Thursday 12th September 2013
Early 2013, Airnergy AG in Hennef had reason to pop champagne corks: the 30 employees celebrated a very special award, the “Innovation Award of the Century”, awarded by “Fitness Tribune”, the specialist magazine for the international fitness and wellness industry for the last 30 years. The journalist Christa Jäger-Schrödl wanted to find out more, and learned in an interview with company founder and ceo Guido Bierther exciting details on the globally successful Spirovital therapy.
CJS: Mr. Bierther, let’s take a small excursion into the realm of fairy tales: An aging king is looking for a successor. Each candidate has to come up with three surprises to convince the king that his kingdom would be in good hands with him. What would you bring?
Guido Bierther: Assuming I would have previously considered very carefully whether I really want to take this job, I would bring the following:
1st As a present for my host – one of my favourite watches. I am sure even the old kings had a soft spot for technology and precision.
2nd My charming significant other. As the saying goes, “behind every successful man is a wise woman….”
3rd The latest Airnergy model – the battery powered “Travel Plus”. After all, there won‘t be any electricity and the smoke-laden air in the old castle can certainly use an extra dose of active oxygen in the air.
CJS: Which leads us straight to today’s topic. But before we go into any details – how did it all begin?
Guido Bierther: It all began with an accident through no fault of my own, which completely changed my life overnight from that of a 24-year-old entrepreneur and ambitious athlete with his sights set on motor sport. The diagnosis literally pulled the rug from beneath my feet: from a professional sportsman to a person with a lifelong disability in the lower extremities. But I was lucky. The compensation I received laid the foundation for building my new career. My strong will and positive attitude towards life helped me, never to give up. After numerous surgical operations, wheelchair experience and long years of recovery, it became clear to me that there could be only one way for me to carry on: I wanted to help people in similar situations; to get involved in health promotion.
Whilst reviewing the rehab measures which had particularly helped me and also trying out some new ideas, I came across the concept of Spirovital therapy. Back then we still called it “SOE – Singlet Oxygen Energy therapy”. Believe me: I was very critical! The more it became evident the injuries my body had sustained could not really be overcome by classical treatment methods, the more enthusiastic I was to support this method which was such a blessing to me. It eased my pain and over time virtually regenerated me from head to toe. Bit by bit I became physically fit and active again, felt quality of life and joie-de-vivre returning.
CJS: A moving story. With a wonderful twist. And all that just because of a little breathing…?
Guido Bierther: Yes, at first I thought so too. Aside from my technical knowledge, my common sense told me that the effect of this technology – modeled on the principle of photosynthesis – is quite logical. And yes, I could feel the results firsthand. I am happy to tell you more about how it works exactly. But first a few words about the “little breathing”: Every person breathes about 21,000 times per day, moving on average twelve and a half cubic meters of air. That’s enough to fill a large hot-air balloon capable of carrying 20 people. Unbelievable but true. The air we breathe is our most vital source of nourishment – every minute of our life; without air, or rather without the oxygen therein, it will only take a maximum of 3 to 5 minutes for the first brain cells to die, and we can barely survive much longer. It is entirely justified that some religions consider “breath”, or yoga “prana”, the central energy of life.
But – and here we come to the advantages of Airnergy – one fact has not even yet been taken into consideration: The air we breathe contains about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, the rest are water vapour, carbon dioxide and noble gases. The exhaled air still has the same nitrogen content, but only about 17% oxygen, 4% carbon dioxide, and a few other elements. That means, only about a quarter of the oxygen content remains in the body and is converted into metabolic energy, the largest part is exhaled. This percentage is not really used very efficiently. Nevertheless, it is sufficient for us humans to survive. But what happens when the quality of our air deteriorates or we have a deficit in oxygen utilization due to stress, illness, age, etc.? Or more precisely, when the supply of oxygen to our cells cannot be metabolised properly? Our entire immune system, our whole body will be significantly weakened. What are we going to do when that happens?
CJS: Well, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation won‘t work in the long run…. No, seriously – spontaneously I would have said, increase the oxygen supply. But after your explanation, I begin to wonder if this will actually suffice?
Guido Bierther: Just the thought on which the therapeutic approach of today’s oxygen energy therapy was based on, this is what Airnergy has built on. Main objective is the optimal supply of all body cells with actually usable oxygen. The oxygen contained in the ambient air we breathe is inert, and activated by our method so as to stimulate the cell’s energy production and thus cell metabolism.
As a result, the whole organism, in particular the autonomic nervous system, is in a position to better regulate vital body functions. This process is similar to photosynthesis as known in the plant world. Spirovitalisation enhances the oxygen content of the inhaled air briefly by a special process that energises the oxygen in the ambient air. The ground state, the so-called triplet oxygen is brought to the elevated energy level of singlet oxygen. This is realised by light in specific wavelengths reacting with a special patented photosensitiser. Now, all structures and cells can make better use of the oxygen supplied. An additional positive effect is the neutralization of oxygen radicals whenever they get out of hand due to environmental factors or diseases and other conditions of weakness, causing critical damage to the cells. Or, in simple terms: Spirovital therapy restores the order of nature, and brings the self-healing forces of our body into increased action! Although Airnergy does not give you wings, it does create strength!
CJS: Most illuminating! But until now, we have only talked about air and oxygen. What about the water bottle bubbling away on all your devices?
Guido Bierther: The previously mentioned higher energy level of oxygen can only exist for fractions of seconds. When it returns to its ground state, the energy released is transferred to the water molecules in the air. The Airnergy transformers conjoin the vital elements of water and air, which can then be inhaled along with the atmospheric oxygen in the ambient air saturated with water vapour. This process neither increases the quantity of oxygen, nor does it ionise or add ozone. You inhale this mixture – free of any chemical or other additives – via a subtle nasal cannula or headset for about 21 minutes directly though your nose, regardless of whether you are working, making phone calls, reading, being active on an exercise bike or simply relaxing.
CJS: That sounds logical. Should this therapy not have been widely spread long ago?
Guido Bierther: Of course it should, and we are working hard to realise that and enjoying every minute of it. Fortunately, Spirovital therapy has now gained recognition worldwide. It supports and accompanies clinical procedures in the treatment of illnesses and rehabilitation. In 2000, the newly established company natural energy solutions AG refined the technology and brought it to market; then, in 2007, Airnergy AG was launched. Today ten thousands of Airnergy devices are in use worldwide. Our company has received international awards, the references extend to a myriad of applications in over 70 countries. Many of the world’s best athletes, especially in high-level motorsports, and numerous celebrities from politics and the media certify our devices a lasting positive impact on their well-being and performance. Similarly, in health care – again, hundreds of scientific papers confirm the positive experiences of medical professionals and patients.
CJS: What more do you want?!
Guido Bierther: We want considerably more!
The health sector is inadvertently guiding us more and more toward self-help due to their own lack of financial resource and continued cut-backs. And why not? As awareness of a healthy diet and how we keep our bodies fit and sound is spreading, it’s only natural to pay homage to our most important source of “nourishment”, the air that we breathe. You are probably aware that, next to the supply of food and drink, detoxification also plays a crucial role. But very few know that the human body detoxifies only 3% via the bowels, and 7% via the bladder. 20% of the damaging substances are excreted via the skin, and the lion’s share of 70% is released via the lungs!
We cannot assume, however, that everyone has the means to buy their very own Airnergy device. Therefore, there is an increasing number of institutions providing our transformers as a service or for rent. In addition, we focus on responsible business owners who want to give their employees the option of a regularly “stepping back and taking a deep breath”. This benefits all concerned, especially the companies that profit from increased performance and reduced sick leave of their employees. Not to mention the preventive effects in relation to the ever more present burnout syndrome.
Our technology is at the very beginning of its evolution and further developments are in the pipeline. Mankind spends 90% of his/her lifetime indoors, and despite living longer, we are not getting any healthier. The time is ripe for our “forest air therapy”. All in all, we want to ensure that health care is an achievable commodity for everybody. Airnergy – our contribution to “democratise prevention”!
CJS: So, all it remains for me to do is to wish you every success! Thank you for this enlightening conversation.