What is The Buteyko Method?
The Buteyko Method was developed in 1952 by Ukranian Dr. Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko. The Buteyko Method is a breathing technique designed to improve functional breathing patterns. While breathing is an involuntary activity, it is subject to change by stresses of everyday life, processed foods, excessive sitting and talking, lifestyle choices, environmental toxins, gut health, and environmental factors.
Buteyko Method first arrived from Russia to Australia in the early 1990s. There it received attention as a treatment for asthma and despite initial skepticism, the first clinical trial in the Western world investigating the Buteyko technique as a treatment for asthma took place at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane in 1995.Results were published in the Australian Medical Journal (Med J Aust 1998; 169 (11): 575-578). Subjects applying the Buteyko breathing exercises experienced significantly improved quality of life, 90% less need for bronchodilator medication and 49% less need for preventer steroid asthma medication at twelve weeks follow up. The control group which was taught the in-house hospital program at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane experienced no change.
How should we breathe?
The normal mode of breathing for human beings is in and out through the nose. A gas called nitric oxide is produced both inside the nasal cavity and the paranasal sinuses. As each breath is drawn through the nose, nitric oxide is carried into the lungs. There it performs a number of very important roles including the sterilization of incoming air; the opening of the airways; and improved gas exchange from the lungs to the blood known as ‘ventilation-perfusion’.
Functional breathing involves breathing in and out through the nose. The breath should be light, regular, effortless, and with movement from the diaphragm.
There is a common belief that the more air we breathe, the healthier we are. However, few people realize that in order to increase blood flow and oxygen delivery to the tissues, breathing should be slowed down so that less air enters the body.
You know that you are taking less air into the lungs than normal when you experience a tolerable feeling of air hunger. You may feel body temperature increases to indicate an improvement to blood circulation or an increase to saliva production. This is traditionally observed in Yoga as activation of the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, or relaxation response.
Who is Buteyko Breathing for?
In its infancy, the Buteyko Method was popular with adults and children suffering from asthma. As time has passed, the Buteyko Method has shown to be successful in helping improve a number of breathing-related problems including:
- Childhood Development
- Dental Health
- Craniofacial Development
- ADHD
- Respiratory
- Asthma
- Rhinitis
- Hayfever
- COPD
- Neurological
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Panic Attacks
- Sleep Disordered Breathing
- Insomnia
- Snoring
- Central Sleep Apnea
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Other Symptoms
- High Blood Pressure
- Wheezing
- Coughing
- Blocked Nose
- Chest Tightness
- Dizziness
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- General Exhaustion/ Fatigue
- Adrenal Fatigue
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