Stay fit and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic

How can conscious daily routines help in a time of great uncertainty?

This historical article was written during the COVID-19 pandemic. It connects the wish to take action at that time with breathwork, qigong and caring for the body.

McKeown’s approach, Far Eastern traditions and modern research lead to a practical everyday question: how do you consciously shape movement, rest and attention?

When this article was written during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were waiting for vaccination appointments while also looking for ways to act themselves. Vaccination was an essential part of infection prevention. Alongside it came an everyday question: how can movement, recovery and conscious breathing support physical and mental wellbeing?

Optimising breathing and better understanding how to strengthen our lungs and overall metabolism are indeed important. In his influential book “Oxygen Advantage”, Patrick McKeown describes the interplay of breathing volume, nasal breathing and the urge to breathe. China, Taiwan, South Korea and Cambodia also have rich cultures of meditative movement. Qi Gong combines breath, posture, attention and often gentle movement. In Chinese tradition, the practice nurtures vitality and constitution. A walk through Taipei’s parks shows how firmly these exercises are embedded in many people’s daily lives.

This holistic view connects movement, sleep, nutrition and psychological wellbeing. Particularly in a time of great uncertainty, regular practice can provide steadiness and direct attention to what we can influence in everyday life.

Immune defence and metabolism operate in a finely regulated interplay. Conscious everyday habits can support general health; pandemic precautions at the time also included specific infection-control measures.

The BOLT test — your starting point for conscious breathing work

Patrick McKeown uses the BOLT score as a guide to responding to the urge to breathe. Sitting calmly, you measure the pause after a normal exhalation until the first clear need to inhale. This provides a personal starting value:

• Take a relaxed position, such as supported sitting or lying on your back, and stay there for at least five minutes.
• Inhale gently through your nose and exhale just as gently.
• After exhalation, pinch your nose with your fingers. Keep your mouth closed.
• Count the seconds until the first urge to breathe, for example an abdominal contraction or flaring nostrils.
• The result is your score. Afterwards, breathe calmly again.

Breathing training for a calmer daily life

Want to approach breathing more consciously? Begin with a simple sequence that keeps it calm and comfortable. Sitting comfortably, take a normal breath through your nose and exhale gently. Pinch your nose briefly and release it at the first clear urge to breathe. Continue calmly. Let your normal rhythm return fully before considering another short pause.

Japanese martial arts and Chinese meditation traditions have long cultivated conscious breathing. It connects concentration with physical experience and inner composure.

The nose filters, warms and humidifies air. Nitric oxide from the paranasal sinuses enters the lower airways during inhalation and participates in their physiological regulation. Antiviral applications of NO have also been investigated in the laboratory, using specific substances and concentrations. That research explains the interest in NO; it examines different conditions from natural nasal breathing.

Breath holding — targeted adaptation and performance development

Targeted breath holds are also studied in elite sport. They temporarily change respiratory gases and can provide a particular training stimulus. With repeated sprints using voluntary hypoventilation, for example, researchers found improvements in trained rugby players. Such performance protocols are guided according to training aims and the athlete’s capacity.

Ancient China held a belief in Qi, a force traditionally understood to be taken in through breathing and moved through the body. The lungs have a special place in this thinking. Its language closely connects breath, vitality and caring for life.

McKeown focuses on light, calm nasal breathing. Andrew Huberman describes the physiological sigh for acute stress regulation and Yoga Nidra as a deep-rest practice. These different directions offer concrete ways to work with breath and attention.

Use ancient knowledge and modern research

Connect curiosity about Far Eastern breathing traditions with modern findings. Develop regular practice that strengthens your daily life and makes room for movement, rest and confidence.

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