Hello HypoXiX Community! AJ here! As the first post in our forum, I would like to speak a bit on the HypoXiX Pillars….the whats, whys and hows of the methodology.
HypoXiX PILLARS
1. BREATHOGRAPHY
What: Breath Choreography. Progressive patterns of breathing cycles that are based on short, intense inhalations, 8 second exhalations that increase in intensity over 8 seconds, and low lung volume breath holds of varying lengths.
Why: A plethora of research supports a rate of 4-6 breaths per minute for strengthening the balance of the autonomic nervous system by upregulating the vagus nerve, which puts us in a place of parasympathetic dominance. A more parasympathetically driven person is able to maintain equanimity when faced with adversity and have better motor control during exercise, which leads to less injury. Additionally, the 8 second exhalation pattern strengthens FEV (forced exhalation), a respiratory marker that decreases with age. Extended inhalations improve total lung capacity, which increases the amount of O2 we can take in and improves the elasticity of our lung tissue, a key marker of health and longevity. Exhaling to low lung volume turns on the internal obliques and transversus abdominis, key muscles that make up your deep core and stabilize your low back. Forced engaged and released inhalations strengthen the diaphragm, our main breathing muscle. The stronger our diaphragm, the less we need to rely on those pesky secondary respiratory muscles such as the pecs and the scalenes that create neck tension and poor posture.
How: Integrated within each training program, there are 8 levels of Breathography, beginning with 8 second exhales and progressing to extended exhales and breath holds up to 12 seconds for core, respiratory and mental strength benefits. These are progressive in nature and are worked into every single one of the HypoXiX workouts.
2. ATTENTIONAL CONTROL
What: Studied extensively in Sports Psychology, Attentional Control Theory is an area that explores the value of improving a person’s Attentional Control (mastery of one’s ability to maintain focus on one task without distraction).
Why: The Self-Mastery of concentration is a skill that can be improved over time within training sessions using specific drills that challenge a person’s concentration due to the complexity of the task. Training to increase the threshold of Attentional Control is a powerful skill that can transfer over into other areas of one’s life such as flow state creativity, test taking, and anything that requires an extended period of focus for successful implementation. Attention deficit is at the forefront of disorders worldwide, exacerbated by smartphones and social media. Even the smallest amount of reduction in this deficit could be life changing for many.
How: Patterns of movement, varying in levels of intensity, are introduced in the warm up routine and synchronized with the corresponding level of Breathography. Breathography in itself challenges and improves Attentional Control. When adding the footwork and directional changes, not only does it immediately “sharpen” one’s lens into the workout, but it also greatly challenges and improves a person’s Attentional Control.
3. POSTURE
What: The alignment of the musculoskeletal components against gravity.
Why: Improvements in posture have been shown to correlate with improvements in respiratory, central nervous, circulatory, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, and lymphatic systems.
How: The Zip Up Activation on a Hiss Exhale ,“12345”, as the set-up for each set of exercise, activates key muscles that optimize posture as we execute Breathography in tandem with the set of functional or core exercise.
4. CORE
What: The combination of muscles that connect into the spine and lumbo-pelvic hip complex.
Why: strengthening the muscles of the core promotes stability of the lumbar spine and more forces to be absorbed into these active tissues of the muscles vs the passive tissues of the hip and spine such as bursa, vertebral disc, and other cartilaginous structures.
How: The utilization of Breathography in tandem with functional core training teaches one to not only keep their breath at a slow tempo while strengthening the respiratory and central nervous system, but it also strengthens the deep core muscles such as pelvic floor, diaphragm, transversus abdominis, obliques, and multifidi that supporting joint support and injury prevention.
5. CO2 TOLERANCE
What: The amount of carbon dioxide that a person can physiologically endure before triggering stress or an inhalation. Chemoreceptors send signals to trigger inhalation when CO2 levels reach their CO2 threshold.
Why: Improving CO2 Tolerance and increasing the CO2 threshold correlates directly with reductions in minute ventilation (number of breaths taken per minute), state anxiety and improvements in aerobic metabolism and endurance.
How: Implementation of progressive Breathography patterns, inspired by free-divers’ O2 and CO2 tables, in tandem with the progressive core and functional training routines, raises the CO2 Tolerance. This can be tested with our version of the CO2 Tolerance Test. See below.
6. NOOTROMUSIC:
What: Composer and musician Gabe Churray, Chris Duff and AJ collaborated to create a series of compositions that guide the Breathography patterns during walking, functional movement, mobility and pre/post-natal programs. These compositions are evidence based in the plethora of research on Movement Sonification, Music Psychology and both Gabe and Chris’ careers as professional musicians and AJ’s career as a professional dancer/singer and her graduate level research in the areas of voluntary breathing, movement sonification, motor control and the responsiveness of the central nervous system to exercise.
Why: Nootromusic guides the listener through clear breath patterns through the variations in rhythm and demonstration of the breath by Gabe within the composition (Gabe’s unique and strong breath comes from his expert level trombone and didgeridoo playing!). The tone, tempo and rhythms in each composition are evidence based and designed to guide the Breathography and improve the autonomic nervous system. Increasing parasympathetic dominance while performing functional movements improves motor learning and motor control. Improvements in these areas reduce the chance of injury and support greater chances of retention and success within an exercise program.
How: Tracks of Nootromusic are used within pre-recorded mobility, post-natal, functional strength and core programs. The Nootromusic Videos of HypoXiX contrast the LIVE! and other core classes by synchronizing Nootromusic with Breathography and exercise. Nootromusic Tracks are also available for purchase individually to be utilized for walking, jogging or just lying on the floor in shavasanah to increase sense of calm. Check out the Nootromusic Pre-Bed Mobility Routines on the home page in conjunction with the Pre-Bed Mobility Tracks that can be used independently of the stretch routine in order to increase your parasympathetic activity before going to sleep!