We know the importance of oxygen in the body for our health. The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine 2019 was award to three scientists, William Kaelin, Jr., Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza, for their discoveries of how cells in the body adapt to oxygen availability. This research informs us how cells sense low oxygen conditions and what it’s consequences are to the body.
This phenomenon called hypoxia is the condition that causes cancer, heart attacks and strokes, infection and many other conditions. This research offers the medical industry new therapies to treat these diseases.
What kind of exercises can we do to maintain the oxygen level in our body?
Doing regular aerobic exercises makes your lungs, muscles, and heart stronger. As your physical fitness improves, the body becomes more efficient at getting oxygen into the bloodstream and transporting it all over the body.
However, we also need to make sure that there is no physical obstruction that will impede the flow of oxygen. A relaxed body allows the oxygen, blood and fluids to travel unobstructed and nourish the organs, muscles, bones and tissues. So, we need strength as well as a supple body.
The best way to bring the most oxygen into our body in a relaxed state is through breathing. Each breath of air contains 21% oxygen as opposed to 1% in each sip of water.
Now when you add motion, even more oxygen can dissolve into your body. That’s why ocean water is so healthy because the wind and waves moves a higher concentration of oxygen into the water.
Synchronizing the breath with gentle movement can bring the body into a meditative state. This creates the ultimate open and relaxed body, making it the perfect environment for oxygen to move freely.
So how can we maximize the oxygen in each breath?
Gentle exercises like yoga and Qi Gong will open our pores, muscles, tissues, organs and channels in our body. This will allow oxygen to flow freely throughout and oxygenate every part of our body down to its cellular level.
Combining moderate aerobic exercise with gentle breathing exercises is the perfect combination of optimizing your oxygen output and distribution in your body.
After each workout, end with a 10 minute Yoga or Qi Gong and you will feel relaxed and energized as your strong oxygen flows through your calm and zen body.
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