
Anyone who has flown out to Colorado to ski at Breckenridge (or worse, A-basin), knows how bad it feels if you don’t take time to adjust slowly to the altitude. As you go up a mountain in Colorado – or in the Himalayas – oxygen levels decrease. The first thing that comes to mind with low oxygen levels may be high altitudes. When are you exposed to low oxygen levels? It also stimulates the production of red blood cells by increasing erythropoietin (EPO) expression. One way that HIF-1a helps your body respond to the lack of oxygen is by stimulating the growth of more blood vessels. Thus, when oxygen levels drop, HIF-1a levels rise, kicking off a bunch of processes. (Yes, your cells have a backup route of anaerobic glycolysis which works without oxygen, but this isn’t as efficient for making ATP.) The use of oxygen normally occurs in the cellular process to make energy or ATP. When oxygen levels are low (hypoxia), cells and tissues need to respond quickly. It switches on the genes needed for resolving the problems of low oxygen.
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Thus, when there isn’t enough oxygen available at a cellular level, the HIF-1a transcription factor can change the transcription rate for the genes that code for proteins involved in oxygen and glucose transport. Hypoxia refers to a state where there isn’t enough oxygen available. HIF-1a (hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha) responds to the amount of oxygen available to the cell. There are a couple of thousand different transcription factors in the human genome. Basically, a transcription factor is like a switch that can turn on or off the transcription of genes. Genes code for proteins your cells need to know which genes need to be translated into the proteins needed at that instance. So what is a transcription factor, and why is HIF-1a so important? The hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF1A) gene codes for a transcription factor, which regulates the rate at which certain other genes get transcribed. What happens if you increase HIF-1a under normal oxygen conditions?.What does HIF-1a do under normal conditions?.Hypoxia and HIF-1a are also important in cancer.When are you exposed to low oxygen levels?.With practice you can slow it all down and get used to inhaling and exhaling more deeply.If you have trouble holding your breath, speed the exercise up but keep to the ratio of 4:7:8 for the three phases.The absolute time you spend on each phase is not important the ratio of 4:7:8 is important.Exhalation takes twice as long as inhalation.You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue try pursing your lips slightly if this seems awkward.You always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth don’t forget the whoosh sound.Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth and keep it there through the entire exercise.Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.To watch INTEGRIS APRN and Integrative Medicine expert Juli Johnson demonstrate the technique, visit this On Your Health article (make sure you scroll all the way down the article to view the video). Weil’s favorite breathing exercises is "4-7-8 Breathing." Do it at least twice a day for a natural tranquilizing effect for the nervous system. Breath work also increases blood circulation throughout the body which can help decrease anxiety, improve sleep and increase energy levels. Weil says breath control can lower blood pressure, correct heart arrhythmia and improve digestive problems. Through breath control you can voluntarily relax your involuntary nervous system, which regulates the heart, digestion and other bodily functions. Andrew Weil, who is a world-renowned pioneer in the field of Integrative Medicine, calls it the simplest and most powerful mind/body technique in his arsenal and says, "If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be to learn to breathe correctly."īut why is it so good for you? Breathing is a bodily function that’s both voluntary and involuntary.

Did you know that on average we do it 20,000 times a day? "Breath work" is a term used to describe any type of therapy that utilizes breathing exercises to improve mental, physical and spiritual health.
