The Conscious Intermittent Breathing Technique explained

Caution : You must consult your doctor for your health. This page presents only a personal and alternative point of view which should not be considered as an attempt to prescribe medicine.

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Breathing is an absolutely magical function of the body.

Indeed, this vital process is automatic and unconscious, you do not have to think about it, the breath is done by itself.

Your entire life unfolds to the rhythm of inhales and exhales, with a first breath at birth and a last breath at death.

Between birth and death, you suffer: stress, anxiety, insomnia, anxiety, depression, mental agitation, nervousness, etc.

Unconsciously, you wonder what you could have done in Life to suffer (even temporarily) ...

... until the day you find out that your entire Life depends on the way you breathe.

This day marks a 180 ° turning point in your life!

I'm sure you've read or heard somewhere: " breathing is the connection between body and mind ".

In fact, I would even say more: " the breath is your life itself ".

How did I develop the Intermittent Breathing technique?

At the time when Life was beating on me, I felt deep inside that my only way out was to control my breathing.

Indeed, I suffered from a disease that 99.99% of the population has already experienced: a blocked diaphragm.

For those who do not know, the diaphragm is the muscle of your breathing, the one that allows you to breathe in and out.

Like the heart muscle, it is a muscle that never stops, except at the end ...

The control of the breath and the unblocking of the diaphragm first of all brought me naturally to Yoga and more precisely to Pranayama, the discipline which consists in controlling your breathing.

After more than 5 years of professional training to become a Yoga teacher, I discovered and practiced hundreds of breathing exercises (sometimes several hours a day).

At the beginning, these many yogic exercises "damaged" my health, because I was doing them BAD, and above all, I did not understand what I was doing, physiologically speaking.

My teacher at the time was just stupidly repeating the teachings he himself had received from another teacher, without fully understanding the deep physiology of breathing.

Maybe he had understood it, but it was not clear from my point of view.

So I had to study physiology, anatomy, chemistry, etc. in parallel, in order to understand exactly what is happening in the body during breathing.

What I discovered is absolutely fascinating: with every inhale and exhale, hundreds thousands of interactions occur in the body.

A whole book would not be enough to detail all the repercussions of the breath on the body and the spirit.

Just to give a few examples: breathing acts directly on the 2 branches of the nervous system, on the contraction of the heart (and the pericardium), on the brain, on the vibratory frequency of the body (aura), on the immune system, on the lymphatic system, etc.

As this is not the subject today, I therefore prefer to summarize by saying that the breath is your Life itself.

Besides, you can't live if you don't breathe.

And over the course of my experiences and my tests in Yoga, I ended up discovering the power of what is called in the yogic world: the kumbhakas.

Bahir Kumbakha and Antar Kumbhaka

Bahir Kumbakha corresponds to a suspension of breath with empty lungs (after exhalation).

Antar Kumbhaka corresponds to a suspension of the breath with full lungs (after inspiration).

I experimented with both techniques for years and finally chose to focus on Bahir Kumbhaka, empty lung retention.

Why did I give up full lung retention?

Full lung retention (after inspiration) is a magical but toxic technique.

It should be understood that these techniques of Pranayama were developed by yogis who lived in India and who were also reclusive in their cave in the Himalayan mountains.

Their only way to experience Life (from all angles) was to practice breath control in every way possible, including holding their breath with full lungs.

But once you understand the purpose of this practice, you stop practicing it.

Indeed, the goal of yogis in holding their breath with full lungs was to check their ability to maintain "mental calm" in a situation of intense stress.

The immediate effect of full lung retention is the release of adrenaline (and bicarbonate) from the adrenal glands.

In physiology, we also know that inspiration activates the sympathetic nervous system (the one that activates the body) and that blocking one's breath after this inspiration amplifies the effects of this branch of the nervous system.

In other words, we trigger a physiological stress reaction also called the "fly or fight" reaction.

It is this flight or fight reaction that the yogis sought to control (and even cancel) by practicing full lung retention while controlling their minds.

Indeed, during this stress reaction, a river of adrenaline is released in your blood.

And adrenaline is a powerful hormone that releases an astronomical amount of energy.

This stress hormone also gives you a feeling of power, intended from the base, to face the danger (stress) that presents itself to you.

Adrenaline is therefore an extremely addictive hormone (one becomes easily addicted) except that at one point, your adrenal glands which produce them eventually become exhausted.

This is commonly called burnout (adrenal exhaustion).

And yet, today, out of ignorance, the majority of breathing coaches teach their students about full lung retention because adrenaline has surprising effects from the first use.

It makes you feel good the first time around, gets you hooked, but ultimately wears you out when your adrenal glands can't take it anymore.

As I often say, practicing full lung retention for energy is like making a deal with the devil.

You “win” a lot right away, but you “lose” a lot in the long run ...

Why did I focus on empty lung breath suspensions?

This exhaustion of the adrenal glands (burnout), I was unhappy lucky to experience it.

The causes were multiple: extreme practices of pranayama with in particular full lung retention, non-regular lifestyle with sleepless nights on weekends, regular consumption of alcohol and junk food, etc.

In short, a perfect cocktail to exhaust the adrenal glands ...

So I had to urgently remove all the stressful factors from my life, but also to breathe so that my adrenal glands never release adrenaline (except in cases of real danger).

So I set my circadian rhythm to sleep every night at 8am.

I eliminated all toxic foods by following a HYPERcaloric HYPOtoxic diet (lots of good things).

And when it came to breathing, the solution to relieving my stress was obviously to do the exact opposite of what I was doing ...

Rather than doing Antar Kumbhaka sessions holding my breath after my breaths, I was going to hold my breath after my breaths.

This is how I embraced empty retentions until I discovered their infinite potential ...

So I took several years to explore this dimension of breath in depth until I created a powerful technique called conscious intermittent breathing .

Intermittent breathing: what exactly is it?

It is exactly the same principle as intermittent fasting: we eat and we fast.

In intermittent breathing: we breathe (inhale + exhale) and take a break.

As much as the period of intermittent fasting will heal your body including the autophagy process, so much the period of intermittent respiratory retention (with empty lungs) will improve your entire life.

Intermittent fasting is powerful because it activates a self-healing process called "homeostasis", where all physiological variables in the body return to their normal.

Well intermittent breathing (and its respiratory retention) does the same thing, but in an even more powerful way.

Intermittent breathing is intermittent fasting multiplied by 100!

If you think I'm exaggerating, I'll let you read and watch the testimonials on intermittent breathing (only in french actually).

A seemingly simple technique but very subtle to practice

When you go on the internet, you will find plenty of exercises like this:

- inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 2 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds and hold your breath for 2 seconds.

Unfortunately, all the coaches who give you this kind of breathing exercise are misleading you.

Why ?

Well, because each person has a different Life, and therefore each has a different breath.

How can you give everyone the same exercise? to an obese person with COPD? to a singer wanting more breath? to a top athlete wanting to improve their endurance? to a stressed person having anxiety attacks?

Don't you see the absurdity of a generalist exercise that would suit everyone?

However, this is what sophrology, cardiac coherence, the Wim Hof ​​method, etc ...

An effective breathing exercise is a personalized exercise, that is, an exercise that exactly matches the person's current breath level.

And in my complete training on intermittent breathing, I explain to you exactly how to dose each of the stages of breathing according to YOUR individuality (body and mind).

Intermittent Breathing is not Dr. Buteyko's method

During my studies in physiology, I had the chance to discover the work of Ukrainian doctor Konstantin Buteyko.

This gentleman was an expert in breathing, but above all, he was one of the first health professionals to highlight the importance of CO2 in the process of breathing.

Indeed, CO2 is the essential molecule for oxygenation, this is called the Bohr effect (CO2 attracts oxygen).

In other words, to oxygenate yourself, you must first produce CO2 at the cellular level.

Whether you practice Bahir or Antar Kumbhaka, your body will produce tons of CO2, which will seriously improve your oxygenation.

Except that during a retention with full lungs, oxygenation is done in stress and adrenaline (with release of bicarbonate), sooner or later, you will suffer ...

While in empty lung retention, oxygenation takes place in rest and relaxation, sooner or later you will reap the rewards ...

This is the reason why Dr Buteyko and I focus all of our exercises around empty lung retention.

Except that the intermittent breathing technique has absolutely nothing to do with the Buteyko method.

So yes, the Buteyko test (control pause) is indeed a form of intermittent breathing since it involves holding your breath after exhaling to measure your apnea time with empty lungs.

But this is only the basic test to measure your cellular oxygenation and CO2 tolerance.

Indeed, the basic exercise of Dr. Buteyko is called: "reduced breathing".

It's about breathing less, slowing down your breathing, reducing the amplitude and depth of your breathing.

The ultimate goal is to hypoventilate to accumulate more CO2 and therefore improve oxygenation of the body thanks to the Bohr effect.

I know this technique perfectly since I have also experienced it for years.

This was very effective at first (thanks to the accumulation of CO2), but chronic hypoventilation and excess CO2 (hypercapnia have caused chronic hypothyroidism, a syndrome from which most practitioners of the Buteyko method suffer .

All the Buteyko coaches take very long apneas with empty lungs, except that they all have a thyroid problem (hypothyroidism).

This is the reason why I rejected Buteyko's technique called "reduced breathing".

My discovery of Doctor Barnes

With this unfortunate hypothyroidism induced by chronic hypoventilation of the Buteyko method (and other chronic stressors), I suffered from extreme chilliness, permanent fatigue, overweight in the stomach, in short, typical symptoms related to hypothyroidism.

Fortunately, I discovered the work of Dr. Barnes, an endocrinologist who is an expert in metabolism.

According to him, most diseases are linked to a slowing down of the metabolism and therefore to a drop in body temperature.

This is because your cells need a minimum temperature to function WELL.

And according to him (and the medical standard), we should have AT LEAST a temperature of 36.5 ° C under the tongue in the morning upon waking up.

To do this, you have to use a digital thermometer to put only in the mouth.

No need to take your rectal temperature (or other) because the work of Dr. Barnes is based only on oral temperature.

I was obviously suffering from a damaged metabolism since my temperature was below 36 ° C.

I had to find a solution to my hypothyroidism.

After months of experience, I ended up combining all my experiences of Yoga (Kumbhaka), the work of Dr. Buteyko (Bohr effect, control pause) and those of Dr. Barnes (hypothyroidism and morning temperature) to develop the ultimate breathing technique.

This technique therefore aimed to:

• - activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation, rest, digestion)
• - resting the adrenal glands (no more excessive production of adrenaline and cortisol)
• - the normalization of my body temperature and therefore my thyroid (metabolism)
• - increasing my long term energy (not extreme highs or lows, but stable energy)
• - better cellular oxygenation (energy, detoxification, immune system, aura, etc.)
• - the maximum reduction of my stress level (end of anxiety, anxieties and mental agitation)

With all of that in mind, I therefore finally devised the ultimate technique that I named: Conscious Intermittent Breathing.

What is conscious IN intermittent breathing?

You don't know it, but you subconsciously practice this type of breathing all day long, even at night.

- When an anxiety-inducing situation arises, you do not know it, but you block your breathing (retention of breath).

- When a danger arises and a fear is triggered, you do not know it, but you are already in apnea (blockage of the breath).

- When at night you snore and have sleep apnea (to varying degrees), you don't know it, but your breathing gets blocked, sometimes for more than a minute in some severe cases.

You will say to me: " but why am I not relaxed and calm if I already practice intermittent breathing? "

Well the reason is simple: you unconsciously block your breath AFTER an inhalation .

Result?

Adrenaline, stress, anxiety, fatigue, etc ...

Intermittent conscious breathing involves doing the same thing, but after a relaxed and fully controlled exhale.

The danger of conscious intermittent breathing

As you read this article, everyone will want to try the technique for themselves.

Some will attempt to establish breathing pauses after they exhale, except intermittent breathing is a very subtle art that I have taken years to develop.

There are many, many subtleties that will make all the difference.

Millions of Yoga practitioners are already practicing Bahir Kumbhaka, and yet their life is still at the same point, their oxygenation remains miserable ( take the test here ), and many of them are still struggling to achieve just normal health.

Most of the time, this means that all of these practitioners are practicing badly, very badly, as I too have done in the past.

I often like to say to my students: " good breathing can sublimate and regenerate you, but bad breath destroys you with every breath ".

Unfortunately, at this time of day, our breaths are so disturbed by stress, pollution, the turmoil of the world, that it is dangerous to want to practice a breathing exercise alone.

For example: a lot of people exercise and immediately feel good. They don't know it yet, but it's caused by adrenaline.

The art of breathing therefore requires precise support!

Therefore, do not blindly engage in breathing practice without being guided by an experienced person.

It is even better to do nothing, rather than to do WRONG.

If your breath is disturbed by stress, adding the wrong exercise on top of it will only increase your stress.

Your best bet is to calm yourself down and let your breath calm down on its own.

Intermittent breathing training

It has been years since I developed this technique of conscious intermittent breathing.

Every day, I receive testimonials from people who have literally changed their lives with this personalized breathing exercise.

The reason is simple: Intermittent breathing (well practiced as shown in my training) speeds up your regeneration by OVER-activating your parasympathetic nervous system, the branch of the nervous system that manages rest, digestion, self-healing, homeostasis.

If you want to take my full training (paid) in order to be well guided and to avoid all possible mistakes, I would like to offer you a free ebook and a video workshop first.

In the ebook, I detail all aspects of intermittent breathing in depth, but above all I tackle the physiology of breath in a simple and effective way.

In the video workshop, I explain the mistakes you shouldn't make when it comes to breathing and managing stress.

After reading the ebook, you will be able to then order the full paid training.

Whatever your decision, I wish you a very good life, and therefore perfect control of your breath.

Here is a quote from one of the oldest Yoga texts: " the goal of yoga is reached when the breath ceases ".

And what is the ultimate goal of Yoga?

Stopping the mind.

During a conversation, someone asked the spiritual master Eckhart Tollé: " how to meet God? "

Eckhart Tollé: " By just stopping to think ".

This is where the practice of conscious intermittent breathing will gradually lead you.

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