Breath of fresh air
They say you are what you eat, but it could also well be that your health is influenced by the way you breathe. If you suffer from sleep apnoea, asthma, hypertension, or panic attacks, read on. By Carla Oates.
We breathe more times per week, per day, per minute, than we do anything else. So it makes perfect sense that if we’re doing it incorrectly, our health will inevitably suffer.
In the 50s, Russian professor Konstantin Pavlovich Butekyo cured himself of life-threatening hypertension simply by changing the way he inhaled air.
In his studies, Butekyo discovered that over-breathing (taking in too much oxygen) triggers an imbalance in the body’s metabolism, causing various symptoms from bronchospasm (spasming of the air tubes), heart vessel spasm, digestive tract spasms and increased blood pressure. Over the long term, this dysfunction, he believed, would lead to chronic illness.
Butekyo practitioner Roger Price says carbon dioxide is important as it helps release oxygen into our blood. “If we over-breathe we lose carbon dioxide. The tissues then become starved of oxygen and then our body’s systems start to spasm -it’s then that we run into all sorts of health problems.”
Like many alternative treatments, it has taken many years for the Butekyo method to gain recognition from the health authorities. However, on March 3 this year the Minister for Health, Tony Abbott, mailed 20,000 packages to Australian GPs detailing the Asthma 2005 management program.
In it, 40 complementary therapies were examined and the Butekyo technique came out as the most effective, safest and side-effect-free method of reducing symptoms and medication.
When it comes to over-breathing, Price says asthma sufferers, for example, are chronic over-breathers. “Their bronchial tubes go into spasm and the sufferer finds it difficult to breathe. They panic and try to take in more air. This makes the problem worse and they end up having a full-blown attack.”
He adds, “By increasing their carbon dioxide levels through restraining their breath, the air tubes open again. Sufferers often compare the experience to having a puff of Ventolin.” But the beauty is that it’s natural -there’s no medication involved.
Price says most people don’t realise they over-breathe because they’ve been doing it for most of their lives.
“We call it hidden over-breathing,” he says. “If you breathe through your mouth, you over-breathe. Normal breathing is defined as a gentle wave of eight to 10 breaths per minute, in and out, through the nose using the diaphragm and not the upper chest”.
He adds: “The beauty of breathing through the nose (besides being a much calmer way of breathing) is that it filters out pollutants and allergens. When you breathe through your mouth, you breathe in everything - there is no protection”.
Price says that we’re the only animals that don’t naturally breathe through our noses “Somewhere in our early childhood, our bodies became overloaded with stress and we began to breathe through our mouths,” says Price. “As babies we were all nose breathers - if we weren’t, breastfeeding would be a very messy affair,” he laughs.
The key, Price says, is to restore normal breathing by reducing the number of breaths per minute as well as the volume of air per breath. This is contrary to the Western “model” of deep breathing and exhaling great gusts of air through the mouth.
“It’s commonly perceived that breathing deeply is good, but if you observe top athletes and swimmers - they have the slowest pulse and the most gentle, shallow breathing in the population,” he says.
Musician Milica Stefanovic, 26, had suffered from asthma since childhood and was fed up with being dependent on medication. She enrolled in the Butekyo course two-and-a-half years ago and hasn’t taken regular reliever or preventer medication since.
“I’d already seen a naturopath and that hadn’t really helped. When I started the Butekyo course I was a little sceptical and was shocked at how effective it was. I haven’t been to hospital since the course and my quality of life has greatly improved. I only need my Ventolin very occasionally (they still encourage you to take it with you wherever you go - just in case).
“It’s a very holistic practice - by changing your breathing, you feel calmer and more relaxed - it makes you very aware of your stress levels,” says Stefanovic.
Two years ago, salesman Reno Russo, 50, was told by his specialist that if he didn’t get a C-pap machine for his sleep apnoea he could die.
He did the Butekyo course and never had to order the C-pap machine.
“A friend recommended I talk to Roger Price. I spoke with him for an hour about the course. I’m from a scientific background and it all made so much sense.
He told me to tape my mouth up that night to force me to breath through my nose. I slept through the night, woke up free of a headache, a runny nose and had boundless energy,” says Russo.
“It appeared to cure me. I then did the course and it has been life-changing. The only time my sleep apnoea relapses is whenI don’t tape up my mouth. Also, if ever I get breathless during the day, I do the Butekyo breathing exercises and I’m right.”
More and more studies are proving that the way we breathe could be the biggest asset or liability in terms of our health.
Although the treatment sounds simple, says Price, the breathing exercises take time, effort and commitment.
“We’re changing a lifelong pattern. We also ask you to reassess your lifestyle - in the course we look at certain things that may put more stress on the body pushing you to over-breathe,” he says.
“Good posture, less stress and a balanced diet are all-important in helping to balance the body so it can assist the body in breathing normally. It is life-changing for people because not only are they often relieved of their ailments but they learn about balancing their lives at the same time.”
Want to take a breather?
• Try reading Close Your Mouth or Asthma Free Naturally by Patrick McKeown .
• A Buteyko course involves 8 hours over 3 days. It costs between €245 (£200) for a 12-month program, includes unlimited refreshers during the following 12 months plus follow-ups. For more information, Freephone 1800 931 935.