Equine Breathing
Index
equine breathing
Buteyko Breathing for people
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click here for New York Times article on asthma |
Over breathing has a direct physiological effect on the body and causes chronic illness according to Professor Buteyko.Reducing the breathing by using the Buteyko method reverses symptoms and eventually restores health |
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click here for link
For simple tips on how to improve your breathing as part of your daily routine go to the free Equine Breathing ezine,
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In the 1950s a Russian doctor, Konstantin Buteyko discovered that over breathing causes carbon dioxide levels to fall, and that low carbon dioxide levels cause chronic illness. He also found that if carbon dioxide levels were restored to normal, the damage was reversed and good health regained. Professor Buteyko developed a method for retraining people's breathing patterns so that normal breathing and normal carbon dioxide levels could be restored. Good health then followed and this was effective for a wide range of chronic ailments such as asthma, arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, migraine, depression, insomnia and skin and respiratory problems. The Buteyko method is relevant to most of us because we all tend to over breathe. Gradually over the last century the breathing pattern of the population has deteriorated (see Artour Rakhimov). The reason for this is not surprising if you look at what Buteyko claims causes and sustains over breathing. Over breathing triggers are
Stress, inactivity and over eating triggers are rife in our culture. Mothers have been encouraged to over breathe during child birth which has a damaging effect on the new baby so down the generations breathing patterns have deteriorated. Over breathing stimulates a physiological negative feedback so that once the habit starts the body is unable to rectify it without specific intervention and it tends to get worse. We have a deeply ingrained and totally wrong idea that deep breathing is good for us. All of which culminates in there being very few individuals who actually breathe at the optimal level. We are used to seeing the heaving chests and hearing the noisy breathing of presenters on TV and assume that this level of over breathing is normal. It may now be the norm but it is not natural and it is not healthy according to the Buteyko Institute for Breathing and Health. The deterioration of our breathing manifests as increases in ailments such as asthma in our population.
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for an abstract of Jill McGowan's successful Buteyko asthma trial
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The good news is that optimal
breathing can be regained with practice. Most of us have anything from
little health or behaviour niggles to more distressing ailments treated
with high levels of drugs.
So most of us stand to gain by recovering our natural breathing. Anyone who cannot pause after the out breath and wait 45 seconds with no difficulty or discomfort before taking a normal (not a gasp) in breath stands to benefit from improving their breathing. A recent clinical trial by Jill McGowan, on diagnosed asthmatics who learned Buteyko breathing found that asthma symptoms and use of reliever drugs both decreased by an average of 98%. In other words, learning to breathe properly meant that the participants no longer suffered from asthma.
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Dr Jill McGowan carried out the world's largest asthma trial of Buteyko |
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Buteyko Breathing course A Buteyko breathing course of five 90 minute sessions involves learning how to monitor your breathing and carbon dioxide levels, how to breathe correctly and how to follow a training programme designed to regain your optimal breathing pattern. Apparently a wide range of chronic diseases and conditions respond to the Buteyko breathing method. Asthma and other respiratory conditions, arthritis, skin problems, sleep disorders such as snoring and sleep apnoea, menstrual and menopause problems, diabetes, heart disease etc can be alleviated and people find that when they get their breathing right their weight tends to follow suite. The reason that such a wide range of illness is dependent on carbon dioxide levels is explained in How does it work?.
ME, Chronic Fatigue and Post Viral Fatigue A telephone course is available from Equine Breathing to help fatigue sufferers to recover using breathing training exercises.
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Further information from
Jill McGowan PhD, Buteyko Practitioner and Practitioner trainer
Paul O Connell sleep apnoea, snoring, insomnia, nasal problems, anxiety and general health improvements
General world wide info and links to registered practitioners
See also the Mindful Physiology website which is also concerned with regaining normal breathing. Although it is not a Buteyko site it contains useful information about the physiology of over breathing.
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For simple tips on how to improve your breathing as part of your daily routine go to the free Equine Breathing ezine,
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