In this 20‑minute guided audio‑visual session, Clive Cable walks listeners through two daily breathing exercises derived from freediving – an O₂ table and a CO₂ table – that are presented as Appendix D to his book The 7 Health Habits of Happy People. The session begins with a brief rationale, citing the health and energy benefits of controlled breath‑holding and referencing a freediving app (Freediving Apnea Trainer) for timing. Listeners are instructed to sit or lie comfortably, breathe in through the nose for a count of 4 and out through pursed lips for a count of 8, and to hyper‑ventilate to store oxygen. The O₂ table consists of a series of breath‑holds (45 s, 1 min, 1 min 30 s, 1 min 15 s) interleaved with the 4‑8 rhythm, with cues to relax, distract the mind, and deepen belly breaths. After a 2‑minute pause, the CO₂ table follows the same rhythm but with progressively shorter breathing intervals while maintaining the same breath‑hold length, again with relaxation and deep‑breathing cues. Throughout, Cable offers encouragement, notes personal experience (e.g., Tom Cruise’s 6½‑minute hold, his own running benefits), and stresses that consistency will improve lung capacity, energy, and calmness within a week. The video ends with a recommendation to download the Android app and a thank‑you.
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book, The 7 Health Habits of Happy People. I'm doing this recording in case you cannot get the Android app, the freediving one I mentioned in my book, but I do strongly recommend you get it, and at the end I will show you what it looks like. So this is the O2 and CO2 tables for you to practice daily. In this short video, I'm going to take you step by step through a daily practice that will make a huge difference in your energy levels and your health. This practice comes from the amazing world of free diving. Tom Cruise was able to hold his breath for 6 and a half minutes with the help of free diving instructors. Now, you and I don't need to go to that extreme, but we still can enjoy the health benefits that come with these two daily practices. The O2 and CO2 tables. You can sit or lie in a comfortable position where you won't be disturbed. Allow 20 minutes, maybe a little bit more. Pause the video if you need time to get comfortable. I'm going to take care of the timing so you can concentrate on your breathing. You're going to be breathing in through your nose to the count of 4 and out through pursed lips to the count of 8, and I'll start you off on that with the rhythm. So the idea is to hyperventilate Breathe faster than normal and store oxygen in your body so you don't feel the urge to breathe in too soon when I ask you to hold your breath. When I say the word "begin," stop watching this video and just listen to the instructions. Okay. Begin. In. To. 3, 4. Out through pursed lips, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Now continue on your own, and I'll let you know when it's time to hold your breath. Keep breathing the same rhythm. And on your next out-breath, you are going to be holding your breath for 45 seconds, starting now. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Breathe in, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. And continue. You're going to be doing this for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Keep breathing into the same rhythm. And relax. Keep breathing. You're doing well. Store the oxygen. Right, on your next out-breath, you are going to be holding your breath for 1 minute, starting now. Just relax and see if you can use something to take your mind off what you're actually doing. Visualize where you might be going later on in the week or something. Okay, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Breathe. And you're going to hold— breathe, sorry, for 1 minute 30 seconds. In 2, 3, 4, like before, and out to 8. Once again, use anything to distract your mind away from what you are doing. 1 minute 30 seconds left of breathing and storing oxygen in. Remember to relax. 30 seconds of breathing left. Now I want you to start breathing in really deeply with your belly breaths, using more of your lung power to breathe in and breathe out forcefully. Breathing in deeper and deeper, and then out. And you're going to be holding now on your out-breath now for 1 minute 15 seconds. And let your mind wander, distract yourself. 10 seconds. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Breathe. 2, 3, 4. Out. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. In. 2, 3, 4. Out. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Keep that rhythm going. It's exactly the rhythm that I use. You're taking around 6 breaths a minute here. And you're hyperventilating, getting as much oxygen into your body as you can and storing it there, ready for the next and final breath hold. Right, prepare yourself. On the next out-breath, you're going to be holding your breath for 1 minute 30 seconds, starting around now. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Breathe normally. So if you were able to complete that, well done. I know that's not easy, especially the first time you do it, but that session is now finished. That's the O2 session, and I want you to wait at least 2 minutes before going on to do this CO2 table, so I'm going to start that timing now. Now what I find is that after I've done the O2 training, I find the CO2 table a lot easier because you're not holding your breaths for that 1 minute 30, so everything does seem a lot easier. Now what you also have to keep in mind is that you will be holding your breath for the same amount of time each time, but you will have less time in between to breathe the 4-8 breath. In other words, you will start off with a small time and it keeps decreasing as you go through the 4 phases, but you are still required to hold the out-breath for the same amount of time. Now, I found that when I first started doing the CO2 training, it made a huge difference to the way I was breathing when I was out running. I couldn't believe it. I'd been doing the O2 training for a while, but then the CO2, well, that made all the difference. So I highly encourage you to do both. Now, you should be breathing in fairly deeply right now. Preparing yourself. You've got 45 seconds to go, ready for the next table, the CO2 table, and we shall begin shortly. So get yourself settled back comfortably if you did move around, and we will begin in about 25 seconds. Keep breathing deeply. Once again, you're going to be breathing in through your nose to the count of 4 and out through pursed lips to the count of 8. You will do this for 1 minute and 30 seconds after you hear the word "begin." Right, begin. 1 minute 30 seconds. In 4, out 8. And just relax as you breathe. You always want to stay relaxed all the way through this. And if you do struggle anywhere with this, it does become easier as time goes on, and then you'll be able to set your times for longer and longer. So you've got 1 minute left of breathing like this. 30 seconds left. What I like to do in the last 30 seconds, really breathe in deeply and forget about the in 4, out 8. Just breathe in real deep. And out. Try to use as much of your lung power each time you breathe in, breathing through your belly, through your ribs, upper chest, and then through your neck, and breathe out. So in this next breath hold I'm going to be asking you to do is going to be for 1 minute and 15 seconds. So prepare yourself. Your next out breath, I want you to begin to hold your breath. Now. Now you will find this easier because you're not holding your breath for as long. And once again, distract yourself with anything you want to think about. 10 seconds left. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Now you'll hold your breath. Breathe in to the count of 4, out to the count of 8. You're going to be holding your breath for— sorry, you'll be breathing for 1 minute 15 seconds. So I'll let you know as the time goes on. So keep that rhythm going. A minute left. So we're coming up to the 30-second mark where you'll be breathing in really, really deeply through your belly. Ribs, chest, and neck for 3 breaths. So in deep, out deep through pursed lips, then in again. Get as much air as you can. Breathe out again. Last time, breathing in really deeply, and then out, and get ready to hold on the out-breath for 1 minute and 15 Seconds starting now. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Breathe. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. You can be doing this for a minute in total, so keep that rhythm going. So the 30-second mark is coming up, so do that really deep in-breathing. Real deep, deep, deep, deep, deep. And then out through pursed lips. And in again. And then out. In again. Deep, deep, deep. And on the out-breath, starting now, when you get to the end of that out-breath, you will be holding for 1 minute 15 seconds, starting now. 10, 9, 8. 5, 3, 2, 1. Breathe in, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4. This is 45 seconds, this one. So when we get to 30 seconds left, I'll tell you. Now breathe in deeply as you can. And then out. In. Out. In. Out. And on this out-breath, you will be holding For 1 minute 15, starting now. 10, 9, 6, 3. 2, 1. Breathe normally. Session finished. Well done. If you got through all that, that's brilliant. If you didn't, don't worry. Your lungs will get stronger as you go. Within 1 week of doing this, you will feel more energetic, your breathing will feel calmer, and you'll be more relaxed. Thank you for watching this video and for taking the time out to do this. I strongly urge that if you are on Android, then get this app, the Freediving Apnea Trainer. I have no idea what it is on Apple because I don't use the Apple, I use Android. So once again, thank you for watching. My name is Clive Cable, and this is Appendix D from the book The 7 Health Habits of Happy People.
