Does better breathing improve my life?

An ancient Sanskrit Proverb says 

"you can go without movement for months, and still, live; 

without food for weeks and water for days yet again live. 

However, we can only go without air for minutes until we perish." 

 

And yet why, in our modern day, does no one look to the breath to improve their health? 

 

Our whole living organism, at a cellular level, is dependent on a constant supply of oxygen to function optimally. Without this cellular oxygen in sport, our performance suffers acutely within 30 seconds, and without it, in our daily lives, our health suffers chronically, as in diseases like asthma, rhinitis, cardiovascular disease, depression, anxiety and stress disorders to name a few. 

 

Yet why is it in health professions that very few people look to the quality of our breath and the mechanics of our breathing as a means to improve oxygenation of our cells and the health of our body? 

 

Socially speaking, breathing has been associated with religious and spiritual practices, and so the benefits of correct breathing have been lost in language and culture. 

 

From a research perspective, it is challenging to invest millions of dollars researching something which is virtually free and from which no profit can be made. But there are some bright stars in our world which have shed the spotlight on the benefits of effective breathing. 

Dr Konstantin Buteyko (Bu-tey-ko) was perhaps the first medical doctor to recognise these benefits back in the 1950s. His life’s work began when he cured himself of high blood pressure in 1954 by introducing a reduced breathing technique.  

 

Once Dr Buteyko realised the benefits to himself, he tested his method on his patients. Over 10 years and with more than 200 patients, he refined his method and the physiological reasons behind it. From the 1960s until his death in 2004, Dr Buteyko continued to treat clients with an array of diseases including asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stress disorders. His method of breathing has been tested in three clinical trials in the western world and has been the topic of much research. In each trial, it has shown the positive benefits of normalising the breath combined with correct breathing patterns. 

 

His method is now implemented as a part of asthma treatment in several health care systems around the world. Dr, Buteyko’s method works, the reasons why it works is not so evident in the research. Buteyko himself reasoned that it was a lack of carbon dioxide in the body, which prevented oxygen from reaching the cell, which ultimately led to a host of chronic diseases and death in the person. My own personal experience of the technique is that it saved my life. 

 

When I was 18, I was sick in bed for a total of 6 months due to asthma. 

Medical doctors told me there was nothing more could be done for me. I was on numerous inhalers, oral steroids and antibiotics for multiple asthma attacks and recurring chest infections. I was told to give up on life as a physical trainer and wait to see if my health improves of its own accord. 

 

One day, my mom came across a course instructing the Buteyko method and recommended I give it a shot. 

I did it, and within 18 months of learning the method, I was asthma symptom and medication free. What’s more is that I followed my passion and continued on to become a physical trainer and play sport to this day. I also studied the method more in-depth and became a teacher of it. I have worked with a wide variety of people, and the resounding results are this: when you do the exercises and fix your breathing, your symptoms will be alleviated and can be eliminated, your health will improve dramatically, and you can become physically fit once more. 

Across my clients, I’ve seen similar results to Dr Buteyko. People have reported a reduction in blood pressure, wheezing, coughing, anxiety and stress levels. 

 

There has also been a significant improvement in physical conditioning and sports performance from people that were already healthy. The full physiological reasons as to why Dr. Buteyko’s method works may yet to be discovered, but here’s what we do know:  

 

Oxygen in our cells is essential for health, athletic performance and life. 

 

The results of improving your breath with Dr Buteyko’s method speak for themselves time and again. When you fix your breathing patterns, you optimising your health, boost sports performance and enhance the quality of your life.