Why Carbon Dioxide Is So GOOD For You, How You Should *Really* Breathe, The New Science Of CO2 Therapy & More With Anders Olsson

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Ben Greenfield Fitness

Key Takeaways

• Carbon dioxide serves as the body’s signal to take the next breath, not oxygen
• Oxygen and carbon dioxide are like yin and yang: pH drops when CO2 goes up – when pH goes down, there’s more oxygen delivered via hemoglobin into mitochondria
  • The goal is to reduce respiratory rate so you can become more efficient
• You can use different breathwork timing to manipulate your state: Inhale is tied to activation; exhale is for relaxation
  • Use a longer exhale to relax
  • Fast breathing is the hallmark of stress and hyperventilation
• CO2 therapies (like blood flow restriction) can also be used to increase muscle size by trapping more CO2 in working muscles
• Cautions: When starting CO2 training start slow and listen to your body! Don’t be discouraged if you don’t notice improvements quickly, it can take some time to find the right dose for your body

Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org

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Carbon dioxide therapy has become a highly debated and often misunderstood topic.

Is elevated CO2 beneficial, or could it pose risks? What exactly are the advantages of CO2 therapy, and how might it impact your health?

In this episode, you’ll get to explore the transformative power of breathing with breathwork expert Anders Olsson. From the benefits of food-grade CO2 cylinders to advanced breathing techniques that can boost both mental and physical well-being, Anders shares invaluable insights. As the author of Conscious Breathing: Discover The Power Of Your Breath and creator of tools like the Relaxator and CarboHaler, he guides you through the profound impact breathwork has on emotions and stress management. You’ll uncover the fascinating relationship between CO2 and oxygen delivery, the role of nitric oxide in respiratory health, and how specific breathing patterns can dramatically reduce stress and elevate overall health. Plus, you’ll gain practical advice and discover cutting-edge research to enhance your daily breathwork practice.

Anders Olsson is a breath coach, author, keynote speaker, inventor, and founder of the Conscious Breathing Institute. Anders joins me on the podcast to bring clarity to the benefits, potential concerns, and safe applications of CO₂ therapy. After living most of his life with a high inner stress and a racing mind, Anders was fortunate enough to come across tools that have helped him relax and find his inner calm. The most powerful of these tools has undoubtedly been to change his breathing habits, which made Anders decide to become the world’s most prominent expert in breathing.

That was 15 years ago, and since then, he has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to achieve better health and an improved quality of life. Anders is the author of the best-selling book Conscious Breathing: Discover The Power of Your Breath and the co-inventor of the Relaxator, Sleep Tape, CarboHaler, and BodyStream CO2 Bath.

He is considered an authority on CO2 therapy and coaches high-level executives and elite athletes. In 2018, Anders facilitated and participated in a groundbreaking three-week breathing study at Stanford, highlighted in James Nestor's book Breath.

Tune in and breathe easy as we unpack the science and art of effective breathing to help you reduce stress, boost energy, and enhance your overall well-being.

Full show notes: BenGreenfieldLife.com/CO2podcast

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