What is Buteyko? Buteyko is a breathing method used by many worldwide to breath freely. Professor Konstantin Buteyko discovered a link with the rate and volume of your breath to many common health conditions, most famously asthma.
I had heard of this method from a couple of colleagues over the years. Then most recently from a client, she said she has never had an asthma attack since she practiced these breathing techniques. When she also mentioned she had heard that some people had been able to clear up skin conditions, e.g. psoriasis, this really spiked my curiosity! Jumping online, I found a 4 week intro course starting within the next 2 weeks, perfect!
Reading further into Buteyko, I was amazed at how dysfunctional breathing can offset other systems of your body. There is, of course, a huge list of symptoms (side effects) for dysfunctional breathing. A few of them are: coughing, excess mucous, frequent yawning, snoring, excess sweating, dizziness, brain fog, headaches, high blood pressure, pain in the chest, racing heartbeat, depression, fatigue, muscle pain, bad dreams, gum disease, IBS, itchy skin, and sleep apnoea.
Dysfunctional breathing is when over breathing, taking in more air then is metabolically required, becomes your normal breathing style. How do you tell if you’re breathing too much? Well these are mine that I discovered when I took the half hour breathe test with the Buteyko practitioner: breathing through the mouth (during sleep for me), clearing throat regularly, excessive blowing nose, blocked nose, sigh regularly, taking large breaths prior to talking (triple points for this one!), yawning regularly, noticeable breathing movement, and snoring.
Who would of thought! Before this breath test I was under the presumption that my breathing style was a-okay. Originally the sole and only purpose for doing this course was for professional training reasons. Looking again at the list of symptoms of dysfunction breathing I could tick: frequent yawning, chest tightness, poor concentration and at times waking up tired. So it looks like knowing more about Buteyko, will not only be beneficial for my clients but also a personal gain for me!
20 February 2016