Your Breathing Threshold is the point in your breathing where you have an opportunity to retain more energy than you use up.

Your Breathing Threshold is the point in your breathing, where your inhale tends to end, and your exhale starts. It is the depth you are inclined to inhale to.

When you do the 5 Breathing Basics, you breathe more than you are inclined to and thus retain more Life-force than sub-ventilating suggests. This is called “Breathing Beyond your Breathing Threshold”.

• You ADD more Life-force and go beyond your Breathing Threshold by being Aware and Inhaling deeper than you are inclined to.
• You USE UP Life-force and breathe below your Breathing Threshold by being Unaware, Moving and Thinking.

Locating the Breathing Threshold
Your Breathing Threshold is encountered in every breath.

The depth of your inhale, before you hit the Breathing Threshold varies, depending on how much Life-force you are using up.

For example, if you run, you can breathe deeply, without going beyond your Breathing Threshold. If you are very present and relaxed, you don’t need to breathe much to go beyond your Breathing Threshold.

How deep and fast you need to breathe to go beyond your Breathing Threshold, depends on how much energy you use up.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

Your Breathing Threshold is the point in your breathing where you have an opportunity to retain more energy than you use up.

Your Breathing Threshold is the point in your breathing, where your inhale tends to end, and your exhale starts. It is the depth you are inclined to inhale to.

When you do the 5 Breathing Basics, you breathe more than you are inclined to and thus retain more Life-force than sub-ventilating suggests. This is called “Breathing Beyond your Breathing Threshold”.

• You ADD more Life-force and go beyond your Breathing Threshold by being Aware and Inhaling deeper than you are inclined to.
• You USE UP Life-force and breathe below your Breathing Threshold by being Unaware, Moving and Thinking.

Locating the Breathing Threshold
Your Breathing Threshold is encountered in every breath.

The depth of your inhale, before you hit the Breathing Threshold varies, depending on how much Life-force you are using up.

For example, if you run, you can breathe deeply, without going beyond your Breathing Threshold. If you are very present and relaxed, you don’t need to breathe much to go beyond your Breathing Threshold.

How deep and fast you need to breathe to go beyond your Breathing Threshold, depends on how much energy you use up.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

Hyperventilation means “Too Much Breathing”.

That is a confusing name. Do you worry about breathing Too Much when you make love, run, dance, have emotions? I don’t think so.

Hyperventilation is a topic that often comes up in Breathwork, so here is clarification what it really is and how to deal with it.

The concept of Hyperventilation was born from watching distressed people and noticing that they were breathing a lot. Once, the “heavy” breathing was stopped, these symptoms diminished.

The symptoms included emotions and Tetany, which were very difficult for onlookers to just stand by and do nothing about. They didn’t understand that a natural healing process was taking place. So, the idea followed that it was the breathing that caused the distress and that got labelled Hyperventilation and was considered dangerous and so-called solutions were developed, which basically meant techniques, like breathing into a paper bag, and medicine to stop breathing like that.

What was really happening was that the “hyperventilation” was releasing and healing a sub-conscious trauma.

Traumatic experiences are stored as sub-conscious memories, by holding one’s breath or “getting the air knocked out of you”.

Eventually, you’ll trust more aliveness and feel safe again. Then, the shield, that conceals your sub-conscious memory, loses its need to protect you and turns transparent, letting your guarded memory to be faced again. This is what you need, to release it, and to be free to live fully, now.

If you get interrupted in the middle of a “Hyperventilation” and don’t get to complete your release of your sub-conscious trauma, you get stuck with your trauma being half uncovered, but without releasing your memory, so you will have to spend more time to build up trust to fully uncover it again.

To successfully release a sub-conscious memory, you need to feel safer than normal and have a built-up energy momentum, which you get by Natural Breathing. This may look to an inexperienced eye as Hyperventilation. But it really is a fortunate opportunity to free oneself.

Too Much Exhaling
Sometimes Hyperventilation comes from a forced exhale – a pushing the exhale out more and longer than you inhale.

This can cause a lack of CO2. The body needs a certain amount of CO2, so if there is a lack of CO2, the body will self-correct and stop your intensified exhale.

You cannot inhale too much. 

If you encounter “Hyperventilation”, and you want to make it easy for yourself and others, make sure you switch the focus from pushing the EXHALE out, to pulling the INHALE in.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

Hyperventilation means “Too Much Breathing”.

That is a confusing name. Do you worry about breathing Too Much when you make love, run, dance, have emotions? I don’t think so.

Hyperventilation is a topic that often comes up in Breathwork, so here is clarification what it really is and how to deal with it.

The concept of Hyperventilation was born from watching distressed people and noticing that they were breathing a lot. Once, the “heavy” breathing was stopped, these symptoms diminished.

The symptoms included emotions and Tetany, which were very difficult for onlookers to just stand by and do nothing about. They didn’t understand that a natural healing process was taking place. So, the idea followed that it was the breathing that caused the distress and that got labelled Hyperventilation and was considered dangerous and so-called solutions were developed, which basically meant techniques, like breathing into a paper bag, and medicine to stop breathing like that.

What was really happening was that the “hyperventilation” was releasing and healing a sub-conscious trauma.

Traumatic experiences are stored as sub-conscious memories, by holding one’s breath or “getting the air knocked out of you”.

Eventually, you’ll trust more aliveness and feel safe again. Then, the shield, that conceals your sub-conscious memory, loses its need to protect you and turns transparent, letting your guarded memory to be faced again. This is what you need, to release it, and to be free to live fully, now.

If you get interrupted in the middle of a “Hyperventilation” and don’t get to complete your release of your sub-conscious trauma, you get stuck with your trauma being half uncovered, but without releasing your memory, so you will have to spend more time to build up trust to fully uncover it again.

To successfully release a sub-conscious memory, you need to feel safer than normal and have a built-up energy momentum, which you get by Natural Breathing. This may look to an inexperienced eye as Hyperventilation. But it really is a fortunate opportunity to free oneself.

Too Much Exhaling
Sometimes Hyperventilation comes from a forced exhale – a pushing the exhale out more and longer than you inhale.

This can cause a lack of CO2. The body needs a certain amount of CO2, so if there is a lack of CO2, the body will self-correct and stop your intensified exhale.

You cannot inhale too much. 

If you encounter “Hyperventilation”, and you want to make it easy for yourself and others, make sure you switch the focus from pushing the EXHALE out, to pulling the INHALE in.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

A BREATHING CYCLE is the time it takes for you, through Natural Breathing, to increase your Life-force, let it saturate you, and finally integrate into to become your new you.

The Breathing Cycle is a natural and internal experience.

You engage in a Breathing Cycle in the same way as you engage in eating a meal. When you are hungry, you start off eating a lot. Once your initial hunger is stilled you might continue nibbling because it tastes so good, but not as fast. Eventually you can’t eat anymore even if it is delicious.

THE 3 PHASES OF THE BREATHING CYCLE: 
A Breathing Cycle includes the same phases as flying an airplane. First, you need to rev your engines to take off. Once you have reached your cruising altitude you back off a little on the throttle, even though you must keep your engines running. Eventually you will land and turn off the engine.

BUILDING Life-force
The 1st Phase of the Breathing Cycle is when you build up retained Life-force in your body. Here you focus on all the 5 BREATHING BASICS. You know when you are in the Building Phase because you are increasing your tingling sensation.

MAINTAINING Life-force
The 2nd Phase of the Breathing Cycle is where you maintain your increased retained level of Life-force. Here you fluctuate between continuing the 5 Breathing Basics and surrendering to the newly increased retained Life-force.

INTEGRATING the increased Life-force
The 3rd Phase of the Breathing Cycle is to integrate your new Life-force. This phase starts when you feel saturated and feel like completing your Breathing Cycle. In this phase, you need to get out of the way, loose control and let your body’s breathing take over and do whatever it wants, while staying relaxed.

The “Building” phase of the Breathing Cycle takes between 5-25 minutes. The “Maintaining” phase takes between 30-45 minutes. And the “Integration” phase takes between 10-30 minutes.

How High Do You Want To Go?
If you start your Breathing Cycle with a shallow slow breathing your take off won’t get you very high – similar to how a propeller plane taking off at a low speed can only take you to about 5000 feet altitude. At this level you get a glimpse of your potential consciousness just like the view from 5000 feet brings you a new perspective of your world.

If you start your Breathing Cycle with deep strong breathing, you take off to full body tingling like a jet plane that quickly launches you to 37,000 feet altitude. At this energy level you get the full experience of your awakening consciousness, like the panorama from 37,000 feet shows you the whole world.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

A BREATHING CYCLE is the time it takes for you, through Natural Breathing, to increase your Life-force, let it saturate you, and finally integrate into to become your new you.

The Breathing Cycle is a natural and internal experience.

You engage in a Breathing Cycle in the same way as you engage in eating a meal. When you are hungry, you start off eating a lot. Once your initial hunger is stilled you might continue nibbling because it tastes so good, but not as fast. Eventually you can’t eat anymore even if it is delicious.

THE 3 PHASES OF THE BREATHING CYCLE: 
A Breathing Cycle includes the same phases as flying an airplane. First, you need to rev your engines to take off. Once you have reached your cruising altitude you back off a little on the throttle, even though you must keep your engines running. Eventually you will land and turn off the engine.

BUILDING Life-force
The 1st Phase of the Breathing Cycle is when you build up retained Life-force in your body. Here you focus on all the 5 BREATHING BASICS. You know when you are in the Building Phase because you are increasing your tingling sensation.

MAINTAINING Life-force
The 2nd Phase of the Breathing Cycle is where you maintain your increased retained level of Life-force. Here you fluctuate between continuing the 5 Breathing Basics and surrendering to the newly increased retained Life-force.

INTEGRATING the increased Life-force
The 3rd Phase of the Breathing Cycle is to integrate your new Life-force. This phase starts when you feel saturated and feel like completing your Breathing Cycle. In this phase, you need to get out of the way, loose control and let your body’s breathing take over and do whatever it wants, while staying relaxed.

The “Building” phase of the Breathing Cycle takes between 5-25 minutes. The “Maintaining” phase takes between 30-45 minutes. And the “Integration” phase takes between 10-30 minutes.

How High Do You Want To Go?
If you start your Breathing Cycle with a shallow slow breathing your take off won’t get you very high – similar to how a propeller plane taking off at a low speed can only take you to about 5000 feet altitude. At this level you get a glimpse of your potential consciousness just like the view from 5000 feet brings you a new perspective of your world.

If you start your Breathing Cycle with deep strong breathing, you take off to full body tingling like a jet plane that quickly launches you to 37,000 feet altitude. At this energy level you get the full experience of your awakening consciousness, like the panorama from 37,000 feet shows you the whole world.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

In your life you have most likely had some unwanted experiences, which you then resist repeating by inhibiting your breathing and being less alive. This sub-ventilating is intended as a protection.

This sub-ventilating is your automatic controlled attempt to homeostasis – it is the way to make sure you don’t touch those memories and remain unchanged. This is the BREATHING CONTROL SYSTEM, and it reasons that staying in status quo is keeping you alive, and any change “could” be dangerous.

But, in fact, this Breathing Control System is slowly killing you, because it leaves you with a less than optimum amount of Life-force and oxygen, which is a growing ground for many dis-eases and it also leaves you tired, lazy and a lack of passion.

The way the Breathing Control System works is to make sure that the amount of Source Energy – Life-force you add through inhaling and awareness will never exceed the amount of energy you use up, through physical and mental tension.

The Breathing Control System monitors:

• How much energy you “take in” (through breathing and awareness) and then ‘FORCES’ you to “use up” an equal amount.
• How much energy you “use up” (through moving, tensing and thinking) and then “MAKES” you take in an equal amount of energy.

When you increase your energy by Breathing more and being more Aware, the Breathing Control System makes you get rid of this energy by making you tense up or get mentally active and unaware. Like, when you feel more, you nervously move, including deflating self-talk and zooning out.

When you decrease your energy, by Tensing, Moving, Thinking and Zooning out, the Breathing Control System makes you fill up on energy by making you Breath more or Think less. Like, when you run and have to take a breather, you focus and breathe deeply, void of thinking.

Sometimes the Breathing Control System gets OFF GUARD. Then, Natural Breathing kicks in and you sigh, yawn, laugh, be emotional, exert yourself and sleep.

Once you realize the benefits of breaking the Breathing Control System, you will intend to RETAIN more energy than you use up. That is what happens when you do Natural Breathing.

If you break the Breathing Control System, you will retain more energy than you use up, and end up with an EXCESS of energy and that energy must go somewhere.

This retained excess energy will go to blocked places in your body and your mind and recover the aliveness of those areas. It will go to and remove blocks in your “energy body” and uproot any sub-conscious blocks – leaving you healthier and more alive.

If you intend to use “Breathwork” to permanently heal an issue, improve your Well-being and for Self-discovery, you will need to Build Up and RETAIN more energy than you usually keep. This means you have to interrupt your Breathing Control System, by CHOOSING to build up energy, through breathing and awareness, and REFRAINING from using up the increased energy, which you do by keeping your body and mind – Conscious, Still and Relaxed.

Breaking the Breathing Control System will complete incomplete traumatic energy blockages and open up space for your Life-force to enliven your Well-being and conscious success and happiness.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

In your life you have most likely had some unwanted experiences, which you then resist repeating by inhibiting your breathing and being less alive. This sub-ventilating is intended as a protection.

This sub-ventilating is your automatic controlled attempt to homeostasis – it is the way to make sure you don’t touch those memories and remain unchanged. This is the BREATHING CONTROL SYSTEM, and it reasons that staying in status quo is keeping you alive, and any change “could” be dangerous.

But, in fact, this Breathing Control System is slowly killing you, because it leaves you with a less than optimum amount of Life-force and oxygen, which is a growing ground for many dis-eases and it also leaves you tired, lazy and a lack of passion.

The way the Breathing Control System works is to make sure that the amount of Source Energy – Life-force you add through inhaling and awareness will never exceed the amount of energy you use up, through physical and mental tension.

The Breathing Control System monitors:

• How much energy you “take in” (through breathing and awareness) and then ‘FORCES’ you to “use up” an equal amount.
• How much energy you “use up” (through moving, tensing and thinking) and then “MAKES” you take in an equal amount of energy.

When you increase your energy by Breathing more and being more Aware, the Breathing Control System makes you get rid of this energy by making you tense up or get mentally active and unaware. Like, when you feel more, you nervously move, including deflating self-talk and zooning out.

When you decrease your energy, by Tensing, Moving, Thinking and Zooning out, the Breathing Control System makes you fill up on energy by making you Breath more or Think less. Like, when you run and have to take a breather, you focus and breathe deeply, void of thinking.

Sometimes the Breathing Control System gets OFF GUARD. Then, Natural Breathing kicks in and you sigh, yawn, laugh, be emotional, exert yourself and sleep.

Once you realize the benefits of breaking the Breathing Control System, you will intend to RETAIN more energy than you use up. That is what happens when you do Natural Breathing.

If you break the Breathing Control System, you will retain more energy than you use up, and end up with an EXCESS of energy and that energy must go somewhere.

This retained excess energy will go to blocked places in your body and your mind and recover the aliveness of those areas. It will go to and remove blocks in your “energy body” and uproot any sub-conscious blocks – leaving you healthier and more alive.

If you intend to use “Breathwork” to permanently heal an issue, improve your Well-being and for Self-discovery, you will need to Build Up and RETAIN more energy than you usually keep. This means you have to interrupt your Breathing Control System, by CHOOSING to build up energy, through breathing and awareness, and REFRAINING from using up the increased energy, which you do by keeping your body and mind – Conscious, Still and Relaxed.

Breaking the Breathing Control System will complete incomplete traumatic energy blockages and open up space for your Life-force to enliven your Well-being and conscious success and happiness.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

There are some occasions where your breathing pattern changes by itself and you are made to breathe in a different way than your regular breathing. These occasions are when you sigh or yawn; you fall asleep; you exert yourself, like running; you are emotional; you laugh; you are excited; etc.

When you investigate what happens to your breathing during these occasions you will find that they all include some of the 5 Breathing Basics, but none of them include all 5 at the same time.

Natural Breathing INCLUDES ALL of these 5 Breathing Basics at the same time. When you do all these Characteristics together, you’ll RETAIN more Life-force in your body, than you usually have. This uproots engages holding back and raise your Success Tolerance and Well-being.

A Natural Breathing Session starts with jump-starting the 5 Breathing Basics, like using a starter to get your engine going, by mimicking the 5 Breathing Basics.

———————————————–

The 1st BREATHING BASIC
– CHOOSING AWARENESS

• Awareness means to have a sensation or experience of BEING, here and now. 
• Awareness is not an idea, thought, try or observation.
• You are aware when you have an experience.

———————————————–

The 2nd BREATHING BASIC
– BREATHE WITH YOUR CHEST

• Your lungs are what you breathe with, and they are located in your chest.
• Your rib-cage is built to change size as evidenced by the chest being constructed with ribs and space between the ribs. There are also muscles between your ribs, that can make your rib-cage change size and thus inflate and deflate your lungs.
• Starting your inhale with your diaphragm doesn’t happen naturally, when you sigh, exert yourself or have an emotion. Breathing starting with your diaphragm can only be activated through your thinking, manipulating your breathing.
• When you yawn or sigh, fall asleep, laugh, are emotional or exert yourself your chest is expanding and collapsing with the breathing.

———————————————–

The 3rd BREATHING BASIC
– BREATHE FULLY

• Filling your lungs fully, provides all the benefits of oxygenating the body and living life with passion, excitement, and charisma.
• Because of the low breathing set-point, to practice Natural Breathing you need to INHALE MORE THAN YOU ARE INCLINED TO.

———————————————–

The 4th BREATHING BASIC
– BREATHE CONTINUOUSLY

• Breathing Continuously means that you connect your inhale and exhale in a continuous manner, like when you fall asleep and when you run.
• A PASSIONATE CONTINUOUS RHYTHM and A GOOD TEMPO happens when you are excited or when you exert yourself, like when you run and are eager and excited.

———————————————–

The 5th BREATHING BASIC
– BE RELAXED

Being Relaxed means that you RETAIN the Life-force that Natural Breathing builds up.

Make sure you don’t waste your increased Source Energy and refrain from:

• Holding or pushing your Exhale.
• Physically tensing or moving your body.
• Mentally being distracted with thinking or worrying, or “trying to breathe”.

———————————————–

* Caution – Do not do these 5 Breathing Basics on your own without first having been trained by a Natural Breathing Coach.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

There are some occasions where your breathing pattern changes by itself and you are made to breathe in a different way than your regular breathing. These occasions are when you sigh or yawn; you fall asleep; you exert yourself, like running; you are emotional; you laugh; you are excited; etc.

When you investigate what happens to your breathing during these occasions you will find that they all include some of the 5 Breathing Basics, but none of them include all 5 at the same time.

Natural Breathing INCLUDES ALL of these 5 Breathing Basics at the same time. When you do all these Characteristics together, you’ll RETAIN more Life-force in your body, than you usually have. This uproots engages holding back and raise your Success Tolerance and Well-being.

A Natural Breathing Session starts with jump-starting the 5 Breathing Basics, like using a starter to get your engine going, by mimicking the 5 Breathing Basics.

———————————————–

The 1st BREATHING BASIC
– CHOOSING AWARENESS

• Awareness means to have a sensation or experience of BEING, here and now. 
• Awareness is not an idea, thought, try or observation.
• You are aware when you have an experience.

———————————————–

The 2nd BREATHING BASIC
– BREATHE WITH YOUR CHEST

• Your lungs are what you breathe with, and they are located in your chest.
• Your rib-cage is built to change size as evidenced by the chest being constructed with ribs and space between the ribs. There are also muscles between your ribs, that can make your rib-cage change size and thus inflate and deflate your lungs.
• Starting your inhale with your diaphragm doesn’t happen naturally, when you sigh, exert yourself or have an emotion. Breathing starting with your diaphragm can only be activated through your thinking, manipulating your breathing.
• When you yawn or sigh, fall asleep, laugh, are emotional or exert yourself your chest is expanding and collapsing with the breathing.

———————————————–

The 3rd BREATHING BASIC
– BREATHE FULLY

• Filling your lungs fully, provides all the benefits of oxygenating the body and living life with passion, excitement, and charisma.
• Because of the low breathing set-point, to practice Natural Breathing you need to INHALE MORE THAN YOU ARE INCLINED TO.

———————————————–

The 4th BREATHING BASIC
– BREATHE CONTINUOUSLY

• Breathing Continuously means that you connect your inhale and exhale in a continuous manner, like when you fall asleep and when you run.
• A PASSIONATE CONTINUOUS RHYTHM and A GOOD TEMPO happens when you are excited or when you exert yourself, like when you run and are eager and excited.

———————————————–

The 5th BREATHING BASIC
– BE RELAXED

Being Relaxed means that you RETAIN the Life-force that Natural Breathing builds up.

Make sure you don’t waste your increased Source Energy and refrain from:

• Holding or pushing your Exhale.
• Physically tensing or moving your body.
• Mentally being distracted with thinking or worrying, or “trying to breathe”.

———————————————–

* Caution – Do not do these 5 Breathing Basics on your own without first having been trained by a Natural Breathing Coach.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

Take Natural Breathing for a Test-Drive with
the One-Minute “BREATHING SNACK”…

You can do this when you want to feel present, energized, and awake.

• Become AWARE of your body and notice your breathing.
• Become aware of the air coming in and out of your MOUTH.
• Breathe using your CHEST MUSCLES to fill up your lungs.

• Connect your inhale and your exhale, so there is a circular breathing.

• Breathe DEEPER and FASTER than you are inclined to. (Add a little passion into your breathing.)

When you start to feel light-headed or have tingling in your body (which happens within a minute if you breathe as described above) go back to letting your body choose how it wants to breathe. (= Do not continue to make yourself breathe in any particular way.)

Enjoy your heightened sensations. It might surprise you that breathing more can bring about such a strong experience.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.

Take Natural Breathing for a Test-Drive with
the One-Minute “BREATHING SNACK”…

You can do this when you want to feel present, energized, and awake.

• Become AWARE of your body and notice your breathing.
• Become aware of the air coming in and out of your MOUTH.
• Breathe using your CHEST MUSCLES to fill up your lungs.

• Connect your inhale and your exhale, so there is a circular breathing.

• Breathe DEEPER and FASTER than you are inclined to. (Add a little passion into your breathing.)

When you start to feel light-headed or have tingling in your body (which happens within a minute if you breathe as described above) go back to letting your body choose how it wants to breathe. (= Do not continue to make yourself breathe in any particular way.)

Enjoy your heightened sensations. It might surprise you that breathing more can bring about such a strong experience.

Excerpt from the Natural Breathing Own Your Self Manual.