BUTEKYO AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER BREATHING

 

Breathing is one of the most important and most "instant" of all the vital functions of the body and yet the understanding of it, let alone the correction and therapeutic use of it, in complementary medicine is far from sufficient. Common sense will tell you that there is something wrong with somebody who is breathless or hyperventilating. One of the most common conditions is chronic overbreathing

 

Symptoms can include: irritability, tiredness, lack of concentration, loss of sleep, anxiety, panic attacks (acute on chronic hyper- ventilation), eating disorders, being under or overweight, breathlessness, an irritable cough, palpitations, indigestion, muscle aches, pins and needles in lips or fingers, cold or clammy hands and feet

 

When triggers cause the body stress (difficulty breathing, etc.) the natural response of the body to prevent loss of carbon dioxide through the airways by blocking the nose (allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, etc.).  Unfortunately, this is usually ignored and people just open their mouths. That in turn increases the loss of carbon dioxide and escalates the response resulting in continued overbreathing.

 

Carbon dioxide is probably the most important and universal substance in our body after oxygen, which is why such a wide spectrum of symptoms and reactions is explained by overbreathing. Optimal amounts of carbon dioxide facilitate the release of oxygen from the blood to each cell of the body. When carbon dioxide is lost, all cells (different types in different people and to a different degree) will suffer a lack of oxygen bringing about symptoms of malfunction in different systems: nervous, cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, digestive, etc.

 

If an individual is taught to breath correctly using the Buteyko technique, the symptoms of overbreathing are reduced.  The Buteyko Method has a strong scientific foundation, the broadest philosophical basis and decades of experience.