Breathing control

This exercise lasts for about 15 minutes, which is quite long enough:

-                 After doing the previous exercises, make yourself comfortable in a sitting or lying position. Breathe calmly, concentrating on your stomach and chest.

-                 Don’t block yourself, relax all your muscles while you gradually increase your movements breathing in and breathing out.

-                 Feel the air passing through your nostrils, oxygenating your head, chest and whole body.

-                 Try to amplify that breathing more and more, breathing that brings you life and freshness.

-                 Then, little by little, concentrate on your ribs which move apart, rising with the passage of the air into your lungs.

-                 Maintain a slow, calm, serene rhythm, conducive to deep oxygenation of your entire body. It is essential for proper relaxation and proper oxygenation to practise what is called ventral breathing; when you breathe in, the stomach rises, then the ribs - not your shoulders.

-                 You are now going to continue the exercise with a series of apnoea breathing movements, the principle being: you breathe in deeply through your nose, supporting the breathing-in process with your stomach, then block the air in your lungs. Apnoeas should last only a few seconds; don’t force things. If you feel comfortable, you can extend the time you hold your breath a little, up to about ten seconds.

The aim of this work is to activate mental relaxation, and the whole session should proceed in the following manner:

- a first sequence of about 5 minutes devoted to deep breathing through the stomach

- a second sequence breathing in/breathing out interspersed with brief apnoeas, total duration again 5 minutes.

- a final sequence when you slightly increase the duration of the apnoeas according to your personal capabilities.

Certain sensations may occur: your head may swim slightly, you may feel hot (on your face and neck), the pace of your heartbeat may rise, you may feel a little dizzy, or see dots of light or "flies" in front of your eyes, etc. If so, don’t worry: these possible occurrences are completely normal and can be explained by the phenomenon of over-oxygenation.

Start now to train yourself in this technique which brings many other benefits, moreover. There can be no real contraindications if you exercise very gently, based on your natural biological rhythms.