a hissing breath, a whistle-like exhaling, blowing though slightly pursed lips and breathing with a slightly open mouth. Frank explained that each type of breathing could, according to Chinese traditional medicine, cure a particular organ system of the body. In other words, through consciously practicing a particular technique, specific diseases could be cured. "Ha" breathing was for the heart, "hissing" for the lungs, "blowing]" for the kidneys, "whistling" for the liver, and "exhaling" for the pancreas.
Now my curiosity was truly piqued. I asked Frank how exhaling with a "Ha" sound could "cure" heart disease. He began very matter-of-factly saying the "Ha" sound would release the "heat of the heart". Now what was that supposed to mean? The heat of the heart. When I asked for more explanation he seemed puzzled that I should ask, that was his not a sufficient explanation. After all, the Chinese had been teaching this for thousands of years and it was therefore not to be questioned. I persisted, feeling like I was questioning the Gods, or Mother Nature herself. I simply wanted a more scientific explanation for the "Ha" and "heat of the heart". After thinking very carefully, Master Tu said that dogs don`t sweat when they are hot, instead their tongues hang out and they pant, "ha, ha, ha, ha, ha" to release the heat. I thought how brilliant, novel, right-on and simplistic this was.
The "ha" sound was very similar to the sighing behavior one sees in overly stressed individuals and cardiac patients. I thought maybe we Westerners need to do some successive sighs or "ha`s" to release our heat, to let out our steam. One big sigh might not be enough.
Frank Tu went on to describe the kidney patient, or the one who was trained to blow out his air. Frank said this person was "overly cool". Now this was something different. This person is taught to blow through slightly pursed lips. Frank showed me and encouraged me to notice the cool air that came out when I blew the air out through pursed lips, while hot air came out when I did a "ha" breath. He pointed out (before I questioned the rationale) that when we have a cup of hot soup we blow on it to cool it. Furthermore that the blowing breath was taught in the Winter when it is already too cold outside and having too much cold inside us we can blow off this cold air leaving us warm. "Ha" is also taught in the summer to blow off the heat leaving us cool. "Ha" was also the choice for fevers; simply blow off the heat.
My mind was really beginning to enjoy this wonderfully, simplistic logic, obviously based on animal observations. Was there truth to this? I loved how the Chinese logic would have us exorcise a malady by elimination through subtraction, while in the West we would try to exorcise a malady though addition of drugs. They do that too, but we don?t usually take responsibility for our illness and take an active part by changing our behavior.
My physiological mind searches for an explanation to justify all that I have just heard. Blowing through slightly pursed lips causes an increase in partial pressure of oxygen, a slowing of the exhaled air-stream, a subsequent rise in the body?s carbon dioxide level, a shift in the Bohr curve to the left and a subsequent change in respiratory pH. As the inhaled air becomes more acid and as carbon dioxide levels increase in the blood, more oxygen is released from the hemoglobin molecule to be available to the tissues. The change in carbon dioxide would lead to a peripheral, surface, and cerebral vaso-dilatation response. The result of this would be a feeling of warming up as hands, feet and surface blood vessels relaxed, allowing more blood to pass through them. Blowing out in the "Ha" (sighing) fashion would cause a blowing out of excessive carbon dioxide very quickly sending a message to the blood vessels of the hands, feet and skin surface to constrict and thereby cause a feeling of cooling. I was beginning to appreciate that the Chinese could come to the conclusions they had from such wonderful observations of nature.
I eagerly asked Master Tu form more information. He delved into the basis of Chinese medical philosophy. Tu talked of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. He said there were also five metaphysical or physical powers with creative as well as subduing properties. (From my study of martial arts I knew that "subdue" could also mean "neutralize"). Master Tu explained that, in Qigong heart belongs to fire or anger. One must get rid of the hot, angry air and bring in cool air. The result would be a balancing of the yin/yang or neutrality.
Again, I could see the parallel derived on one hand through observation and on the other through "science". Study upon study in the West have shown a direct connection between the hostility/anger factor of the cardiac patient and his inability to free his heart of these most damaging emotions, his need to "open his heart".
Tu then explained, "when hot and dehydrated, don`t drink water, especially cold water. Use the`ha` breath to blow off the heat". He said, this would lead to a natural self-adjustment.
I wondered about this as I had noted the very behavior amongst the porters and Sherpas of Nepal while in transit to altitude. We Westerners had all been advised to drink at least four quarts of water a day to prevent the symptoms of altitude sickness and dehydration (from the over-breathing we were doing). We had been told that quarts of breathing are lost with altitude breathing (hyperventilation). The Sherpas and porters would refuse our offers of nice cool filtered water. Instead they would only drink occasionally and if they did it was always hot tea. I noted that they also breathed differently. They breathed diaphragmatically and through pursed lips making a little whistle with each breath. We were told they refused our water for religious reasons but that does not account for their drinking of hot tea.
Master Tu went on to describe a magnetic air-field that must be respected in learning and practicing breathing exercises. He said that the practitioner must face the sun or a window in absence of the sun. He said, "you must face the light, as the light is further energizing. We draw chi from the sun`s magnetic field."
We sun worshippers would certainly agree to the energizing, nourishing effects of the sun. Those with Seasonal Attitudinal Depression (SAD`s) would also concur with the positive effects of the sun, but never did we think to just face the sun and breathe to become energized. Many do sun worship when home building. The Western exposure is most decidedly a selling point when buying a home. It is not for the purpose of connecting with the heavens or to obtain flow. With the practice of Feng Shui, the Chinese have almost taken this to the sublime. Feng Shui is the artful practice of finding a site with the proper Chi on it to build a house, tomb or city. In the practice two aspects of site are sought after: a site where Chi flows or a site that resonates with Heaven. A proper arrangement of mountains, water and wind can lead to the proper flow of Chi through the land. Heaven is often a resonated in the analog of different shapes of hills. Urban planning Western style seems rather sterile and mainly pragmatic and cost effective.
The Chinese believe a proper balance of Chi in the body places one in harmony with the earth and the universe. Similarly, the proper balance of chi in the living environment places it in harmony with the universe. To the Chinese, longevity, health, wealth, high position and numerous descendants are the goals of their life. They believe these can all be accomplished by the proper balance of chi within one`s living environment and in one`s body.
The Chinese believe "good health follows the proper flow of Chi". So, what exactly is chi? Some describe chi as "matter on the verge of becoming energy, or energy at the point of materializing", or "body electricity", or "vital breath". Some describe chi as proper breathing or air pressure, i.e. the ability to control the process of breathing, to distribute oxygen to all parts of the body, to concentrate and release the power supply at will. We simply do not have a comparable concept in the West, unless of course it is "spirit" and what the Indians call "prana". Chi, spirit and prana all have the components of breath and life. The Chinese say that Chi comes from three sources: our parents at conception, from the air that is breathed and from the food that is ingested. For the most part Western medicine assumes if you are breathing you must be breathing properly. The assumption is, breathing is automatic and we don`t need to worry about it. To be aware of breathing, intentionally practicing proper breathing is very foreign to Western living. "Sprit", another possible interpretation of Chi is considered ?"New Age". Once I was accused by a medical doctor of doing some kind of "spiritual" work with one of my patients, as if it were something bad. Ah, to be "in..spired "by God! Are Westerners so scientific that we have lost all touch with spirit? Are we preoccupied with our affluence, the externals that we have forgotten? The Chinese in believing in the concept of Chi have kept the internal focus. With little affluence, internal survival becomes a focus and Chi can be everything. In the West, while proper breathing is something we are born with, we loose it in our affluence, our conditioning, our stress and our external focus.
The Chinese have long been observers of nature. They have existed through observation of nature and natural systems of operation. Very few have been scientifically educated. Nature was and is the teacher, the teacher in the school of survival. In watching the praying mantis fighting with the grasshopper, it was observed that the praying mantis, although smaller and wary, delivers exacting blows, artfully executed, attacking and retreating at exactly the right moment until the grasshopper dies. From this and other similar observations martial arts came to fruition, imitating the movements of the animals.
As keen observers of animal behavior, controlled breathing was noted in times of extreme physical effort to be of most importance. The animal model was one of efficient movements, proper breathing and concentration of energy. This was later developed into skills such as being able to deliver a deadly punch with a fist while holding a bird?s egg in the hollow of that same lethal punch. Concentration of energy was paramount to such feats. The Chinese learned to breathe deeply, tighten the stomach muscles to unbelievable levels (for visceral protection this was their armor), remain centered and relax with the rest of the body. They claimed breathing training or the practice of chi was the method.
Master Tu has his students begin to learn "everlasting energy" by first getting conscious of air movement. This makes them aware of the power in breathing. He says to "adjust the chi by breathing deep into the abdomen (Most Westerners breathe deeply by lifting the chest), activate the tan t`ien, letting the Chi circulate throughout the entire body without hindrance, making all movements active and alert". Breathing control is the most important aspect of Qigong. The importance of inhaling and exhaling correctly cannot be over-stressed. By breathing deeply into the abdomen, focusing approximately 2 inches below the navel (tan t`ien), the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, telling the brain there is no stress, thereby relaxing the muscles, dilating peripheral, surface and cerebral blood vessels in particular allowing oxygen rich blood to flow (chi) to all parts of the body nourishing the entire being. For Chi to move naturally, correct breathing in vital. With practice one only needs to breathe 4-5 times a minute, instead of the average 15 - 20 times. With correct breathing, harmony can occur between concentration and motion.
Correct breathing is the basis of all exercises recommended in China for longevity, as well as for curing disease. According to the philosopher, Chuang-tzu, men of wisdom draw their breath from deep inside and below, while ordinary men breathe with their larynx alone. The percentage of civilized men who breathe properly is very small. The Chinese in their wisdom of observation of the ways of nature (the Tao) show that physical health and mental well-being depends upon correct breathing. The ability to properly distribute Oxygen to all parts of the body, to control and release this supply of vital energy at will is what the Masters call Chi.
"In the beginning to learn the proper use of breath, one should inhale a breath through the nose. Stop up the nose and mentally count one`s heart beats. The breath should be exhaled through the mouth. In this method of breathing, everyone should make it his aim that his own ears might not hear the sound of either inhalation of exhalation. The rule is to inhale generously and exhale sparingly. One should suspend the feather of a wild goose in front of the nose and mouth that the feather might not stir while the breath is being e expelled should be one`s aim. With gradual practice, One should increase correspondingly the count of the heart beats during which the breath is held. After a very long period of time, one should be able to count a thousand heart beats. When an old man has arrived at that stage, then he will be transformed into a young man , each day adding to the transformation." Pao Po Tzu.
Dr. Ko Hung 470 B.C.
By Rosemary MacGregor RN, MS info@themangotreespa
506 2786 5300
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
Rosemary MacGregor
Thursday, September 10, 2009
YOUR NUMBER ONE RELAXER- CARBON DIOXIDE Date: 02/08/2008 Carbon dioxide is one the main ways the body relaxes. When blood levels are low as in 20-
Date: 02/08/2008
How might we increase our C02 level and how would we know how much we are retaining.
Carbon dioxide is one the main ways the body relaxes. When blood levels are low as in 20-30 mmHg, you can expect panic or anxiety; 40mmHg is the textbook normal and where you should be and 50-60mmHg might be the Tibetan Lama chanting his sanscrit at the low communal table in the monastery.
Carbon Dioxide is nature`s tranquilizer. What effect does it have on the body? When there is enough in the body, muscles relax. Our skeletal and cardiac blood vessels are muscles and when these relax we will increase our volume of blood flow and thus receive more oxygen to certain body areas. The heart`s blood vessels will relax, giving the heart more blood and oxygen. When C02 levels are low the opposite happens with angina or even a heart attack.
The peripheral blood vessels in the hands and feet will relax and hands will become warm. In my former Biofeedback practice I witnessed hand temperatures between 58 degrees and 97 degrees. The 58 degrees occurred in a diabetic and the 97 in a very, very relaxed person. Biofeedback practitioners consider anything above 94 to indicate a fully relaxed person or one in a parasympathetic relaxed state.
A good healthy level of carbon dioxide in the blood will cause brain blood flow to increase with more oxygen leading to sharper thinking, better memory and creativity. Less oxygen to the brain with over-breathing can mean poor thinking, memory loss, fatigue, problems with eyesight and hearing, depression, headaches, and even a stoke. Those with attention deficit disorder have been shown to cut off blood flow to their pre-frontal cortex when demands are placed on their brains. Mountain climbers who go to altitude when oxygen is already at a deficit, further constrict their brain blood flow by hyperventilating. They are known to make poor decisions, and experience cerebral and pulmonary edema.
Tibetan Lamas who practice Tomo Yoga are known for their ability to enter a cool mountain stream, get their clothes wet and then sit and breathe for several hours drying off their clothes by virtue of their body heat. This happens as they increase blood levels of C02 and dilate their peripheral arteries.
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
How might we increase our C02 level and how would we know how much we are retaining.
Carbon dioxide is one the main ways the body relaxes. When blood levels are low as in 20-30 mmHg, you can expect panic or anxiety; 40mmHg is the textbook normal and where you should be and 50-60mmHg might be the Tibetan Lama chanting his sanscrit at the low communal table in the monastery.
Carbon Dioxide is nature`s tranquilizer. What effect does it have on the body? When there is enough in the body, muscles relax. Our skeletal and cardiac blood vessels are muscles and when these relax we will increase our volume of blood flow and thus receive more oxygen to certain body areas. The heart`s blood vessels will relax, giving the heart more blood and oxygen. When C02 levels are low the opposite happens with angina or even a heart attack.
The peripheral blood vessels in the hands and feet will relax and hands will become warm. In my former Biofeedback practice I witnessed hand temperatures between 58 degrees and 97 degrees. The 58 degrees occurred in a diabetic and the 97 in a very, very relaxed person. Biofeedback practitioners consider anything above 94 to indicate a fully relaxed person or one in a parasympathetic relaxed state.
A good healthy level of carbon dioxide in the blood will cause brain blood flow to increase with more oxygen leading to sharper thinking, better memory and creativity. Less oxygen to the brain with over-breathing can mean poor thinking, memory loss, fatigue, problems with eyesight and hearing, depression, headaches, and even a stoke. Those with attention deficit disorder have been shown to cut off blood flow to their pre-frontal cortex when demands are placed on their brains. Mountain climbers who go to altitude when oxygen is already at a deficit, further constrict their brain blood flow by hyperventilating. They are known to make poor decisions, and experience cerebral and pulmonary edema.
Tibetan Lamas who practice Tomo Yoga are known for their ability to enter a cool mountain stream, get their clothes wet and then sit and breathe for several hours drying off their clothes by virtue of their body heat. This happens as they increase blood levels of C02 and dilate their peripheral arteries.
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
CARBON DIOXIDE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN OXYGEN FOR YOUR BODYS HEALTH
Date: 29/07/2008
Carbon dioxide is just as important for our health as Oxygen and perhaps even more important, because it has to be sufficiently on board in the body before Oxygen will be available. Contrary to what most of us have learned, we exhale to regulate the amount of Carbon Dioxide that is left in our bodies, not to get rid of all our CO2. Most of us breathe too fast and blow off too much carbon dioxide too quickly much of the time. The consequence of this is we end up short of oxygen. The harder we try to breathe to get more oxygen, we actually become more and more oxygen deficient. We become saturated with unavailable oxygen.
What is over-breathing or hyperventilation? Hyperventilation MEANS THAT YOU ARE BLOWING OUT CO2 TOO QUICKLY. It is the extreme chest heaving we might see in very traumatic situations but it is also the person very passively showing no visible signs of breathing poorly. It is a way of life for many. It is simply the excessive exhalation of C02 at a given moment or over time.
How would you know if you are over-breathing? You can only know by measuring C02 level through the use of a capnograph which measures the amount of C02 in your exhalation or end-tidal C02. Is there anyway a lay person can use one of these machines to measure end-tidal C02? Yes, it is possible with the use of a lay-machine that you can connect to your computer. It is possible to measure yourself all day long while working on a project, listening to a lecture, while sleeping, wherever you would feel comfortable doing this. The feedback would be incredible and comparable to a 24 hour heart or blood pressure monitor. This information will tell you what your body is doing breath by breath. This may also explain your many symptoms and offer incredible feedback to analyze and recognize your patterns.
Until you know your C02 level you will not know if you are breathing correctly. Most people are hyperventilating or over-breathing and don?t know it. You have to measure your exhalation to know if you are over-breathing. There is no other way to know.
Visit my website at the link below to learn more about proper breathing and about the Capnotrainer to measure and use to train proper breathing.
By Rosemary MacGregor info@themangotreespa
The Mango Tree SPA
Tres Rios de Coronado (Between Dominical and Palmar Norte)
506 2786 5300
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
Carbon dioxide is just as important for our health as Oxygen and perhaps even more important, because it has to be sufficiently on board in the body before Oxygen will be available. Contrary to what most of us have learned, we exhale to regulate the amount of Carbon Dioxide that is left in our bodies, not to get rid of all our CO2. Most of us breathe too fast and blow off too much carbon dioxide too quickly much of the time. The consequence of this is we end up short of oxygen. The harder we try to breathe to get more oxygen, we actually become more and more oxygen deficient. We become saturated with unavailable oxygen.
What is over-breathing or hyperventilation? Hyperventilation MEANS THAT YOU ARE BLOWING OUT CO2 TOO QUICKLY. It is the extreme chest heaving we might see in very traumatic situations but it is also the person very passively showing no visible signs of breathing poorly. It is a way of life for many. It is simply the excessive exhalation of C02 at a given moment or over time.
How would you know if you are over-breathing? You can only know by measuring C02 level through the use of a capnograph which measures the amount of C02 in your exhalation or end-tidal C02. Is there anyway a lay person can use one of these machines to measure end-tidal C02? Yes, it is possible with the use of a lay-machine that you can connect to your computer. It is possible to measure yourself all day long while working on a project, listening to a lecture, while sleeping, wherever you would feel comfortable doing this. The feedback would be incredible and comparable to a 24 hour heart or blood pressure monitor. This information will tell you what your body is doing breath by breath. This may also explain your many symptoms and offer incredible feedback to analyze and recognize your patterns.
Until you know your C02 level you will not know if you are breathing correctly. Most people are hyperventilating or over-breathing and don?t know it. You have to measure your exhalation to know if you are over-breathing. There is no other way to know.
Visit my website at the link below to learn more about proper breathing and about the Capnotrainer to measure and use to train proper breathing.
By Rosemary MacGregor info@themangotreespa
The Mango Tree SPA
Tres Rios de Coronado (Between Dominical and Palmar Norte)
506 2786 5300
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
PANIC, ANXIETY AND NORMALS ALL SHOW DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CARBON DIOXIDE
Date: 02/08/2008
There may be individual differences in the extent of symptoms associated with one?s anxiety, but one thing is held in common with all anxiety/PANIC patients; They all have lower levels of Carbon Dioxide in their blood. First, I will give the levels and then explain them.
Normals 40mmHg of C02 in PC02 or expired air
Anxiety 30mmHg of C02 in PCO2 or expired air
Panic Patients 20mmHg of C02 in PC02 or expired air
The theoretical Normal person would have a blood level of 40 mmHg of C02 on board at all times. When I say normal I do not mean average; I mean a truly proper healthy breather. They regulate their exhalation unconsciously (usually) to maintain a certain amount of C02 in their blood. Why is this important? Most important about C02 is its ability to relax a person and to relax the blood vessels primarily in the brain, the heart and the periphery. This leads to greater blood flow to these areas and more oxygen.
An anxiety patient will have a blood level of C02 around 30 mmHg leading to cold hands, a heart not receiving sufficient 02 on an on-going basis, and a compromised cerebral cortex, also not receiving enough 0yxgen. The consequences in all three areas can be significant. Those might include: cold hands and feet, Raynaud's Syndrome, head aches, Migraines, memory loss, heart attack, palpitations, or arhythmias.
The Panic patient with a blood level of 20mmHg will definitely feel the effects of a significantly lower level in C02 level. This person will experience many effects, including vaso-constriction and spasm, light-headedness, dizziness, visual disturbances, impaired coronary blood flow, weakness, heart palpitations, chest pains, tension, peripheral tingling and numbness, a full blown stress response, fear of death, restlessness, heightened vigilance, catastrophic thinking and much more.
What kind of breathing is the anxiety or panic person doing? They are hyperventilating or over-breathing. The best definition of hyperventilation I have found is the following: Hyperventilation means you are blowing out C02 too fast. That?s all! By slowing down one?s exhalation the above symptoms can be reversed.
This is not easy for the person with panic or anxiety is used to a lower level of C02 and the feelings associated with a higher level of C02 on board does not feel normal to them. It takes more time to accomplish this shifting, an analysis of one?s emotional response to issues, and then a very conscious effort to change that.
By Rosemary MacGregor RN, MS info@themangotreespa
506 2786 5300
Until you know your C02 level you will not know if you are breathing correctly. Most people are hyperventilating or over-breathing and don?t know it. You have to measure your exhalation to know if you are over-breathing. There is no other way to know.
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
There may be individual differences in the extent of symptoms associated with one?s anxiety, but one thing is held in common with all anxiety/PANIC patients; They all have lower levels of Carbon Dioxide in their blood. First, I will give the levels and then explain them.
Normals 40mmHg of C02 in PC02 or expired air
Anxiety 30mmHg of C02 in PCO2 or expired air
Panic Patients 20mmHg of C02 in PC02 or expired air
The theoretical Normal person would have a blood level of 40 mmHg of C02 on board at all times. When I say normal I do not mean average; I mean a truly proper healthy breather. They regulate their exhalation unconsciously (usually) to maintain a certain amount of C02 in their blood. Why is this important? Most important about C02 is its ability to relax a person and to relax the blood vessels primarily in the brain, the heart and the periphery. This leads to greater blood flow to these areas and more oxygen.
An anxiety patient will have a blood level of C02 around 30 mmHg leading to cold hands, a heart not receiving sufficient 02 on an on-going basis, and a compromised cerebral cortex, also not receiving enough 0yxgen. The consequences in all three areas can be significant. Those might include: cold hands and feet, Raynaud's Syndrome, head aches, Migraines, memory loss, heart attack, palpitations, or arhythmias.
The Panic patient with a blood level of 20mmHg will definitely feel the effects of a significantly lower level in C02 level. This person will experience many effects, including vaso-constriction and spasm, light-headedness, dizziness, visual disturbances, impaired coronary blood flow, weakness, heart palpitations, chest pains, tension, peripheral tingling and numbness, a full blown stress response, fear of death, restlessness, heightened vigilance, catastrophic thinking and much more.
What kind of breathing is the anxiety or panic person doing? They are hyperventilating or over-breathing. The best definition of hyperventilation I have found is the following: Hyperventilation means you are blowing out C02 too fast. That?s all! By slowing down one?s exhalation the above symptoms can be reversed.
This is not easy for the person with panic or anxiety is used to a lower level of C02 and the feelings associated with a higher level of C02 on board does not feel normal to them. It takes more time to accomplish this shifting, an analysis of one?s emotional response to issues, and then a very conscious effort to change that.
By Rosemary MacGregor RN, MS info@themangotreespa
506 2786 5300
Until you know your C02 level you will not know if you are breathing correctly. Most people are hyperventilating or over-breathing and don?t know it. You have to measure your exhalation to know if you are over-breathing. There is no other way to know.
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
BREATHING WITH THE DIAPHRAGM
Date: 29/07/2008
Where is the diaphragm? If you could reach in under your rib cage there is a muscle that stretches from front to back and side to side. In the middle are tubes (the esophagus and blood vessels connecting the upper level of the body to the central part). The diaphragm is like a convex pancake which peaks in the middle. It is the major muscle of breathing.
Are you using your diaphragm to breathe? You can tell by inserting as best you can your fingers in under the rib cage. When you take your next inhalation, do you feel major movement? If not you are probably chest breathing. If you feel movement downward, or see your stomach moving out or down with an inhalation then you are probably using your diaphragm.
Why is this important? It is of major importance. The diaphragm is the bodys muscle of breathing and yet most people are not using it. In fact it is used so little by so many that most people are associating diaphragmatic breathing with relaxation. Instead, it should be used all the time to keep us in a more or less relaxed state. Our performance in this condition would be far superior.
You might think of the diaphragm as hard-wired to the brain. When it is used the movement of the diaphragm sends a message to the brain telling it that all is well and there is no danger out there. On the other hand, when you breathe with the chest muscles, these too are hard-wired to the brain and give feedback via chest expansion letting the brain know there is danger and we need to be on alert and in a stress response. Wow!
This signaling system was developed to alert our bodies to respond appropriately. The only times a stress response (chest breathing) is called for is when we are in danger of being attacked by a wild animal or of being cut, shot or injured. Any other kind of stress would be better handled by diaphragmatic breathing to produce a calmer response to the situation. The chest breathe causes certain blood vessels to constrict and if we are physically cut and injured we may have a little more time to get help before we bleed out. Its pretty simple.
Breathe diaphragmatically all the time (with the exception of the above mentioned situations) to remain calm, stay in good health and be in real control.
By Rosemary MacGregor info@themangotreespa
The Mango Tree SPA
Tres Rios de Coronado (Between Dominical and Palmar Norte)
506 2786 5300
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
Where is the diaphragm? If you could reach in under your rib cage there is a muscle that stretches from front to back and side to side. In the middle are tubes (the esophagus and blood vessels connecting the upper level of the body to the central part). The diaphragm is like a convex pancake which peaks in the middle. It is the major muscle of breathing.
Are you using your diaphragm to breathe? You can tell by inserting as best you can your fingers in under the rib cage. When you take your next inhalation, do you feel major movement? If not you are probably chest breathing. If you feel movement downward, or see your stomach moving out or down with an inhalation then you are probably using your diaphragm.
Why is this important? It is of major importance. The diaphragm is the bodys muscle of breathing and yet most people are not using it. In fact it is used so little by so many that most people are associating diaphragmatic breathing with relaxation. Instead, it should be used all the time to keep us in a more or less relaxed state. Our performance in this condition would be far superior.
You might think of the diaphragm as hard-wired to the brain. When it is used the movement of the diaphragm sends a message to the brain telling it that all is well and there is no danger out there. On the other hand, when you breathe with the chest muscles, these too are hard-wired to the brain and give feedback via chest expansion letting the brain know there is danger and we need to be on alert and in a stress response. Wow!
This signaling system was developed to alert our bodies to respond appropriately. The only times a stress response (chest breathing) is called for is when we are in danger of being attacked by a wild animal or of being cut, shot or injured. Any other kind of stress would be better handled by diaphragmatic breathing to produce a calmer response to the situation. The chest breathe causes certain blood vessels to constrict and if we are physically cut and injured we may have a little more time to get help before we bleed out. Its pretty simple.
Breathe diaphragmatically all the time (with the exception of the above mentioned situations) to remain calm, stay in good health and be in real control.
By Rosemary MacGregor info@themangotreespa
The Mango Tree SPA
Tres Rios de Coronado (Between Dominical and Palmar Norte)
506 2786 5300
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
TROUBLE FALLING ASLEEP AND SLEEP PROBLEMS?
Date: 02/08/2008
What needs to happens to fall asleep? We fall asleep at night when we are relaxed, when our blood CO2 levels increase, and when our brain waves change toward an increase in the production of Alpha and Theta brain waves. In Stage 1 sleep the levels of Alpha decrease as levels of Theta brain waves increase. For those who understand EEGs, there will be bursts of activity at 14hz. This is a sensory motor rhythm. If if does not occur then sleep onset is usually difficult.
In EEG terms, if you dont generate 15-18 hz or sufficient Beta brainwave and stage V sleep, you may have trouble staying asleep. They go through stages I, II, III and then they hang out in Delta, never getting into restorative REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. In stage IV sleep (REM), Theta, Alpha and Beta are all produced with little Delta. This is restorative sleep. Stage III is Delta sleep and is not restorative.
STAGE 1: In this stage the modulatory neurons become less active. On the EEG one will see declining levels of Alpha as Theta levels begin to increase. Awareness drifts and word based thinking ceases. Image based thinking may increase.
STAGE 2: Non-REM sleep deepens in state two. The sensory motor rhythm (14hz) is required to move into this stage.
(People who have difficulty falling asleep need training in SMR or perhaps 21hz.
Without the production of SMR these individuals will toss and turn, engage in mind chatter, have a racing mind and not be able to fall asleep.)
STAGE 3: Onset of REM sleep. Norepinephrine and serotonin are essentially shut down, while acetylcholine neurons are fully active. There is a drop down into Delta. Unless they can continue on into REM sleep they will not feel rested, restored, and instead, will wake feeling tired, groggy, and grumpy. They might just begin dreaming and then wake up into stage-one sleep, only slightly remembering their dreams.
STAGE 4 or REM sleep: This is dreaming sleep, when we are without muscle tone, paralyzed, and EEG is fast and eyes are moving back and forth (REM). When we are learning new things we spend more time in REM sleep. If interrupted, we remember less the next day. Acetylcholine during sleep seems to be the agent of remembering. On the EEG one will see high levels of Alpha, Theta and Beta, but not much Delta. Those who don?t make Beta will have difficulty waking and will feel drugged and need their "caffeine".
Sleep drugs usually have a two week cycle before one becomes sensitized and needs more. Effectiveness of these drugs is usually based on sleep improvement. Questions to ask yourself about sleep are:
Do you fall asleep easily?
How long does it take to fall asleep?
Do you wake frequently and are you able or unable to fall back to sleep?
Do you dream?
Do you remember your dreams?
Do you feel rested after a night's sleep?
Do you feel fatigued and feel like you have to drag yourself out of bed?
Waking frequently in a dream indicates a return to beta during dreaming. This is usually the mother who hears her baby crying, the light-sleeper who reports waking to the slightest noise, movement, provocation, etc. While sometimes necessary, getting out of this habit once beyond the need for it may require some training to break the habit. What is probably taking place here is the lack of periodicity or normal 90 minute cycling through the 4-6 sleep periods during the night. This interferes with the normal restorative process of sleep. Using earplugs, white noise, ocean waves, a fan, air-conditioner can help to break this pattern. One clue to identifying this pattern is a report that they ?always wake-up? at such and such a time?.
One of the most important aspects about falling asleep is blood C02 level. As we rest and relax and arterial C02 increases we get sleepy and that is when we fall asleep.
By Rosemary MacGregor RN, MS info@themangotreespa
506 2786 5300
An elevation in blood CO2 level is important for falling asleep, staying asleep and sleeping well. CO2 is important for relaxation. Visit my website at the link below to learn more about proper breathing and about the capnotrainer to measure and use to train proper breathing.
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
What needs to happens to fall asleep? We fall asleep at night when we are relaxed, when our blood CO2 levels increase, and when our brain waves change toward an increase in the production of Alpha and Theta brain waves. In Stage 1 sleep the levels of Alpha decrease as levels of Theta brain waves increase. For those who understand EEGs, there will be bursts of activity at 14hz. This is a sensory motor rhythm. If if does not occur then sleep onset is usually difficult.
In EEG terms, if you dont generate 15-18 hz or sufficient Beta brainwave and stage V sleep, you may have trouble staying asleep. They go through stages I, II, III and then they hang out in Delta, never getting into restorative REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. In stage IV sleep (REM), Theta, Alpha and Beta are all produced with little Delta. This is restorative sleep. Stage III is Delta sleep and is not restorative.
STAGE 1: In this stage the modulatory neurons become less active. On the EEG one will see declining levels of Alpha as Theta levels begin to increase. Awareness drifts and word based thinking ceases. Image based thinking may increase.
STAGE 2: Non-REM sleep deepens in state two. The sensory motor rhythm (14hz) is required to move into this stage.
(People who have difficulty falling asleep need training in SMR or perhaps 21hz.
Without the production of SMR these individuals will toss and turn, engage in mind chatter, have a racing mind and not be able to fall asleep.)
STAGE 3: Onset of REM sleep. Norepinephrine and serotonin are essentially shut down, while acetylcholine neurons are fully active. There is a drop down into Delta. Unless they can continue on into REM sleep they will not feel rested, restored, and instead, will wake feeling tired, groggy, and grumpy. They might just begin dreaming and then wake up into stage-one sleep, only slightly remembering their dreams.
STAGE 4 or REM sleep: This is dreaming sleep, when we are without muscle tone, paralyzed, and EEG is fast and eyes are moving back and forth (REM). When we are learning new things we spend more time in REM sleep. If interrupted, we remember less the next day. Acetylcholine during sleep seems to be the agent of remembering. On the EEG one will see high levels of Alpha, Theta and Beta, but not much Delta. Those who don?t make Beta will have difficulty waking and will feel drugged and need their "caffeine".
Sleep drugs usually have a two week cycle before one becomes sensitized and needs more. Effectiveness of these drugs is usually based on sleep improvement. Questions to ask yourself about sleep are:
Do you fall asleep easily?
How long does it take to fall asleep?
Do you wake frequently and are you able or unable to fall back to sleep?
Do you dream?
Do you remember your dreams?
Do you feel rested after a night's sleep?
Do you feel fatigued and feel like you have to drag yourself out of bed?
Waking frequently in a dream indicates a return to beta during dreaming. This is usually the mother who hears her baby crying, the light-sleeper who reports waking to the slightest noise, movement, provocation, etc. While sometimes necessary, getting out of this habit once beyond the need for it may require some training to break the habit. What is probably taking place here is the lack of periodicity or normal 90 minute cycling through the 4-6 sleep periods during the night. This interferes with the normal restorative process of sleep. Using earplugs, white noise, ocean waves, a fan, air-conditioner can help to break this pattern. One clue to identifying this pattern is a report that they ?always wake-up? at such and such a time?.
One of the most important aspects about falling asleep is blood C02 level. As we rest and relax and arterial C02 increases we get sleepy and that is when we fall asleep.
By Rosemary MacGregor RN, MS info@themangotreespa
506 2786 5300
An elevation in blood CO2 level is important for falling asleep, staying asleep and sleeping well. CO2 is important for relaxation. Visit my website at the link below to learn more about proper breathing and about the capnotrainer to measure and use to train proper breathing.
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
SOME CONSEQUENCES of HYPERVENTILATION
Date: 02/08/2008
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
Breathing behavior changes all the time, dependent upon emotions, feelings, actions, and thoughts. We do just breathe, but we don't just breathe well automatically. Poor breathing (too rapid exhaling) can easily become learned behavior and a bad habit. This is hyperventilation. You may get used to limping if you have knee pain; you also get used to breathing too rapidly and existing on far lower than optimum levels of both C02 and O2.
Usually because of family stress that exits in all families, most kids are over-breathing at a very young age, often by three years of age and this continues with life's on-going stressors. This accelerated breathing causes us to loose too much carbon dioxide. The ratio that results of too much oxygen being inhaled and too much C02 being exhaled leads to pretty dire consequences.
Thirty seconds of this over-breathing can lead to the brain?s blood vessels constricting up to 60%. Translated, this means that for every mmHG drop in C02 level there will be a 2% loss of blood circulation in the brain. C02 is the most potent vaso-dilating (blood vessel opener) agent known in the human body and is the prime regulator of vascular tone in the cerebral cortex. Temporal vaso-constriction at the cortical level is most vulnerable to hyperventilation. Can you imagine what this may do to you? How about memory loss, loss of focus, distraction, inability to retain information or understand it, or how about hyper-excitability? On a physical level, inability to fall asleep, poor co-ordination, poor performance, fatigue and so on.
* Hyperventilation causes the blood to become alkaline and the blood pH to rise above 7.4. You can become very sick in this condition, from heart disease to having a poor immune response.
* The nervous system becomes hyper-excitable.
* The Sympathetic nervous system is aroused and you will be in a full blown stress response.
* You might feel anxiety or panic.
Does any of the above sound like problems or experiences you have encountered? To reduce your incidence of sickness and to regain and be more in control of your health, start by understanding your breathing behavior. It may be your best stress reducer and a life-saver.
By Rosemary MacGregor RN, MS info@themangotreespa
506 2786 5300
There are major consequences to over-breathing. Bad breathing is a bad habit and one of the most pervasive bad habits we have. Start to pay attention to your breathing.
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com?> http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
Breathing behavior changes all the time, dependent upon emotions, feelings, actions, and thoughts. We do just breathe, but we don't just breathe well automatically. Poor breathing (too rapid exhaling) can easily become learned behavior and a bad habit. This is hyperventilation. You may get used to limping if you have knee pain; you also get used to breathing too rapidly and existing on far lower than optimum levels of both C02 and O2.
Usually because of family stress that exits in all families, most kids are over-breathing at a very young age, often by three years of age and this continues with life's on-going stressors. This accelerated breathing causes us to loose too much carbon dioxide. The ratio that results of too much oxygen being inhaled and too much C02 being exhaled leads to pretty dire consequences.
Thirty seconds of this over-breathing can lead to the brain?s blood vessels constricting up to 60%. Translated, this means that for every mmHG drop in C02 level there will be a 2% loss of blood circulation in the brain. C02 is the most potent vaso-dilating (blood vessel opener) agent known in the human body and is the prime regulator of vascular tone in the cerebral cortex. Temporal vaso-constriction at the cortical level is most vulnerable to hyperventilation. Can you imagine what this may do to you? How about memory loss, loss of focus, distraction, inability to retain information or understand it, or how about hyper-excitability? On a physical level, inability to fall asleep, poor co-ordination, poor performance, fatigue and so on.
* Hyperventilation causes the blood to become alkaline and the blood pH to rise above 7.4. You can become very sick in this condition, from heart disease to having a poor immune response.
* The nervous system becomes hyper-excitable.
* The Sympathetic nervous system is aroused and you will be in a full blown stress response.
* You might feel anxiety or panic.
Does any of the above sound like problems or experiences you have encountered? To reduce your incidence of sickness and to regain and be more in control of your health, start by understanding your breathing behavior. It may be your best stress reducer and a life-saver.
By Rosemary MacGregor RN, MS info@themangotreespa
506 2786 5300
There are major consequences to over-breathing. Bad breathing is a bad habit and one of the most pervasive bad habits we have. Start to pay attention to your breathing.
http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com?> http://www.theMangoTreeSpa.com
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