All things CO2

[experimenter]

Hi

I am new to Peat's work, and am particularly keen on how some of the strategies he advocates lead to increased CO2 production. For those who are actively seeking to increase CO2 production/tolerance and are measuring their progress, what do you find has been most helpful to you?

I have been using the Frolov device, and combining the Buteyko principle of reduced breathing with qigong or yoga practice. Both qigong and yoga have favourable effects on the nervous system and endocrine system, which seems to make the reduced breathing more effective and the effect more sustained.

Nauli kriya is also an excellent practice from yoga that stimulates the digestive system and involves long breath holds combined with muscular contractions...this is difficult to learn from a book, and can be dangerous if practiced incorrectly, so I am using the Umaa Tantra dvd set and getting good results. This seems to be much more effective than Frolov/reduced breathing, as it improves the health of the digestive system, which in turn may reduce inflammation and other processes occurring the digestive system that could negatively impact breathing. It also massively reduces stress which we obviously want to do too! Early days for me in using this technique but it is becoming one of my favourite methods to increase CO2.

Also, I am wondering if others have noticed the tendency for the CO2 levels/control pause to slide back to low levels if you cease practicing for a brief period? This has been my biggest gripe with the Buteyko method as it is a constant effort to keep CP up.

I was low carbing before so perhaps now I am using other strategies to keep CP up things will be more easy to maintain. However if others have noticed this trend and have overcome it I am wondering how you managed to do this (maintain a high CP with minimal time investment)?

Have a good day!

 

[tara]

Hi,
I made some beginning improvements using some Buteyko techniques before finding Peat's work. I didn't persist with the training to the extent recommended, and have never had a good control pause. My issue is migraines, and I triggered a couple in early training attempts, possibly by trying to raise CO2 too fast, or possibly by not having enough sugar on board to support it. But I did get some noticeable improvements from retraining nasal and diaphragmatic breathing, and short breath holds after coughing, sneezing, yawning, sighing, etc. I occasionally use various simple controlled breathing exercises. I think changing my diet has helped make retaining these changes easier. I suspect that more sugar and more alkaline minerals have been key. I now, after more than a year, seem to mostly be able to sleep with my mouth closed without mechanical aid - though I'm sure the tape will be useful again next time I get a cold.

I believe you that some yoga and qigong methods can have favourable effects, both directly on general CO2 levels, an also on particular internal organs etc, under the right circumstances.

After reading Peat, I no longer believe that the control pause is a completely reliable indicator of CO2 levels, though I do believe it is useful. If metabolism were constant, then an increase or decrease in control pause would probably indicate a corresponding increase or decrease in CO2 levels. However, I expect that a small decrease in control pause could be consistent with a stable or even increasing CO2 level, if base metabolism is simultaneously increasing. Higher metabolism would mean a greater rate of CO2 production, and therefore potentially exceeding the CO2 set point more quickly.
Peat refers to a man who had a very low metabolism and a correspondingly low ventilation rate - ~3 breaths per minute, IIRC (hcouldn't find it quickly - will post here if I do find it). Measuring his control pause would not give an accurate guide to such a person's state of health.

Several of Peat's ideas are intended to increase CO2 production, by improving oxidative metabolism. My understanding is that adequate sugar as the primary fuel, thyroid hormone to stimulate energy production, and all the other nutrients that support this, should hopefully give the best conditions for good CO2 production. Which of these are the bottle necks vary from person to person. Low carb diets would be expected to reduce CO2 levels.
Peat has also talked about transdermal CO2 (like the dry CO2 baths) as a way to increase CO2 in tissue - he's got a nice story in this talk to a Buteyko audience of his rapid recovery from an injury by sticking his arm in a bag of CO2 very quickly after getting it squashed. He recommends bag breathing several times a day as an easy way to acustom the body to higher CO2 levels.

 

[honeybee]

@tara- I started taping my mouth at nite last week when I was recovering from a virus. My head was stuffed pretty bad. I was able to breathe out of both nostrils (after a couple of minutes) through the nite every nite. This is pretty significant since I think this makes people the most miserable when they are sick plus it's helped me sleep through the nite. I'm going to continue with the tape indefinitely. I sometimes wake up in the nite gasping and heart racing so I think I'm a good candidate for tape therapy. I am also feeling fairly relaxed and well rested during the day - probably more good results but can't say for sure. i wanted to say thanks for the tip.

 

[tara]

@tara- I started taping my mouth at nite last week when I was recovering from a virus. My head was stuffed pretty bad. I was able to breathe out of both nostrils (after a couple of minutes) through the nite every nite. This is pretty significant since I think this makes people the most miserable when they are sick plus it's helped me sleep through the nite. I'm going to continue with the tape indefinitely. I sometimes wake up in the nite gasping and heart racing so I think I'm a good candidate for tape therapy. I am also feeling fairly relaxed and well rested during the day - probably more good results but can't say for sure. i wanted to say thanks for the tip.

Nice report, thanks. Amazing and unexpected that keeping the mouth shut clears the nose, right? Yes, I suspect the mouth breathing might be a big part of why people feel so crappy with colds, too.