Breath is more than a simple biological function—it’s a powerful gateway to health, resilience, and mental clarity. Soul Dimension Breathing combines intermittent hypoxia, hyperventilation, and breath retention to activate the body’s adaptive responses and harness the principle of hormesis. By cycling between oxygen-rich states and deliberate breath-holding, this practice supports cardiovascular health, boosts energy, improves focus, and strengthens overall well-being.
While the idea of lowering oxygen levels in the body might sound counterintuitive, science shows that intermittent hypoxia—brief, repeated periods of reduced oxygen—can actually enhance our resilience and health.
This practice, known as Intermittent Hypoxic Training (IHT) or Intermittent Hypoxia Exposure (IHE), has been studied for decades for its ability to improve oxygen efficiency, stimulate cellular renewal, and strengthen cardiovascular function.
Research published in the Frontiers in Physiology (Burtscher et al., 2021) highlights that controlled intermittent hypoxia can boost red blood cell production, support mitochondrial health, and improve the body’s ability to use oxygen effectively. These physiological shifts help explain why techniques using intermittent hypoxia are becoming increasingly recognized for both athletic performance and overall wellness.
In this article, we’ll explore the science behind intermittent hypoxia breathwork, its potential benefits, and how Soul Dimension Breathing uniquely uses hyperventilation and breath retention for transformative health benefits.
What Is Intermittent Hypoxia Breathwork?
Intermittent hypoxia breathwork involves short, controlled periods of reduced oxygen levels alternated with normal or elevated oxygen. Unlike chronic hypoxia, which is harmful, intermittent hypoxia acts as a mild physiological stressor that triggers adaptive benefits.
Practices using hyperventilation followed by breath retention temporarily raise oxygen levels (hyperoxia) and then create a hypoxic state. This trains the body to function more efficiently under stress and promotes resilience at both cellular and systemic levels.
Several modern breathwork methods, including the Wim Hof Method and Soul Dimension Breathing use cycles of hyperventilation followed by breath retention to create a natural, safe form of intermittent hypoxia.
During the active breathing phase, deep, rhythmic hyperventilation lowers carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, creating a temporary state of hyperoxia—where oxygen saturation in the blood increases.
During the breath hold, carbon dioxide (CO₂) gradually rises while oxygen levels drop slightly, placing the body in a mild, beneficial state of hypoxia. This naturally creates the urge to breathe, which is part of the body’s adaptive response. Simultaneously, blood vessels dilate, circulation improves, and both the nervous and cardiovascular systems are stimulated to respond, adapt, and become more resilient.
It’s a fascinating physiological dance—first constriction, then dilation—that helps train the body to respond more effectively to changes in oxygen and carbon dioxide.
The Bohr Effect: Why CO₂ Matters
An important concept behind these benefits is the Bohr Effect—a principle discovered over a century ago that explains how carbon dioxide helps release oxygen from the blood into tissues.
When CO₂ levels rise during breath retention, hemoglobin releases oxygen more efficiently to cells. In other words, learning to tolerate higher CO₂ levels through conscious breath holds doesn’t deprive the body—it actually teaches it to use oxygen more efficiently.
This is one of the keys to how breathwork improves oxygen delivery, energy production, calm, and focus.
Research suggests intermittent hypoxia breathwork can provide multiple health benefits:
- Enhanced Brain Function: Improves cerebral blood flow and may protect against ischemic damage (Kumar et al., 2016)
- Neuroplasticity and Motor Function: Supports neuroplasticity via serotonin-producing neurons (Gonzalez-Rothi et al., 2015)
- Immune System Strengthening: May reduce inflammation and improve immunity (Serebrovska et al., 2019)
- Growth Hormone Production: Breath retention triggers mild stress to boost growth hormone (Guey-Shyang Hwang and Chih-Chieh Chen., 2017)
- Improved Respiratory Function: Enhances lung capacity and oxygen efficiency (McHugh et al., 2003)
- Multi-0rgan protection: IMH conditioning as a multi-organ therapeutic strategy (Qihan Zhang et al., 2023)
Hormesis: Building Resilience Through the Breath
The body’s response to intermittent hypoxia mirrors a principle called hormesis—the process by which mild, controlled stress makes us stronger.
Just as lifting weights challenges muscles to grow, brief low-oxygen exposure challenges cells to adapt, improving stress resilience, metabolic efficiency, and mitochondrial function.
Studies have shown that regular, well-guided intermittent hypoxia can support cardiovascular health, regulate inflammation, and improve autonomic balance—an indicator of heart rate variability (HRV) and overall wellbeing (Serebrovskaya & Xi, 2016; Bailey et al., Journal of Physiology, 2010).
How Soul Dimension Breathing Uses Hyperventilation and Breath Retention
In Soul Dimension Breathing, we intentionally guide this same physiological rhythm. Through a sequence of conscious hyperventilation breathing and breath holds (retentions), the body first enters a state of hyperoxia—oxygen-rich blood and mild vasoconstriction.
Then, during the breath holds, carbon dioxide naturally builds, creating mild hypoxia and triggering vasodilation.
This expansion and release not only improves circulation but also supports a sense of deep relaxation, clarity, and energetic balance.
Soul Dimension Breathing cycles through 2 phases:
- Hyperventilation Phase: Deep, rapid breathing increases oxygen levels (hyperoxia). Hyperventilation lowers CO₂, which temporarily reduces oxygen delivery due to the Bohr effect—a shift in hemoglobin’s oxygen-binding efficiency.
- Breath Retention Phase: Controlled breath-holding allows CO₂ to build, creating hypoxia. This reverses the Bohr effect, improving oxygen delivery, stimulating vasodilation, and activating adaptive stress responses.
Vascular Adaptations:
- Vasoconstriction during hyperventilation
- Vasodilation during breath retention
Other Breathwork Techniques Using Intermittent Hypoxia
Other techniques using hyperventilation and/or breath retention include:
- Wim Hof Method: Hyperventilation + prolonged breath retention (Kox et al., 2014)
- Buteyko Breathing: Breath retention after shallow exhalations (McHugh et al., 2003)
- Pranayama (Kumbhaka, Bhastrika): Yogic breath retention (Jerath et al., 2015)
- Freediving Training: Repeated, extended breath holds
Soul Dimension Breathing adds mindfulness and meditative focus, offering a holistic path for body, mind, and emotional health.
A Mindful & Safe Approach
By integrating conscious breathwork into your daily life, you may experience greater mental clarity, a more balanced nervous system, and a deeper sense of calm and harmony between body and mind—which is exactly what Soul Dimension Breathing is designed to cultivate.These cycles support cardiovascular health, mental clarity, and energy optimization.
At Soul Dimension, we believe the breath is a bridge to both optimal health and self-awareness. Intermittent hypoxia is a powerful technique when practiced correctly and safely with guidance and intention.
Honor your body’s wisdom, progress gently, and allow each breath session to gradually lead you toward greater wellbeing, resilience, and vitality.
While breath retention and intermittent hypoxia are generally safe when done correctly, it can also be risky if practiced improperly and unsafely. Always:
- Practice in a safe, supervised environment
- Avoid pushing limits unsafely
- Consult a healthcare professional before starting if you have any health conditions or concerns. As with any breathing or wellness practice, it’s important to listen to your body and consult a qualified health professional if you have underlying medical conditions or concerns.
Contraindications: If you have cardiovascular disease, a recent surgery, stroke or heart attack, high or low blood pressure, pregnancy, glaucoma, retinal detachment, epilepsy, asthma, psychiatric condition, taking medications for an illness or injury, or any other physical or mental health condition or concern that might effect your participation in class, please ask your doctor if exercise and breathwork are safe for you before attending any classes with Soul Dimension. Also, the Soul Dimension practice can be modified for practitioners who need or want to go more gently.
Conclusion
Soul Dimension Breathing leverages intermittent hypoxia, hyperventilation, and breath retention to improve resilience, cardiovascular health, mental clarity, and emotional balance. By safely applying hormesis and leveraging the Bohr effect, this practice supports profound mind-body transformation.
Experience and learn the technique at the guided Soul Dimension Free Weekly Class, or an upcoming Masterclass.
References & Further Reading
- Burtscher, M., et al. (2021). Frontiers in Physiology. “Intermittent Hypoxia Training: From Basic Mechanisms to Clinical and Sports Practice.”
- Serebrovskaya, T. V., & Xi, L. (2016). High Altitude Medicine & Biology. “Intermittent Hypoxia Training as Non-Pharmacologic Therapy for Cardiovascular Diseases.”
- Bailey, D. M., et al. (2010). The Journal of Physiology. “Repeated Hypoxic Exposure and Vascular Function in Humans.”
- Brown, R. P., & Gerbarg, P. L. (2005). The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. “Sudarshan Kriya Yogic Breathing in the Treatment of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression.”
