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To be healthy we need to breathe properly!
An introduction to the Buteyko Method of breathing re-training - Buteyko classes in Stratford-upon-Avon, Bristol, and London.
According to the founding principles of the Buteyko Method some 150 diseases are linked to dysfunctional breathing: asthma, allergies and emphysema are just a few examples. More than 40 years of research have now produced the Buteyko method to recondition and normalise breathing, restoring the body's most important functions.
This short introduction to the Method covers some breathing basics, and, on a separate page a test to check your own breathing.
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Many thousands of asthmatics and those with breathing difficulties have experienced remarkable improvement in their condition with this amazing method, which has allowed them to reduce their dependency on medication and enjoy a quality of life they previously thought impossible.
A breathing discovery
At the end of the last century Austria physiologists Breyer and Gering made a sensational discovery - man is the only biological specimen on earth that had not developed a correct way of breathing. All other beings know how to breathe, but not humans. Just observe those around you carefully and you will find that people breathe differently. Some breathe deeply, others superficially, some faster, others slower, with pauses and some without.
Normal breathing
The Russian medical scientist Prof. Konstantin Buteyko devoted over 40 years of research into breathing and in the process discovered that only one in ten people breathe correctly. Natural or normal breathing results in a very specific accumulated gas mixture that our organism requires to function properly.
The myth behind deep breathing
Traditional wisdom tells us that deep breathing is the best as it is thought to provide the most oxygen. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide and the conclusion that is drawn is that oxygen is good for us and carbon dioxide is harmful. When Professor Buteyko was first analysing his patients he discovered that those who were sick breathed much more than those who were healthy; that is, their tidal volume, depth and frequency was greater. Could it be that "breathing deeply" is in fact contributing to ill health?
The oxygen paradox
At the end of the 19th century Russian physiologist Verigo and Dutch scientist Bohr, independently discovered that without carbon dioxide, oxygen is bound to the haemoglobin of the blood and simply does not work. This consequently leads to oxygen deficiency in the tissues of the brain, heart, kidneys and other organs and a raising of blood pressure.
In 1871 the Dutch doctor Da Costa discovered "Hyperventilation Syndrome" whereby deep breathing in a relaxed state caused dizziness and sometimes fainting. This is often incorrectly attributed to oxygen saturation. According to the Verigo-Bohr effect, it is the ratio of carbon dioxide to oxygen which permits the release or retention of oxygen from the blood.
Strange as it may seem, oxygen deficiency is not caused by lack of oxygen but by the lack of carbon dioxide! If we breathe too much we get less oxygen!
The air that we breathe contains 200 times less carbon dioxide than we need and 10 times more oxygen than we need
The function of our respiratory system is not just to push air in and out but to maintain a very specific ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide.
Overbreathing or hyperventilation
When a person is acutely hyperventilating, it is obvious and the implications to the organism are disastrous. Low level, or 'hidden' hyperventilation often goes unnoticed. When we overbreathe or hyperventilate, we lose valuable carbon dioxide. Many people are overbreathing by three or more times the recommended amount, without it being obvious. According to Professor Buteyko, "hidden hyperventilation " often goes undiagnosed. Long term "hidden hyperventilation" is the hinge upon which Buteyko's discovery and method are based.
A system to correct the breathing
Over 40 years ago Professor Buteyko developed a system to normalise the breathing, thereby normalising the level of carbon dioxide. Techniques were developed to retrain the complex involuntary mechanisms governing our breathing. We breathe thousands of times a day and have developed defence and compensatory mechanisms (often described as diseases) to compensate for dysfunctional breathing. For these reasons it is not a simple matter to change or normalise a human's breathing pattern. "Playing the piano is simple, you just hit the keys with your fingers. Making music, however, takes practice and expert tuition, and so it is with reconditioning the breathing".
Professor Buteyko developed a series of special breathing exercises, techniques and lifestyle changes which are taught to clients in a series of training sessions. Some clients will require more sessions, depending on the individual condition.
Clients are first taught to overcome symptoms using Professor Buteyko's techniques. For asthmatics this quickly results in the ability to overcome asthma attacks by restoring a more normal level of carbon dioxide, which dilates the bronchial tubes. Wheezes, coughs and breathlessness also succumb to these techniques. In the course of time, and with practice, the average breathing pattern becomes more normal and symptoms occur less often and with less severity. As a result the requirement for 'reliever' medication is substantially reduced or eliminated. A doctor can provide the proper advice regarding reduction of preventative medication as the condition continues to improve.
Patients with emphysema (who generally take the same drugs as asthmatics) will find they can gradually walk further before becoming breathless and those with allergies, bronchitis, coughs and snoring also find their symptoms are first reduced then may disappear altogether. Generally all participants on a Buteyko Method course are delighted to find an increase in vigour, concentration and the elimination of many symptoms that one would not necessarily attribute to improved breathing.
The Buteyko Method is especially suitable for children (four and over) who often get results more quickly than adults. Children enjoy their special Buteyko techniques and exercises! Buteyko should only be taught by a qualified, accredited Buteyko practitioner.
Results
Russia
Official approval from the Ministry of Health. Prof. Buteyko's method proved so successful that it received a special order from the Ministry of Health (Number 59) on 30 April 1985 by S I Burenkov, Minister for Health. The Chair of the Childhood Diseases Centre at the First Moscow Institute, after rigorous clinical approbation, concluded that 'Buteyko's method proved to be very efficient in the complex treatment of bronchial asthma and helps to decrease the occurrence, frequency and severity of asthma attacks, at the same time reducing medication or completely revoking the need to take the medication'.
Further tests were duly carried out. Approximately 100,000 patients in Russia with asthma symptoms (being treated with drugs) have completed the course over 6 years. Of the original 100,000 approximately 92,000 do not take medication at all today.
Australia
Professor Buteyko's method has now reached over 10,000 asthmatics. Scores of positive newspaper articles, current affairs television programmes and radio interviews have appeared in the Australian media. In November 1994, medical trials sponsored by the Australian Association of Asthma Foundations and lead by Prof. Charles Mitchell and Dr Simon Bowler, were started at the Mater Hospital, Brisbane.
Six weeks into the trial the Buteyko trained group had reduced their bronchodilator (reliever) medication by 90%. A further six weeks later they had increased this reduction to 96% and also reduced their steroids by 49%. The control group practising physiotherapy exercises were using the same amount of steroids and 6% less bronchodilator after 3 months. After the first trial the group practising physiotherapy exercises were taught the Buteyko method. They achieved the same outstanding results as the first group.
Australian Doctor (7 April 1995), a medical journal, carried on its front page "DOCTORS GASP AT BUTEYKO SUCCESS" and went on to report "Buteyko breathing hypoventilation exercises in patients with asthma reduced beta2 agonist use by 90% and improved symptoms, according to results of a randomised controlled trial in Brisbane". The Medical Journal of Australia (Volume 162) reported "the open trial of the Buteyko method clearly shows unprecedented broad spectrum improvement in the short-term and medium-term, a dynamic breakthrough". After the initial controlled trials one of Australia's foremost asthma authorities, Prof. Charles Mitchell was reported to say "they feel much better and use much less bronchodilators - this is terrific." Initially doctors were sceptical but in time scores of doctors have come to support the Buteyko method.
Contact us at AsthmaCare UK for Buteyko classes in Stratford-upon-Avon, Bristol, and London.
Learn Buteyko - learn to live without your Asthma! 
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