Buteyko method: healing the body through proper breathing

Did you know that deep breathing is harmful? So says a well-known doctor from Novosibirsk Konstantin Buteyko. He believes that an excess of oxygen in the blood and a lack of carbon dioxide leads to many diseases: cardiovascular problems, pulmonary and bronchial ailments. Also, too deep breathing can significantly damage the brain.

Konstantin Buteyko has developed a method of volitional elimination of deep breathing (VVD), the essence of which is to change the habitual way of breathing to shallow inhalation and exhalation. The Buteyko method is intended for the prevention of lung problems, as well as for the treatment of bronchial asthma, COPD, allergic reactions in the form of coughing fits, angina pectoris and similar heart problems. How it is necessary to breathe correctly, which the Buteyko method teaches, in order to improve your health and cure many ailments without drugs, we will consider in this article.

Features of breathing according to the Buteyko method

To see if deep breathing is harmful, do a test exercise: take deep breaths 30 times in 30 seconds.

After the test, you will feel: increased sweating, goosebumps, darkening of the eyes, weakness, dizziness, disorientation, and possibly fainting (in case of asthma).

Such indicators interested the doctor K. Buteyko, who began to study the relationship between the depth of breathing and the onset of problems with the lungs and conduct research activities in this area. After observations and a number of experiments, it was concluded that excessive removal of carbon dioxide from the body provokes spasms of the bronchi, as well as brain vessels, in the limbs, intestines, gallbladder and other organs. With narrowing of blood vessels, much less oxygen enters the organs, so oxygen starvation begins. It would seem a paradox: with deep breathing, the organs receive less oxygen, but this happens due to the body saving the necessary amount of carbon dioxide in the bronchi.

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 Also, Buteyko's experiments showed that the blood of a healthy person contains many times more carbon dioxide than the blood of a patient with bronchial asthma, who breathes much deeper.

Konstantin Buteyko believes that in order to alleviate an asthmatic attack, completely cure bronchial asthma, pneumonia, angina pectoris or hypertension, it is necessary to learn shallow breathing with pauses between the inhalation / exhalation cycle to save carbon dioxide in the body.

How to breathe according to Buteyko

Relaxing the diaphragm will help you breathe less deeply. Breathe only through the nose.

(In time, the inhalation should be less than the exhalation and there should be a pause of 3-4 seconds between them. When inhaling, neither the stomach nor the chest should move. It is necessary to inhale for 2-3 seconds, and exhale – 3- 4 seconds, then a pause and again a superficial inhalation and exhalation.

At the initial stage of Buteyko training, you may experience discomfort, severe shortness of breath, dizziness, and a desire to stop everything and breathe deeply again. You should endure this stage, then it will become much easier to perform simple exercises

breathing exercises of the Buteyko method. 

Buteyko Method: breathing exercises and exercises

Each lesson begins with monitoring your indicators: the date and time of classes, the pause time between the inhalation / exhalation cycle, pulse rate, well-being. All indicators are recorded in a notebook for observation.

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It is recommended that you exercise only on an empty stomach, making sure that no noise is created during inhalation and exhalation.

Respiratory gymnastics: how to do the exercises correctly

Inhale – 5 seconds, exhale – 5 second. As you exhale, relax your chest muscles. Pause for 5 seconds, relax. Perform 10 breaths.
Full breath – combination of diaphragmatic breathing and chest breathing. Inhale – 7.5 seconds (diaphragmatic breathing, and then chest), phased exhalation – 7.5 seconds starting from the upper part, smoothly moving to the lower part of the lungs – diaphragm. Pause – 5 second. Perform 10 breaths.
Massage of a point on the wings of the nose with a maximum pause.
Full breath through the right nostril, then through the left.
Breathing with retraction of the abdomen. Draw in your stomach while inhaling – 7.5 seconds, exhale – 7.5 seconds and pause – 5 seconds with abdominal relaxation. Perform 10 times.
Full lung ventilation – inhale and exhale 12 times as deeply and quickly as possible. Inhale – 2.5 seconds, exhale – 2.5 seconds – duration one minute. Then make a maximum pause and again proceed to a full breath.
Phased breathing.

Step 1 – inhale – 5 seconds, exhale – 5 seconds, pause – 5 seconds (per minute – 4 breaths).

Stage 2 – inhale – 5 seconds, pause – 5 seconds, exhale – 5 seconds and pause – 5 seconds (per minute 3 breath cycles) – breathe 2 minutes.

Stage 3 – inhale, pause and exhale – 7.5 seconds, pause 5 seconds (2 breaths per minute) – breathe 3 minutes.

4 stage – Inhale, groove, exhale and pause – 10 seconds each (one and a half breath cycles per minute) – breathe 4 minutes.

Double pause – with maximum effort, pause on the exhale and on the inhale.
Breath-holding while sitting, walking and squatting.
Shallow breathing – 5 seconds inhale, 5 seconds exhale, pause – 5 seconds.

After the end of the lesson, take control measurements of the pulse and the maximum pause time, write down all the indicators in a notebook.

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What does a person feel when doing Buteyko gymnastics regularly

After a few weeks, you will feel worse, profuse sputum, dizziness and headaches, you may have a fever, diarrhea will begin. Such a reaction is called cleansing, because the body moves to a different level of breathing, all metabolic processes are rebuilt.

Dr. Buteyko considers such indicators to be predictable, which are a good sign of the recovery process. It is quite difficult to perform breathing exercises, and it is better to choose a convenient time for this, so that 2 times a day you can fully devote yourself to this process.

The Buteyko Method is not recommended for completely healthy people. If you are completely healthy and have no heart or lung problems, just learn to breathe shallowly and do this exercise from time to time. But whether or not to do a full course of gymnastics according to the Buteyko method is up to you.  It would not be superfluous to consult with doctors about the need for such radical methods of changing the center of breathing.