Cut-off Retention

In this exercise, I combine breath-holds with narrowing my neck arteries. The exercise intensifies my regular breath-hold and improves my neck artery flexibility. If I keep my head tilted to the side at a particular angle for long enough, the narrowing of my neck arteries may cause insufficient Oxygen supply to my brain and result in dizziness.

Holding this twisted-neck posture for long enough may lead to losing consciousness. In the past, I have tried twisting my neck until I felt extreme dizziness but never got further into fainting.

Preliminary breath-holding time calculation

I start with a breath-hold count at about one-third of my ‘air hunger start time’ and climb up.

My ‘air hunger start time’ at rest is 29 seconds on average. So, I start counting at 29/3 = about 10 seconds.

How I exercise ‘cutoff breathing’:

Directives:

  • I sit comfortably with a straight back, relax my tongue and jaw, and close my eyes.
  • Reset my breathing if needed.
  • Breathe, as in 3-part breathing, exclusively through the nose.
  1. Exhale in 3 parts, hold my breath, tilt my head backward, and then to the right so that my right ear is close to my right shoulder. Then, while retaining the breath-hold, I twist my neck as if looking up, and keep this posture for 10 counts.
  2. Inhale in 3 parts, and straighten my head.
  3. Exhale fully in 3 parts, hold my breath, tilt my head backward and then to the left so that my left ear is close to my left shoulder. Then, while retaining the breath-hold, I twist my neck as if looking up, and keep this posture for 11 counts.
  4. Inhale in 3 parts, and straighten my head.
  5. I continue alternating, increasing the count by 1 unit every time I twist my neck and try to keep the posture. I keep incrementing the count, until I gently reach the point of ‘air hunger start.’