PROGRAM 1: THE CORE PROGRAM
This is the foundation program, your basic requirements for breathing in flow. In your foundation
program you have three exercises. However, the Nose De-Congestion Exercise only needs to be done if
you are… congested. The One-Minute Breathe is designed to give you a score of your rate of breathing
per minute. As we discussed earlier in the book, you should be aiming to breathe less, because
breathing less is an indication of a healthy, strong, flexible body and mind. And your final exercise is the
Blood Oxygen Level Hold. Here you will be holding your breath on the exhale for as long as you can. The
duration of the hold is dictated by how quickly you can recover from the hold. Recovery is measured by
how quickly you return to your normal breath rhythm, which is worked out from your One-Minute
Breathe test.
Blood Oxygen Level Hold is also a test of how well your body is saturated and how well your CO2
tolerance has developed. Keep a record of your score as it will dictate the programs to follow. Your
score is the length of time in seconds that you are able to hold your breath until you feel the tension to
take a breath. Along with this foundation program, you can also increase your Blood Oxygen Level Hold
score by:
1. Nasal breathe at all times, including during physical exercise and sleep.
2. Avoid taking large breaths while sighing, yawning and talking.
3. Practise Breathing in Flow exercises appropriate to your health and fitness.
When you consistently practise the Breathing in Flow exercises, your blood oxygen score should
increase by a few seconds in the first week. Continue with the same intention of focus for a number of
weeks and you will see a significant change in your score. In some cases improvements of 20 to 40
seconds.
Record with a tick in the box...days completed.
Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
PROGRAM AND EXERCISE SUMMARY
Duration: 5 minutes
Program and Exercise Summary:
1. Nose De-Congestion Exercise – 5x (only required if you need to decongest)
2. The One-Minute Breathe – 1 minute, and record number of breaths
3. Blood Oxygen Level Hold – 3 minute exercise. 3-5 holds total
4. The One-Minute Breathe – 1 minute, and record number of breaths
NOSE DE-CONGESTION EXERCISE
(Only required in you need to decongest)
To unblock the nose, perform the following:
1. Take a small, silent breath in and a small, silent breath out through your nose.
2. Pinch your nose with your fingers to hold your breath.
3. Walk as many paces as possible with your breath held. Try to build up a strong air shortage,
without overdoing it, of course!
4. When you resume breathing, do so only through your nose; your breathing must be calmed
immediately.
5. After resuming your breathing, your first breath will usually be bigger than normal. Make sure
that you calm your breathing as soon as possible by suppressing your second and third breaths.
6. You should be able to recover this breath hold within two to three breaths. If you cannot, you
have held your breath for too long.
7. Wait for about a minute or so and then repeat.
8. Repeat this exercise five or six times until your nose is de-congested.
THE ONE-MINUTE BREATHE
The object of this exercise is to get a sense of how many breaths you take during one minute. Like the
Blood Oxygen Level Hold test, you can also use this as a form of measurement of personal development.
Breathing in Flow:
1. Keep your mouth closed throughout.
2. Breathe in through the nose and out through the nose. The focus is on your nostrils.
3. Use your diaphragm without tension.
4. Use the pendulum principle on the transition of in-breath and out-breath, so there is no
stopping, only a smooth transition like the movement of a pendulum.
5. Full body breathing awareness.
6. Tune into your rhythm.
7. Be aware of how many breaths you take per minute.
BLOOD OXYGEN LEVEL HOLD
1. Take a small, silent breath in through your nose and allow a small, silent breath out through
your nose.
2. Pinch your nose to prevent air from entering your lungs.
3. Count (or use a stopwatch on your phone) the number of seconds until you feel a medium/high
level of desire to breathe.
4. At the first medium/high level of desire to breathe in, you may also feel the first involuntary
movements of your breathing muscles (a jerky abdomen, and the area around your neck may
have tension).
5. Release your nose and breathe in through it. Aim to recover back to your normal calm breathing
rate as quickly as possible.
6. Once you have recovered to normal breathing. Close to the count of your One-Minute Breathe
count, then repeat the full Blood Oxygen Level Hold three to five times.
