Konstantin Buteyko was a Russian physician who taught himself a breathing method that eliminated his life-long asthma attacks. He shared his discovery with thousands of patients. Dr Buteyko published his methods in 1999 in "Natural Asthma Cure and More." The process focuses on decreasing the depth of each breath by will power and by relaxation of breathing muscles. A slight feeling of air hunger initially signals improved breathing patterns. He blamed hyperventilation for asthma and other disorders.
Preparation
The Buteyko Breathing Method was identified in 2009 by Mayo Clinic lung specialists as an alternative asthma treatment documented to be effective. The method alters your breathing in a way that, at first, creates a mild dyspnea, or shortness of breath. Learning the method begins by confronting this in order to understand the work involved and to help set your goals. Asthmatic patients hyperventilate, drop their carbon dioxide, or CO2, level below normal and then get used to it. Returning to normal, according to Buteyko, means you will relearn breathing so your CO2 goes back up to normal. The method requires trainees to grow accustomed to the higher level so it no longer stimulates over breathing. A candidate for the Buteyko Breathing Method will become dyspneic after as little as 10 seconds of breath holding, while a normal person requires 40 to 60 seconds to reach that point. The first exercise in the Buteyko Breathing Method is to experience and begin adjusting to mild dyspnea. As you progress in your training, expect your dyspnea to diminish.
Nose Breathing
The Buteyko Method's effectiveness has been confirmed by research studies accepted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, or NIH, due in part on its reliance on well-established physiological principles. Your nose is designed to warm, filter and humidify the air you breathe. As a result, the Buteyko Method requires nose breathing. Mouth breathing introduces the irritation of cool, dry and sometimes particle-laden air directly into your lungs. Nose breathing is especially important to practice during strenuous athletics and physical exertion.
Muscle Control
Stress or anxiety cause hyperventilation in most people. But according to Dr. Buteyko, and well known to most asthmatics, hyperventilation can also induce an asthma attack. This increases the stress and begins a vicious cycle of worsening your asthma symptoms. The Buteyko Breathing Method relies on what Dr. Buteyko initially simply called "will power." This has been developed into a combination of specific relaxation techniques which include focused attention on slow and shallow breathing, and increasing your tolerance to mild dyspnea. Attention is also directed to relaxing your posture and the accessory breathing muscles in your neck and shoulders and your abdomen. These muscles become overactive by a reflexive responses to stress, but the reflex can be overcome with the practice sessions included in the Buteyko Breathing Method.
