Certify as an Oxygen Advantage® Functional Breathing Instructor
Why Oxygen Advantage®?
- Optimize performance
- Promote better sleep and a better quality of life
- Boost energy and focus and reduce anxiety
- Manage symptoms of many common health complaints
What’s Involved?
How Can I Use the Training?
- Overall health
- Exercise performance and stamina
- Yoga breathing
- Lower back pain, posture and core muscle strength
- PTSD, anxiety, depression and panic disorder
- High stress and mental agitation
- Energy, focus and concentration
- Insomnia and snoring
- Fatigue and mood
- Rhinitis (stuffy nose and hay fever)
- Asthma and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction
- Diabetes and epilepsy control
- Depression and anxiety in people with comorbid conditions like bipolar disorder, that prevent the use of anti-depressant medication
Why Oxygen Advantage®?
- Online video tutorials by Patrick McKeown covering the theory and practice of the Oxygen Advantage® method
- A comprehensive training manual written by Patrick McKeown
- Access to live two-hour webinars with Patrick, covering topics including sleep, stress and anxiety
- Marketing images and designs to use on your own website and publicity material
- The chance to join our global network of instructors (35 countries and counting)
What Our Students Say
The Oxygen Advantage has helped my Olympians become more aware of their breathing. We practice nasal breathing during foam rolling, warm ups, cool downs and during certain prescribed exercise. I would highly recommend Oxygen Advantage to any coach looking to get any additional benefit for their athletes.
I am a 20 year rugby player here in the US, and I am the head coach for a major university in Texas. I am 39 years old, and I cannot think of a single thing in my entire life as an athlete that has benefitted and increased my fitness as much as this book has for me. I have since suggested it to two teammates, and they are having similar results. I am going to be honest, this should be required reading for every aspiring or current athlete, and every organized sports team should require all their athletes to read it. My BOLT score started out at around 10, and after a few months of doing the exercises I am at 40. My sleep has improved, and although…
I have taken the Oxygen Advantage Instructor course and can’t say enough good things about it! I have been taping my mouth for my strength training sessions as well as my Tactical training. I have been playing with the knowledge Patrick McKeown has so willingly shared and began experimenting with my Team. The conditioning results have been exceptional but I expected that based on what I learned in the course. Using OA for the reduction of stress in SWAT and other High Stress Law Enforcement activities is what I am most interested in now and I have a lot to work with thanks again to Patrick McKeown. For those out there who are considering taking the course do yourself a favor get off the fence and do it. Money well invested in your health!
Mastering one of the most powerful mechanism in our body can have a tremendous impact on both well being and performance. Because we breath 24/24, breath training is potentially endless. I have been looking for a technique that could effortlessly trigger diaphragmatic breathing to improve the mind/ body connection. Thanks to the Oxygen Advantage, I have discovered that nose breathing and breath holds could also enhance the fitness level of my athletes through simulation of altitude training. Moving towards the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, we have now integrated the Oxygen advantage breathing techniques into our daily training and recovery.
The Oxygen Advantage is one of the best books that I have read this entire year… one of my favorite books in the world actually.
Patrick’s book, The Oxygen Advantage® is a godsend for anyone wishing to improve their performance in a way that doesn’t involve hours of strenuous workouts, drills, and endless miles of running. I’ve been doing nose breathing for the past ten years and it has totally revolutionized my running and seriously dropped my effort levels… at every speed! It’s simple to incorporate into your training and your daily life. and the results are astounding. I now recommend it in all of my running classes and training programs. Every runner or athlete should have this book. If you’re not breathing right, you’re working too hard.
Patrick McKeown is a researcher and coach at the cutting edge of optimal breathing strategies. He works with world class athletes as well as everyday people, using simple exercises to help them to correct dysfunctional breathing patterns which can result in life-changing health and fitness benefits.
This is one of the best courses I have attended, and offered so much more beyond the book in terms of information and practical application. Patrick breaks down the physiology of breathing, and how it affects performance, health, and physical well being.
Many know that I am a major fan of using simple, inexpensive lifestyle changes to avoid expensive and dangerous medications and surgery. The Oxygen Advantage , which is an extension of Patrick McKeown’s work as a Buteyko coach, is one strategy that I believe should be included in your health habit arsenal. There simply are no downsides that I can identify and there are massive upsides. I use it personally, and would strongly encourage you to apply it to your life so you can reap the rewards.
Why Invest In Breath Training?
A Few Facts About Breathing
Breathing pattern disorders affect 9.5 percent of the adult population. In people with asthma, its 29 percent, and 75 percent of people with anxiety have dysfunctional breathing. (Jones et al., 2013/Thomas et al., 2001)
Slow breathing at six breaths per minute has been found to optimize heart rate variability (HRV), respiratory sinus arrhythmia RSA), baroreflex (blood pressure receptor) reflexes, gas exchange in the lungs, and to activate the calming power of the parasympathetic nervous system via the vagus nerve.
Sleep disordered breathing is considered to be a public health epidemic, costing the economy millions of dollars in poor productivity and sick days, and contributing to road accidents and early mortality.
Breathing exercises can help with problems as wide-ranging as performance anxiety, sleep, stress, poor digestion, heart health, hypertension and cognition.
Most of what we know about breathing is wrong. For example we believe that oxygen is good and carbon dioxide is bad. The reality… CO2 is essential for good health and vital to oxygenation of the cells. Without carbon dioxide, the body would be starved of oxygen, whether or not oxygen was available in the blood. (Singh, 2017)
One of the most common breathing pattern disorders is something called chronic hyperventilation. Forget the image of someone puffing furiously into a paper bag – this is long-term over-breathing that causes imbalances in the blood chemistry and factors in many pathological conditions – read that again – poor breathing patterns are an underlying factor in a lot of illness.
Chronic hyperventilation tends to involve fast, upper chest breathing. This triggers the sympathetic nervous system’s ‘fight or flight’ response leading to chronic stress (and many associated physical and mental health disorders).
We often urge our students to take a ‘deep breath’. But without an understanding of what a deep breath actually is and how to explain it, we may be inadvertently causing more harm than good.
Breathing should be through the nostrils, and rarely, if ever, through the mouth. Breathing through the mouth has been likened to trying to eat through your nose!
It is possible to maintain nasal breathing even during intensive exercise such as running. One study found athletes were able to train to 85 percent of VO2 max whilst breathing through the nose (Thomas et al., 2009).
Conditions including asthma, diabetes and epilepsy can often be successfully managed by increasing blood CO2 levels. In the case of epilepsy, hyperventilation has been proven to trigger seizures, and in panic disorder, blood CO2 levels are directly related to the panic threshold.
About Your Instructor, Patrick McKeown
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT DOES LEVEL 1 TRAINING PROVIDE?
The training comprises detailed instruction in methods of optimizing breathing patterns across three dimensions for improved health and exercise performance. You will study:
– The biochemical dimension – how to normalize carbon dioxide levels
– The biomechanical dimension – how to achieve better functioning of the diaphragm breathing muscle
– Cadence or coherent breathing – how to achieve optimal parasympathetic / sympathetic balance
WILL THIS COURSE CERTIFY ME TO TEACH MY STUDENTS FUNCTIONAL BREATHING?
Yes. Once you have passed the multiple-choice exam, you will receive a certificate in Level 1 Functional Breathing from OxygenAdvantage.com. As well as this certification, we will add your photo, profile and contact details to our list of instructors so that prospective clients can find you.
WHAT ARE THE COURSE OBJECTIVES?
On completion of the program you will:
– Be able to identify dysfunctional breathing patterns
– Understand dysfunctional breathing and how this impacts sports performance and health
– Have a clear knowledge of respiratory physiology Be able to teach exercises to decongest the nose and help establish nasal breathing
– Have the tools to deliver breathing re-education exercises and guidelines to help restore physiologically normal breathing in adults
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LEVEL 1 TRAINING AND THE COMPLETE OXYGEN ADVANTAGE® INSTRUCTOR TRAINING?
Level 1 Training provides certification in functional breathing during rest and physical exercise. The Advanced Instructor Training provides certification in functional breathing and simulation of altitude training (intermittent hypoxic, hypercapnic training).
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CERTIFY AS A LEVEL 1 INSTRUCTOR?
Certification on average takes around 100 hours of online tutorials and self-study. Most instructors complete and pass their exam and case studies within one to three months of registration. There is no set time limit to certify.
WHAT MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED?
The Oxygen Advantage trademarked logo, instructor manual, marketing materials and client intake form are available to all instructors.
IS THERE AN EXAM?
Yes. The exam consists of 70 multiple-choice questions. You can complete this in one sitting or over several sitting. Upon completion of the exam, you must also submit two case studies.
DO I RECEIVE A PHYSICAL CERTIFICATE?
Yes, a certificate in Level 1 Functional Breathing Instructor will be provided to you digitally via email for you to print.
IS THERE FOLLOW UP SUPPORT?
Yes, there is continuous follow up support by email. There are also regular live online training sessions, which you can access through the trainer portal. Upcoming dates are:
– 1st July 2020 (8AM-10AM LOS ANGELES, 11AM-1PM NEW YORK, 4PM-6PM LONDON)
– 4th August (8AM-10AM LOS ANGELES, 11AM-1PM NEW YORK, 4PM-6PM LONDON)
– 19th October (8AM-10AM LOS ANGELES, 11AM-1PM NEW YORK, 4PM-6PM LONDON)
– 4th November (8AM-10AM LOS ANGELES, 11AM-1PM NEW YORK, 4PM-6PM LONDON)
DURING THE COURSE, HOW DO I REACH OUT IF I’M HAVING A PROBLEM OR WANT TO ASK A QUESTION?
You can email or ask your question during the live trainings. Email: info@functionaltraininginstitute.com
Taking the Training
How can I apply the training in my professional life?
How Are Existing OA Instructors Using The Training?
Windsor / Canada
Oregon / USA
Australia / New Zealand
Ahmedabad / India
What Will I Learn?
The science of breathing
How to assess your clients
How to practice and teach simple exercises that normalize the body’s biochemistry
How to understand and explain the biomechanical aspects of healthy breathing
How to use cadence breathing to optimize health
- The online training portal
- Live online webinars with Patrick McKeown on functional breathing
- A scripted exercise manual
- 23 detailed training videos
- A comprehensive program of study (outlined below)
Study Components
How (and why) to influence the autonomic nervous system
What Breathe Light really means and how it impacts the body
Why breathing ‘hard’ causes poor oxygenation of the cells
The importance of nasal breathing during both inspiration and expiration
The effects of poor breathing patterns, long and short-term
How to reduce breathlessness in sports
The benefits of making the switch to nose breathing
How to unblock the nose
What the oxygen hemoglobin dissociation curve is and what it means for your students
diving 120m deep on a single breath of air