The Buteyko Breathing Technique helps not only asthma
but many related symptoms such as:
• a chronic runny or blocked nose
• sinus problems or hay fever
• frequent colds or chest infections
• persistent cough
• poor sleep
• snoring
• fatigue
• allergies
• anxiety or panic attacks
This can benefit anyone, and many top athletes use these
techniques, proved effective in a number of studies and now
recommended by the NHS for asthma.
What is the Buteyko Breathing Technique?
Based on a scientific understanding of breathing, it teaches you
how to avoid hyper-ventilation. By practising the Buteyko "reduced
breathing" exercises you can clear your nose and breathe calmly,
using your diaphragm, and with a better posture. These simple
self-help techniques can help you avoid asthma symptoms, increase
your ability to exercise, aid relaxation, and improve your health
and well-being.
The main elements of good breathing during sports are to breathe
through your nose at all times. It may surprise you that this is
possible, but when you accustom your body to breathing correctly,
it becomes easier. While practicing it, you may need to slow down
so that you can maintain this. Apart from keeping your mouth
closed, you can train your body to breathe at the best level by
pausing slightly between breaths - taking several steps to each
breath, swimming two or three strokes to each breath, lifting
weights twice with each breath etc. At first this may feel like
"under-breathing". The Buteyko method is simple in essence, but
takes careful attention and practice to do it well. It is helpful
to learn to relax your shoulders and have a good posture, and
breathe with your diaphragm.
This breathing method was developed by the Russian Dr. Buteyko,
and is used widely to help those with asthma, but it also improves
the health of many others who may be genetically prone to
asthma.
The Buteyko method is based on the fact that many people
hyper-ventilate frequently throughout the day. This is not
surprising given our lifestyle - because stress, a poor diet and a
sedentary lifestyle all cause us to breathe more than we need. Over
time we become so used to breathing at this level it feels normal
and we cannot easily breathe correctly any more. Just as
over-eating causes problems, so does over-breathing. It stresses
the lungs - especially if you breathe through your mouth - because
the lungs are irritated by too much dusty, cold or dry air.
Exercise often brings on asthma attacks for this reason. Your nose
has a complex filtering and cleaning system designed to protect the
lungs.
The other result of over-breathing is equally serious. We are
meant to maintain a level of carbon dioxide in our blood and
tissues of around 6 - 7%. This preserves the pH of the body and
helps all systems function well. Over-breathing actually expels
too much carbon dioxide. When the blood is carrying oxygen
round the body, it releases more of it to those muscles that have
high carbon dioxide levels - assuming that these are the ones
working hard at the time. But if the whole body becomes low in
carbon dioxide due to chronic over-breathing, this confuses the
oxygen release system and it is slowed down - much of the oxygen
stays in the blood! This causes fatigue and lactic acid build up in
the muscles.
So is it possible that you are over-breathing either generally
or when exercising? If you have asthma it is most likely that you
are. Even if you don't, you can test whether you are breathing at a
healthy level fairly simply.
If you wish to learn the Buteyko method you can have a free
assessment and introductory session with Judy Dickenson, to see
whether your breathing would benefit from it, and to answer
questions.
You can e-mail: answertoasthma@aol.com
or phone 01432 860
658
or text 07946 584 760
to find out more.