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Certification
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Description Objectives Requirements Schedule Faculty Registration Accommodations
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Certification Are you overbreathing?
Which brain is yours?
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PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION Certified Breathing
Practitioner (CBP) BREATHING IS BEHAVIOR. Breathing
is behavior, a behavior that regulates acid-base physiology. Acid-base physiology is about pH
balance of body fluids, including blood and the fluids that surround tissue
cells. The effects of deregulated
pH (or chemistry) on health and performance can be dramatic and profound. Good
breathing behavior is about regulating of body chemistry (pH), a chemistry
that ensures electrolyte balance, proper blood distribution, and efficient
allocation of oxygen. Bad
breathing behavior means deregulating body chemistry. Breathing, like any other behavior, is
regulated by learning, and thus by motivation, emotion, cognition,
perception, and memory. Bringing
together these two simple facts, that (1) breathing is a behavior subject to
the principles of learning, and that (2) breathing regulates body chemistry
(pH), means bringing together the biological and behavioral sciences in
profoundly practical ways relevant to the lives of millions. PROPER ALLOCATION OF
CARBON DIOXIDE IS CRUCIAL. Breathing
behavior regulates pH through proper allocation of carbon dioxide (CO2). Proper exhalation of CO2, at rest, is
only about 12 to 15 percent of the total CO2 arriving in the lungs. The remaining CO2 is retained in the
blood, and is fundamental to pH regulation. Although this is common knowledge to
any pulmonary or acid-base physiologist, it remains virtually unknown by
others. Exhalation
of more than a relatively small amount of CO2, results in a CO2 deficit in
the blood and other body fluids, a deregulated respiratory chemistry known as
hypocapnia. Traditional common
sense has misguided us into believing that CO2 is poisonous, and that good
breathing requires its complete elimination. This superstition needs to be replaced
with the facts. Hypocapnia
is the result of overbreathing, the mismatch of breathing rate and
depth. Its consequence is an
increased level of pH, or respiratory alkalosis, which may have profound
immediate and long-term effects that trigger, exacerbate, perpetuate, and/or
cause a wide variety of emotional, perceptual, cognitive, attention,
behavioral, and physical deficits that may seriously impact health and
performance. These deficits may be
the result of the following: ●
Blood vessels constrict in the brain and in the heart (coronaries). ●
Blood flow to the brain is reduced by as much as 50 percent. ●
Oxygen and glucose supplies to the brain are radically reduced. ●
Brain cells become more excitable, and are more likely to be anaerobic. ●
Smooth muscles constrict, including the bronchioles, placenta, and gut. ●
Sodium and potassium deficiencies (electrolyte imbalance) may develop. ●
Calcium-magnesium ratios in muscles become imbalanced. ●
Bicarbonates required for regulating acids (e.g., lactic) are depleted. ●
Oxygen and nitric oxide release by hemoglobin is inhibited. ●
Airway resistance increases and lung compliance decreases. |
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