High, invincible and immune to negative thoughts after the CO2 bath - Conscious Breathing Institute

High, invincible and immune to negative thoughts after the CO2 bath

What in the world is it that you have created????! How long am I supposed to feel like this – high as a kite? I feel invincible as Michael Jordan and my knee, well after having problems with arthritis for a year I think it is almost healed already. I’m not kidding. I was probably lucky that I didn’t spend more than 30 minutes in the Body Stream suit, as I’m literally about to take off from the ground ?

It feels like I could run 10 km in 34 minutes. I have not been able to run for a year, but now I really think it is close. I feel totally free from pressure, totally relieved in every way, mentally as well as physically. I have never experienced anything like this.

This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced!

The ecstasy lasted for about 12 hours and was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. For some reason, my body/mind reacted similar to a drug. In a good way, but it was very intense. Everything seemed possible, I was bubbling with inspiration and ideas, and I was so positive about everything in the whole world that I did not know what to do with all the love.

I had a totally blind faith in my physical ability and it felt as if I would have been able to handle any physical challenges whatsoever. My body felt more recovered than it is even possible for a body to become. A condition you can not even imagine if you have not experienced it. It also felt like I had raised my tolerance for carbon dioxide. When I biked home after the treatment I could increase the exhalation, so that I took 2 extra pedal tramps on each exhale, with ease.

My knee feels fantastic and I’ve even been able to jog one kilometer

Well, what a darn experience! Still a week later, it is hard to describe in words to someone who has not had the experience. So on Friday, after the treatment, I was so to speak high and invincible. It felt like I was going to levitate away and was completely immune to negative thoughts. I think I’ve never been so happy (without concrete reason to be). It was just like having taken the best drug in the world. And I immediately started thinking that this is something you can become addicted to. You want to be in this state again! And the way my body felt was just as cool. My knee (which I have had problems with for eight months) felt better than ever.

But there was more to it than that. It was as if all the blockages, that you may not normally are aware of, had been dissolved. I suppose it was the circulation that had started just about everywhere, thanks to the absorption of carbon dioxide through the skin. When I got to the gym, I was able to go straight to advanced gymnastic movements without having to warm up. No squeaking in the joints. Just ease. And strength. And desire and joy.

I also pushed myself pretty hard on the cardio machines and felt that I had more to give than usual. Of course, I used nasal breathing, and it was as if my body had increased its tolerance for CO2 from the treatment. I did not panic in the same way as before. I suppose (in my ignorance) that this is perhaps how it feels when our body can perform all its essential functions with the least possible effort? It was as if there was no waste of energy. That I could use all my energy to perform. That all other functions were sort of optimized and, because of that, did not use up energy. Magical! ❤ So darn magical.

A friend who was going to participate in a competition wanted to come home to me for a late massage. She was supposed to come at 9pm but came at 11pm … which was absolutely fine, as I was immune to everything and bubbling happy and joyful no matter what! I massaged her for 2.5-3 hours in the middle of the night. And I still had a lot of energy left (much like you when you biked home from work in the middle of the night after your first workout+CO2-treatment).

On Saturday I had a slight hangover and also a slight headache. The training was so so, and I thought it was probably because I had been up floating and spinning around high up there amongst all the strong feelings of happiness for about 12 hours the day before. The nervous system was somewhat exhausted. Just like a hangover. The headache lasted until the evening, but I was excited to see how I would feel on Sunday. I took it pretty easy and indulged in podcasts and books and any material I could come across the rest of the day.

On Sunday I felt great again! Not as high as on Friday, but everything felt really good! My body was wonderfully recovered and my mind bright and positive. My knee felt fantastic compared to how it has been. So good that I could not help but going out for a short jog in the sun. Wow! It was the first time I could run in a year. I took it extremely slowly, with nasal breathing and prolonged exhalation, and set a limit of one kilometer. I was so happy that I was about to cry. Human again!! Not being able to run in a year and maybe never being able to do it again has been hard. It has been so bad that for about four months now I haven’t even been able to go for a short walk. Every step has been painful.

And here I was now, running rather slowly in the sun and barely felt anything. Naturally, I'm not taking anything for granted, but to experience that again was a bit unreal. Only those who are closest to me, and who have followed me for the past eight months, can really understand how big this was. I really had to pinch myself. Nothing has had such an effect. Not even strong doses of anti-inflammatory painkillers (which I hate, but have had to use sometimes to be able to move).

I love the feeling of being completely recovered after a hard workout, as I do with nasal breathing

Monday and Tuesday, I still felt really lively and strong. I challenged myself to do crossfit workouts with some young guys in their mid twenties and was the last (wo)man standing every time. I succeeded almost entirely in using nose breathing, but I have still a long way to go when mixing a lot of gymnastics and strongman and barbell movements. Sometimes I give in and open my mouth. But I can pace myself in a different way and delay the lactate explosion in my muscles. Furthermore I'm making the others stressed out by looking so calm and unaffected.

Now, a week later, I probably do not feel that great effect anymore. But I am still completely fascinated and excited by the experience. And I have probably increased the Relaxator breathing retraining a lot, usually to a couple of hours a day.

Today my inner CO2 junkie felt abstinence, so I decided to do a high-intensity cardio workout with my mouth taped, in order to try to get close to the experience with the Body Stream suit. I love it! I feel so good from it! But sure, the effect is, after all, not as strong as from the suit, but still it is addictive, and it has become clear to me what incredible potential there is in this kind of training. I was able to push really hard without feeling strained, and afterwards it was once again as if I had not done any real work, even though my exertion level was probably about 85 % for 60 minutes.

I love the feeling of being completely recovered after a hard workout, as I do with nasal breathing. Not at all drained and exhausted. And I also feel how good it is for my knee. It is pure therapy for my knee. It was noticeably better after the workout! Of course, I am appealed by the idea of pushing the boundaries in terms of performance. But right now, what interests me the most with this kind of training is that it is like medicine for my knee and for reducing inflammation in my body!

Alexandra Kolam
42, Personal trainer, massage therapist, former elite Crossfit athlete,
Stockholm, Sweden