← EXERCISE LIBRARYPranayama
CO2 Tolerance Table
A structured table with a fixed hold and progressively shorter rests, done on dry land. Raises tolerance to the discomfort of rising CO2. Never practised in or near water.
- 01Sit or lie down somewhere safe on dry land, never in, on or beside water, and never alone if you are new to breath holds.
- 02Find your comfortable hold time first: inhale normally, hold, and stop at the first strong urge to breathe — not at your maximum. Use half of that figure as your working hold.
- 03Round one: breathe normally for 90 seconds of rest, then perform your working hold.
- 04Reduce the rest by 15 seconds each round — 90, 75, 60, 45, 30 — while keeping the hold length identical every time.
- 05Complete 5 to 6 rounds total, then stop. Do this no more than 3 times a week.
- 06Finish with 2 minutes of quiet nasal breathing without any holds.
- 01The hold never changes. Only the rest shrinks.
- 02Breathe normally in the rests — no hyperventilating to buy an easier hold.
- 03Stop at the urge to breathe, not at the edge.
- 01Performing any breath hold in or near water, which is how shallow water blackout happens and is the single most important rule here.
- 02Hyperventilating before a hold to extend it, which suppresses the urge to breathe without adding oxygen and removes your warning signal.
- 03Practising this during pregnancy, with uncontrolled hypertension, cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, epilepsy, or a history of fainting — deliberate retention work is not appropriate in those situations.
Note: Reference material, not a prescription. Load, volume and whether this movement suits you at all depends on your assessment — if something hurts, stop and get it looked at.