Podcasts about buteyko educator

Habits & Health episode 56 with Robin Rothenberg, a Certified Yoga Therapist, Buteyko Educator, and author of the superb book, "Restoring Prana: A Therapeutic Guide to Pranayama and Healing Through the Breath". Robin has been assisting people in transforming health habits using the teachings and tools of yoga for over 35 years. She offers tele-yoga-therapy across the globe and is Program Director of an IAYT Accredited Yoga Therapy Training Program. With the pandemic, Robin's focus has developed to support people with Long COVID in managing symptoms and regaining their energy.  Don't forget, there is a transcript of every episode at tonywinyard.com Habits & Health links: Website - tonywinyard.com Facebook Page - facebook.com/TonyWinyard.HabitsAndHealth Facebook Group - facebook.com/groups/habitshealth Twitter - @TonyWinyard Instagram - @tony.winyard LinkedIn - uk.linkedin.com/in/tonywinyard YouTube How to leave a podcast review - tonywinyard.com/how-to-leave-a-podcast-review/ Details of online workshops to create habits for health - tonywinyard.com/training/ Are you in control of your habits or are they in control of you? Take my quiz to find out - tonywinyard.com/quiz Take part in Tony's free 5-day-programme - tonywinyard.com/tinyhabits Full shownotes including transcription available at: https://tonywinyard.com/robin-rothenberg/  

Jennifer Snowdon is a Yoga Teacher and Buteyko Breathing Educator working and living on the east coast of Canada with her husband, one of her three children, her two cats, and one fish. She spends her free time knitting, swinging her Gumdo sword, and making killer pizzas for her family.    As the only trauma-informed Buteyko Educator, she looks at breathing through a unique lens in her Breath Retraining Courses.  Bringing together the traditions of yoga, the science of breath and body, and the understandings of the nervous system and trauma, she helps people move, breathe, and live more present and connected lives.    You can connect with Jennifer and find out what she's up to on her website at jennifersnowdon.ca   Exciting news coming August 5th! Stay tuned here: Follow us on Instagram Join our Facebook group for podcast-related resources Please follow, rate and review the show

In this episode we discuss: - Yoga and its role in radical life change - Yoga teachers and breath instruction - The immune system of the nose - Functional breathing - The chemistry of the breath - The impact of trauma on the breath - The critical role that breath plays in our nervous system - The impact of "Take three deep, sighing breaths" Jennifer Snowdon is a Yoga Teacher and Buteyko Breathing Educator working and living on the east coast of Canada with her husband, one of her three children, her two cats, and one fish. She spends her free time knitting, swinging her Gumdo sword, and making killer pizzas for her family.    As the only trauma-informed Buteyko Educator, she looks at breathing through a unique lens in her Breath Retraining Courses.  Bringing together the traditions of yoga, the science of breath and body, and the understandings of the nervous system and trauma, she helps people move, breathe, and live more present and connected lives.    You can connect with Jennifer and find out what she's up to on her website at jennifersnowdon.ca   Exciting news coming August 5th! Stay tuned here: Follow us on Instagram Join our Facebook group for podcast-related resources Please follow, rate and review the show

Hi this is Michael Lingard Orthopath, Buteyko Educator and Plantrician introducing the ninth podcast entitled “What is an Orthopath?” The Orthopath sees health as based on restoration of all functions and physiology to normal. Structural correction is always part of their work but structural correction is not enough.Usually nutritional screening and advice is offered to their patients but that is still not enough to help the patient to optimal health.Advice on suitable exercise and rest is routinely included in their therapy and this adds a little more to the health promotion plan. The patient’s work and environmental factors are reviewed to check whether there are health issues here that need attention. Some orthopaths will routinely check the patient’s breathing to assess any deviation from normal optimal breathing. Even all this may not uncover other hidden problems that are having an adverse effect on the patient’s health that may be from stress and mental attitudes. When all these factors and more are brought together we start to give a holistic approach to health care, this is the ultimate aim of an orthopath that may never be fully realized but it is the aspiration the orthopath works towards in their practice. Does an orthopath have training in physical therapy? Yes just like an osteopath, chiropractor or physiotherapist. Does an orthopath have a fundamental holistic approach? Ideally yes, this is not necessarily so with other physical therapists. May an orthopath use adjunctive therapies to benefit the patient? Yes, invariably. Many other physical therapists are restrained as to what they're allowed to use or, what they want to use, in addition to their physical therapy. Is an orthopath’s work primarily based on structure? No, unlike the other physical therapists, the orthopath tries to expand their realm of therapy and support beyond just physical structure. Is an orthopath expected to teach the patient health promotion? Yes indeed, this is a prime part of the orthopath’s work, to try to make the patient more and more self-reliant by helping themselves to better health. So can orthopaths advise on all aspects of health promotion? Yes indeed, that is what most orthopaths need to do and want to do. An orthopath is constantly updating and enlarging their therapy base and exchange experiences regularly with other therapists to develop a more holistic approach to health care. Every orthopath has to meet all legal, professional and ethical requirements like any other physical therapist. So you could say an orthopath is an osteopath-plus, a chiropractor-plus, a physiotherapist-plus, a sports therapist-plus, etc.

Hello, welcome to podcast # 26 I’m Michael Lingard Orthopath, Buteyko Educator and Plantrician introducing perhaps the most important question for us all today, What Is Health? Is It More Than an Absence of Disease? Whenever I have asked an audience this question most people intuitively know that health is far more than freedom from diseases. Although health is a very difficult concept to define we do know what are the main causes of good health. If you have ever wondered what are these key factors that determine our health and longevity and would like some practical, reliable, information on this subject then stay tuned to this podcast. It is unfortunate that modern medicine has been primarily concerned with disease, illness and pathology for the past century and has not given the public much advice on health promotion. The main reason for this omission, is that doctors are not trained as health practitioners; they receive very little training in the fundamentals of health promotion: the need for good body mechanics, for good nutrition, for adequate exercise, good breathing, good relaxation, a healthy environment and a supportive community. Because of this disease model of medical practice, the system is overloaded with a sick population that is creating increasingly impossible demands on finance and resources. We also have trained an entire generation of the public to rely on their doctor to keep them well and have lost the sense of self-responsibility for their own health or are just unwilling to do anything to help them selves. There is today a prevalent view that “It’s pointless worrying about our own health and quality of life or longevity, just carry on & enjoy yourself as we all have to die of something don’t we?” The truth is we can have a profound effect on our health and longevity and we can usually choose either a long healthy, active life or a chronically sick existence for many years maintained with increasing medical & surgical interventions. If we follow the American lifestyle over the next few years we can expect the same outcomes; according to good medical authority we may be seeing parents routinely outliving their children for the first time in our history. It is now commonplace in America for young people to be suffering strokes or heart attacks and other chronic degenerative diseases that were usually found among the middle or old aged in the past. The major reason for this catastrophic decline in health and increased premature death appears to be largely due to diet, lack of exercise & an unhealthy lifestyle with increasing medical interventions with drugs and surgery. After thirty-five years in the healthcare profession I have tried to find an answer to this question from past doctors who have devoted time to research this topic. A few years ago I decided to put all my findings into one small book called “Connection – Towards a better understanding of health in medicine.” The conclusion I came to was that our health depends on almost everything! However there are just four factors we can all control ourselves. Let’s look at each of them now: Our Body. We must not forget that our body is an amazing mechanical structure that can suffer many of the problems that might affect any machine. It needs to be kept in fine adjustment to function optimally. We wouldn’t dream of driving a car with a twisted chassis or faulty wheel alignment, but most people happily try to get around with many mechanical problems in their spine. Luckily this is where your body is radically different from your car; it is able to compensate for many mechanical faults but at a cost of either pain or poor functioning. The first chapter of “Connection” explains the details of our body mechanics and what we can do to help ourselves. Our Food. We are what we eat, or “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. Our diet is the most important factor underpinning health or laying the foundation for serious diseases for most of us in the West. I would heartily recommend you read an amazing best selling book giving the research behind this concept it is entitled “How Not To Die” by Dr. Michael Greger. My book “Connection” gives a very brief summary of some of the research findings that have led to these conclusions. Unfortunately the diet and nutrition industry has totally confused people and is driven by commercial interests that are very much like the drug industry. The truth seems to be that the most health promoting diet is the simplest and cheapest to follow. It is described as Whole Plant Nutrition and recommends you eat all you want of whole plant based foods and dishes and you will not need supplements (with just two possible exceptions), enzymes, special training or calorie counting. This diet drastically reduces the risk of developing most of the chronic diseases, normalizes your weight and will often reverse pathologies such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. This same diet may also be the fastest way of tackling global warming and the destruction of our planet if most of the world’s population followed it. Our Breath. Your doctor checked your blood pressure, your weight, your reflexes, your blood chemistry, your heart & lung sounds, you may have had Peak Flow tests, even given you X-rays or MRI scans but why didn’t he check your breathing rate? We can live for three weeks without food, for three days without water but only three minutes without air. That life’s most fundamental activity, BREATHING, is not routinely checked by Western doctors (unless you are complaining of breathing difficulties like asthma, COPD or bronchitis) is a serious omission. If there were just one measure allowed when checking the health of a person I would suggest THEIR BREATHING would be the best choice. Why? Firstly it’s a quick, easy and cheap test. It takes less than a minute, is none invasive and does not require special expensive equipment. Secondly, many medical researchers have claimed dysfunctional breathing may be the cause of over a hundred modern diseases, so wouldn’t it make sense to at least diagnose it and then perhaps address this problem first? Thirdly, although our breathing is normally automatic and unconscious – like our heart, liver, & kidney activity - we can take conscious control of it and change our bad breathing habits for good normal ones, with just a little training. Fourthly, this route to better health and wellbeing empowers the patient and reduces their reliance on medical care and drugs. Surely a very desirable aim? My third chapter of “Connection” explains how to check your own breathing and how most diseases are associated with poor breathing. You may decide to study my free podcast breath-training course. “Better Breathing Means Better Health” found on most podcast sites. Our Mind. Did you know that your brain tomorrow will be different from how it is today? This is the latest thinking of how our brain functions; it is about “the plastic brain”. The most amazing thing about the human brain is that it has the ability to grow, change, re-arrange all our thoughts and mental processing from birth to death. We have a plastic brain that can do remarkable things such as cope with a stroke and re-organized all the activities that were done in one area that is damaged and allow them to be done in another area. Areas of the brain that are normally associated with speech can be used for sight or hearing. The old thinking was that we were born with a brain divided up into little boxes, each was allocated a specific job, this has all changed with the latest research. What does this mean to you and me? The first lesson we need to learn is “never to say never!” We cannot tell what is possible and what is not possible. The second lesson is that we can change the way we think, feel or behave in remarkable ways with a little help and effort. The third lesson is that despite the fact that we function much of our waking time with habits learned since childhood (it would be tough to have to learn how to talk, walk or clean our teeth the new every day! ) all these habitually programmed activities can be reprogrammed. How we can do this is the subject of this section of my book. The phrase used today is “If it fires, it wires!” Repeated nerve signals create stronger pathways. Did you know that every child, at birth, has a greater potential intelligence than Leonardo da Vinci ever used? That includes your own children and grandchildren. This finding is based on many years of clinical research and practical application by the mothers or fathers of tens of thousands of babies guided by Dr. Glen Domam and others. Watch the video on YouTube entitled “Glenn Doman Introducing The Institutes (Part I) Working with Children for over 50 years.” Finally, remember your mind is closely linked to all of the body activities and is perhaps the most significant connection discussed in my book. We are emerging from a long period of study and thinking based on reductionism, or the analysis and study of increasingly smaller and smaller parts of our whole, but now there is a move towards the more difficult task of understanding how every part is connected to every other part and every system is affecting every other system, this is Holism or Wholism. We must remember we need both reductionism and holism if we are to make any sense of the universe we live in. My book “Connection” discusses other key factors related to our health including family, community and even cosmic factors! It also offers an alternative theory of the universe to deal with the awkward question “What happened before the Big Bang?”

**Episode # 15 General Health Questions ** Hi, this is Michael Lingard, your Buteyko Educator, welcoming you to the final episode of Better Breathing Means Better Health and offering you my congratulations on completing this course. You now have the understanding and tools to continue improving your breathing and health in the future. Just to remind you of the powerful impact on your health that improved breathing will have, you can download leaflets on the subjects covered below: If you don’t have access while listening to this podcast, go to my website HERE where you will be able to download them there. Circulation & Heart Disease (Download a pdf leaflet HERE) Lowered CO2 because of hyperventilation constricts the arteries throughout the body, lowered CO2 impairs the release of oxygen from your blood and mouth breathing rather than nose breathing reduces the production of nitric oxide. The effect of the above is to put more physical stress on the heart that now needs to pump more blood around the body to deliver the same amount of oxygen, with narrowed arteries due to smooth muscle spasm and lower nitric oxide levels this means the blood pressure has to be higher leading to further stress on the heart. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & ME (Download a pdf leaflet HERE) With chronic over-breathing the oxygenation of all the tissue in the body is depleted, this will impair the muscle functioning strength and also reduce the oxygen getting to the brain. The latter effect is made worse by the fact that the body protects the vital areas of the brain by shunting more blood to these centres leaving even less oxygen for higher centres of the brain. Resulting in mental as well as physical tiredness. COPD & Emphysema (Download a pdf leaflet HERE) Both these conditions are associated with loss of healthy functioning lung tissue that causes severe breathlessness and restricted physical activity. Invariably patients will be over-breathing in an attempt to combat the sensation of breathlessness but as we now understand this will worsen the oxygenation of the body. By improving their breathing, eliminating hyperventilation, what healthy lung tissue remaining will deliver more effective oxygenation of the body. Gut & Bladder Problems and IBS (Download a pdf leaflet HERE) We have all experienced how stress can upset our gut, hence when we improve our breathing and reduce the ill effects of stress it benefits our gut. As you know, over-breathing with loss of carbon dioxide, causes spasm of all smooth muscle in the body and that includes the muscle around your stomach, intestines and other hollow organs. Improve breathing is always beneficial to all gut and bladder problems. Watch this short video of a recent client's response to the breath training HERE Stress Anxiety & Panic Attacks (Download a pdf leaflet HERE) As you now realize, stress leads to over-breathing, repeated stressors lead to chronic hyperventilation, what every person suffering anxiety will have. As explained before this impairs oxygenation of the body and in particular the brain suffers from this lowered oxygen supply. If the control pause falls into the lower teens this can trigger a panic attack that is usually accompanied by increased panting or gasping that further worsens the situation. Improved breathing protects against this. Asthma, Sinusitis, Hay Fever & Rhinitis (Download a pdf leaflet HERE) If the Buteyko Method is renown for its dramatic health benefits and been proven with many clinical trials , it is with the support and management of asthma. If you are particularly interested in this condition I would strongly recommend you watch a YouTube video production by the BBC that covers a small trial conducted under the supervision of a leading respiratory specialist in Edinburgh HERE. and the first hand story of a recent asthma client HERE Sports Performance & Breath Training (Download a pdf leaflet HERE) It is not rocket science to suggest that any improved oxygenation to your body will improve your sports performance and general fitness. Many leading world athletes and sports people have used the Buteyko Method to give themselves that critical small percentage improvement that is the difference between winning or losing. Their general health has also improved as a side-effect! Insomnia, Snoring and Sleep Apnoea (Download a pdf leaflet HERE) Over-breathing usually is worse at night when asleep, largely because you are not using much muscle activity, hence lower carbon dioxide production but still over-breathing as during your waking hours, so carbon dioxide levels fall dangerously low. This can lead to sleep disturbances, nightmares with children or if more severe sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea is a serious problem that can predispose to heart problems. However, the repeated cessation of breathing associated with sleep apnoea is the body’s protection against the severe loss of carbon dioxide. The solution is to improve your breathing 24/7. Eczema, Allergies and Itchy Skin (Download a pdf leaflet HERE) The skin is the largest organ in our body, it requires a good blood supply for normal health and is susceptible to allergens that come in contact or are taken in. Chronic hyperventilation hits the skin two ways, it receives poor blood supply and histamine levels rise as stress pushes our breathing up. The combination paves the way for eczema, allergies and skin disorders. Food sensitivities may well be an important component but you now have the means of checking this as explained in episode seven. Orthodontic, Dental Problems & Gum Disease (Download a pdf leaflet HERE) This is perhaps the most difficult relationship to understand. How can dysfunctional breathing lead to major structural problems in our development of teeth and all the structures of our skull? There is strong evidence that children that habitually mouth breathe will develop orthodontic problems such as crowded teeth as well as poor facial features. If you want a detailed professional explanation of this I suggest you watch a video by Dr. John Flutter HERE. If you have enjoyed this podcast why not check out my general health promoting podcast entitled “Your Health in Your Hands”? HERE Eat Less, Sleep less, Breathe Less and Exercise More!

**Episode # 14 Some Important Points ** Hi, this is Michael Lingard, your Buteyko Educator, welcoming you to episode 14 and offering you my congratulations on completing this course. You now have the understanding and tools to continue improving your breathing and health in the future. Chronic Hidden Hyperventilation is a serious condition and as such safety is paramount with the management of this condition. This final episode will highlight areas that you should take particular care over and remember that this course is a general presentation and each individual is unique. No responsibility can be taken for any adverse reactions to the training or your failure to follow the safety recommendations given; always, if in doubt, consult your doctor, or your own Buteyko Educator for advice. You are recommended to check all the following important points now and from time to time in the future to ensure you are following best practice of the Buteyko Method. Under no circumstances should you throw away any prescribed medications without consulting your doctor. For at least the next twelve months always carry your medication with you and use it if necessary. Prevent or overcome tightness, wheezing, coughing or shortness of breath by first using the Buteyko Method (Control Pause or Extended Pause followed by Reduced Breathing) and if this does not help, use your prescribed medication. As soon as possible after taking it, do the Reduced Breathing exercises. Steroid reduction should be discussed with your doctor. When it takes place, it should be a very gradual process - no faster than one puff reduced every seven days and reducing all morning steroids doses first. At the first sign of reaction (accelerated pulse or lowered control pause) then your steroids should be restored to previous dosage. For example, if you start with two puffs night and morning and after cutting out both morning puffs you get worse, then restore one puff in the morning. If this is still not controlling your condition then restore the second morning puff and do not reduce them again until you are stable and your doctor says that it is safe to continue with the reduction. In the early stages of your training maintain nose breathing at all times, especially when faced with factors that usually cause you breathing trouble. If your nose is blocked use the Nose Clearing exercises to unblock it. The most common of factors causing over-breathing are: physical exercise, emotional situations, yelling/shouting, chemical or paint vapours, smoky environments, going out into cold air, alcohol, over-eating and over-sleeping. Adults should keep in mind the importance of the Reduced Breathing exercise. If you must do any deep breathing, for example while playing sport or laughing/crying, then as soon as possible do some Buteyko exercises to return breathing to normal. For most people, the usually the first sign that your breathing is worsening is either a stuffy nose, broken sleep patterns, waking up more tired in the morning than usual or noticing your morning control pause falling day after day. Always sleep on your side (or stomach for adults). Whenever you notice the early warning signs, increase your Buteyko exercise regime. We recommend that you continue to tape your mouth while sleeping for at least six months. If you wish to stop doing this, then use the Control Pause and pulse to test your breathing while you sleep for a minimum of ten days. Keep off all the foods that increase your breathing rate when you are suffering from breathing difficulties. These include: chocolate, milk, cottage cheese, yoghurt, ice-cream, nuts, honey, chicken/fish/beef stock, strawberries, raspberries, coffee, strong tea, and alcohol or any other foods you have noticed cause you to wheeze. Refer back to episode seven if in doubt. Easily digested proteins increase hyperventilation more than other foods, so if you suspect that your condition is deteriorating then avoid these foods. If you must eat protein at this time then try to eat only unrefined vegetable protein. Viruses are a stress on the body and therefore increase the breathing rate, so it is vital to minimize other stresses at this time. When a virus strikes: increase your Buteyko exercise sessions to at least 9 sets a day; take medication if necessary; reduce food intake; avoid foods that increase the breathing rate; avoid known allergens; rest more but sleep less; drink lots of clear fluids, water is best; keep warm but don't get over-heated. The pulse and control pause give a reliable indicator of how your breathing is for adults, the aim being to maintain an early morning control pause of approximately 45 seconds. When the Control pause increases then your condition is improving, when it decreases your condition is deteriorating and there is a greater chance of an health problems. If it should get less than 7 seconds seek medical attention immediately. The pulse and Step exercise are the meter for children, with the aim being to maintain an early morning number of steps of at least 80. When the number of steps increases the condition is improving and there is less likelihood of an health problems. When the number of steps decreases, then the condition is deteriorating. If the number get less than 15 steps, seek medical attention immediately Ideally do nine sets of breathing exercises a day until your condition is totally under control. This usually means that your early morning control pause is consistently between 45 and 60 seconds for adults or between 80 and 100 steps for children. Then do six sets a day for one week. Provided there is no deterioration in your condition, continue to reduce the exercises by one set each week until you are down to one or two sets a day. Even with no symptoms, it is advisable to check your condition every morning on waking because any continued stress will alter your breathing negatively, and you may not be aware of it unless you check. Should your need for drug intake increase significantly or your condition become less than well controlled then that is the time to contact your Buteyko Educator or your medical practitioner. The five main problems people have with using Buteyko are: a. Not putting in the initial effort required to change their automatic breathing pattern. b. Not being aware of their breathing, and consequently breathing through their mouth while talking and exercising. c. No longer monitoring their condition every morning before breakfast. d. Watching their Control pause or the number of steps fall every morning and not doing anything about it. e. Not telephoning their Buteyko Educator or doctor when being confused about using the Buteyko Method. f. You are advised to seek help or advice from a trained Buteyko Educator should you have any questions about the Buteyko Method. Finally congratulations on completing this course and remember: Eat Less, Sleep less, Breathe Less and Exercise More! The next and last episode gives a brief explanation as to how breathing affects the most common problem areas and deals with some of the health questions that patients have asked in the past. If you have found this course useful please pass on the good news to friends and relatives, remember Professor Buteyko hoped his work would spread across the world to improve everyone’s health, you can help do this.

**Episode # 13 Stopping Buteyko Exercises & Taping ** Hi, welcome to episode thirteen of Better Breathing Means Better Health. I hope by now you are really making progress and feeling the benefits of better breathing. One of the great attractions of the Buteyko Method breath training is that people don’t need to carry on doing exercises indefinitely, but once their carbon dioxide receptors have been re-set and they are achieving good control pauses of 35 to 45 seconds all the time, then they can begin to reduce their exercises and eventually stop them altogether. So at some time in the future you will have established a new habit of breathing normally, you will have a morning control pause of over thirty-five and will often achieve control pauses of over forty. You will have achieved ideal breathing when your control pause is between forty-five and sixty seconds. How quickly you get to these levels depends on many factors: how bad your breathing was, how many exercises you have been doing each day (the more, the faster you change your breathing pattern), whether you are going through a stressful time, whether you are getting enough physical exercise (walking is perhaps the safest), whether your diet is helping with your breathing (listen to episode seven again), whether you are only nose breathing, even when talking and sleeping, and a few more points need to be considered. Every one is different and this is why face to face training by a Buteyko Educator is by far the best and fasted way of getting good results. You will get a check-list in episode 14 that you can refer to if your progress isn’t as great as you’d like. Assuming you have reached the thirty-five plus control pause, you can start reducing the number of exercises you do each day, progressively, until you are only doing an exercise if and when your control pause drops off. Remember to keep measuring your morning control pause regardless because this is your early warning system should your condition begin to deteriorate at any time. It takes under a minute so there is no reason to drop this essential safety measure. If you have been using tape to stop you mouth breathing in your sleep you may by now have broken the bad habit of mouth breathing when asleep. You can test yourself very simply; take your control pause just before going to sleep, do not tape your mouth and check your control pause when you wake up in the morning. If your control pause has not fallen during the night it means you have not been mouth breathing in your sleep. If however your control pause has fallen by ten or more seconds you need to carry on taping at night for a little longer. The other indicator is you will probably have a dry mouth if you have been mouth breathing. Some people I have trained prefer to maintain the taping as it gives then better sleep and they don’t have to worry about mouth breathing or snoring in their sleep. Remember you have been on a major health promoting journey by improving your breathing. In the East breathing is central to all health care systems. Here in the West over-breathing or chronic hidden hyperventilation is almost an epidemic, with over 75% of people breathing badly and suffering from, according to Professor Buteyko, over a hundred modern diseases because of this bad habit. If you want to learn more about the profound effect on our health generally of over-breathing you could watch my video on YouTube entitled “Chronic Hidden Hyperventilation 21st Century Epidemic” HERE The next episode will cover a revision of the most important points and advice on when to see your doctor if your symptoms begin to return.

**Escape from Asthma Episode # 15 Some Important Points ** Hi, this is Michael Lingard, your Buteyko Educator, welcoming you to the final episode of Escape from Asthma and offering you my congratulations on completing this course. You now have the understanding and tools to continue improving your breathing and health in the future. Asthma is a serious condition and as such safety is paramount with the management of this condition. This final episode will highlight areas that you should take particular care over and remember that this course is a general presentation and each individual asthma sufferer is unique. No responsibility can be taken for any adverse reactions to the training or your failure to follow the safety recommendations given; always, if in doubt, consult your doctor, asthma nurse or your own Buteyko Educator for advice. You are recommended to check all the following important points now and from time to time in the future to ensure you are following best practice of the Buteyko Method. 1.** **Under no circumstances should you throw away your bronchodilators or steroids. ** ** For at least the next twelve months always carry your reliever medication with you and use it if necessary. Research has shown that while overuse and heavy doses of bronchodilators may worsen the asthmatic condition, when used correctly in the early stages of an asthma attack, they can stop severe asthma from developing. Prevent or overcome tightness, wheezing, coughing or shortness of breath by first using the Buteyko Method (Control Pause or Extended Pause followed by Reduced Breathing) and** if this does not help, use your reliever medication. As soon as possible after taking it, do the Reduced Breathing exercises.** **Steroid reduction should be discussed with your doctor. ** When it takes place, it should be a very gradual process - no faster than one puff reduced every seven days and reducing all morning steroids doses first. At the first sign of reaction (accelerated pulse, lowered control pause or asthma attacks) then your steroids should be restored to previous dosage. For example, if you start with two puffs night and morning and after cutting out both morning puffs you get asthma, then restore one puff in the morning. If this is still not controlling your condition then restore the second morning puff and do not reduce them again until you are stable and your doctor says that it is safe to continue with the reduction. In the early stages of your training maintain nose breathing at all times, especially when faced with factors that usually cause you asthma. If your nose is blocked use the Nose Clearing exercises to unblock it. The most common of factors to cause asthma are: physical exercise, emotional situations, yelling/shouting, chemical or paint vapours, smoky environments, going out into cold air, alcohol, over-eating and over-sleeping. Adults should keep in mind the importance of the Reduced Breathing exercise. If you must do any deep breathing, for example while playing sport or laughing/crying, then as soon as possible do some Buteyko exercises to return breathing to normal. For most asthmatics, usually the first sign that asthma is returning is either a stuffy nose, broken sleep patterns, waking up more tired in the morning than usual or noticing your morning control pause falling day after day. Always sleep on your side (or stomach for adults). Whenever you notice the early warning signs, increase your Buteyko exercise regime. We recommend that you continue to tape your mouth while sleeping for at least six months. If you wish to stop doing this, then use the Control Pause and pulse to test your breathing while you sleep for a minimum of ten days. Keep off all the foods that increase your breathing rate when you are suffering from breathing difficulties. These include: chocolate, milk, cottage cheese, yoghurt, ice-cream, nuts, honey, chicken/fish/beef stock, strawberries, raspberries, coffee, strong tea, and alcohol or any other foods you have noticed cause you to wheeze. Easily digested proteins increase hyperventilation more than other foods, so if you suspect that your condition is deteriorating then avoid these foods. If you must eat protein at this time then try to eat only unrefined vegetable protein. Viruses are a stress on the body and therefore increase the breathing rate, so it is vital to minimize other stresses at this time. When a virus strikes: increase your Buteyko exercise sessions to at least 9 sets a day; take medication if necessary; reduce food intake; avoid foods that increase the breathing rate; avoid known allergens; rest more but sleep less; drink lots of clear fluids, water is best; keep warm but don't get over-heated. The pulse and control pause act like a natural peak flow meter for adults, with the aim being to maintain an early morning control pause of approximately 45 seconds. When the Control pause increases then your condition is improving, when it decreases your condition is deteriorating and there is a greater chance of an asthma attack. **If it should get less than 7 seconds seek medical attention immediately. ** The pulse and Step exercise act like a natural peak flow meter for children, with the aim being to maintain an early morning number of steps of at least 80. When the number of steps increases the condition is improving and there is less likelihood of an asthma attack. When the number of steps decreases, then the condition is deteriorating. ** If the number get less than 15 steps, seek medical attention immediately ** Ideally do nine sets of breathing exercises a day until your asthma is totally under control. This usually means that your early morning control pause is consistently between 45 and 60 seconds for adults or between 80 and 100 steps for children. When your asthma is controlled, do six sets a day for one week. Provided there is no deterioration in your condition, continue to reduce the exercises by one set each week until you are down to one or two sets a day. Even with no symptoms, it is advisable to check your condition every morning on waking because any continued stress will alter your breathing negatively, and you may not be aware of it unless you check. Should your drug intake increase significantly or your condition become less than well controlled**** then that is the time to contact your Buteyko Educator or your medical practitioner.**** The five main problems people have with using Buteyko are: a. Not putting in the initial effort required to change their automatic breathing pattern. b. Not being aware of their breathing, and consequently breathing through their mouth while talking and exercising. c. No longer monitoring their condition every morning before breakfast. d. Watching their Control pause or the number of steps fall every morning and not doing anything about it. e. Not telephoning their Buteyko Educator or doctor when being confused about using the Buteyko Method. You are advised to seek help or advice from a trained Buteyko Educator should you have any questions about the Buteyko Method. ***Finally congratulations on completing this course and remember: Eat Less, Sleep less, Breathe Less and Exercise More!*

**Escape from Asthma Episode # 14 Stopping Buteyko Exercises & Taping ** Hi, welcome to the penultimate episode of Escape from Asthma. I hope by now you are really making progress and feeling the benefits of better breathing. One of the great attractions of the Buteyko Method breath training is that people don’t need to carry on doing exercises indefinitely but once their carbon dioxide receptors have been re-set and they are achieving good control pauses of 35 to 45 seconds all the time, then they can begin to reduce their exercises and eventually stop them altogether. So at some time in the future you will have established a new habit of breathing normally, you will have a morning control pause of over thirty-five and will often achieve control pauses of over forty. You will have achieved ideal breathing when your control pause is between 45 and 60 seconds. How quickly you get to these levels depends on many factors: how bad your asthma was, how many exercises you have been doing each day (the more, the faster you change your breathing pattern), whether you are going through a stressful time, whether you are getting enough physical exercise (walking is perhaps the safest), whether your diet is helping with your breathing ( listen to episode seven again), whether you are only nose breathing, even when talking and sleeping, and a few more points need to be considered. Every one is different and this is why face to face training by a Buteyko Educator is by far the best and fasted way of getting good results. You will get a check list in episode 15 that you can refer to if your progress isn’t as great as you’d like. Assuming you have reached the 35 plus control pause and you are not needing any reliever medication you can start reducing the number of exercises you do each day progressively until you are only doing an exercise if and when your control pause drops off. Remember to keep measuring your morning control pause regardless because this is your early warning system should your condition begin to deteriorate at any time. It takes under a minute so there is no reason to drop this essential safety measure. If you have been using tape to stop you mouth breathing in your sleep you may by now have broken the bad habit of mouth breathing when asleep. You can test yourself very simply; take your control pause just before going to sleep, do not tape your mouth and check your control pause when you wake up in the morning. If your control pause has not fallen during the night it means you have not been mouth breathing in your sleep. If however your control pause has fallen by ten or more seconds you need to carry on taping at night for a little longer. The other indicator is you will probably have a dry mouth if you have been mouth breathing. Some people I have trained prefer to maintain the taping as it gives then better sleep and they don’t have to worry about mouth breathing or snoring in their sleep. It would be unwise to stop taping while you are reducing your preventer medication, wait until you are off all medication before attempting to stop taping. Remember you have on a major health promoting journey by improving your breathing. In the East breathing is central to all health care systems. Here in the West over-breathing or chronic hidden hyperventilation is almost an epidemic with over 75% of people breathing badly and suffering not only asthma but according to Professor Buteyko over a hundred modern diseases because of this bad habit. If you want to learn more about the profound effect on our health generally of over-breathing you could watch my video on YouTube entitled “Chronic Hidden Hyperventilation 21st Century Epidemic” HERE The next and last episode will cover a revision of the most important points and advice on when to see your doctor if your symptoms begin to return.

Escape from Asthma Episode 1 The Buteyko Method & How It Helps Asthmatics. This is a series of fifteen five to ten minute episodes that will give you all you need to know about the Buteyko Method of Breath Training to improve the management of your asthma. This course of training is free and you will learn how you will be able to manage on far less medication, have better control of your asthma and have improved energy and sleep by simply improving your breathing and a few other lifestyle changes. The Buteyko Method has been subjected to clinical trials that have proved its effectiveness and millions across the world have benefitted from the training. Until now training was either in small classes or one to one courses and would cost hundreds of pounds and even internet-based courses have been over a hundred pounds usually. With the new facility of the podcast we can offer quality training to every asthma sufferer who has access to the internet for free. If you find this course has been useful, you may want to explore the full potential of the Buteyko Method and seek further training and help from a Buteyko Educator where you live. When you decide to take this course you may want to buy my book I published to compliment the podcast course. It will give you far more information about the method and also has a section for recording your breathing exercises, entitled “The Breath Connection - The Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing & Better Health” just click HERE to view or order it. Breath training is a powerful tool for healthcare and will usually change the need for medication significantly. You are advised to discuss this with your doctor or asthma nurse before commencing this course and to review your progress from time to time with your asthma practitioner. You might want to buy my book to help explain what you are doing, entitled “Doctor’s Guide to the Buteyko Method” that outlines in medical terms the essentials of the Buteyko Method. HERE Make sure you listen to the episodes in order from 1 to 15 as each adds to the earlier ones. So let's begin with some facts. First, every asthma sufferer over-breathes or suffers chronic hidden hyperventilation and according to Professor Buteyko this is the main reason they have all the symptoms of associated with asthma. Professor Buteyko spent all his life studying the effect of breathing in health and disease. Now millions of asthma sufferers worldwide have discovered by learning to improve their breathing and a few other lifestyle changes they have been able to either eliminate all the need for medication or reduce the dosage by 75% or more. The first medicine to be reduced is reliever medication and once all reliever medication has been removed and the patient is free of symptoms, then they can begin to reduce the preventer medication with the guidance from their doctor. Safety is paramount in this re-education programme. You will learn all about the physiology of breathing and how over-breathing can generate the symptoms every asthmatic suffers from. It might be true that some people are predisposed to develop asthma because of genetics, but they also need to breathe badly to trigger the symptoms of asthma. Many parents are happy for their children to take asthma medications but we must realize every medicine carries adverse side-effects and if we can safely minimize the medicine required, that makes good sense. Many doctors have referred their asthma patients to Buteyko Educators and have had excellent results, but sadly these doctors are the exception and most will simply follow the drug protocol guidelines laid down by their professional body. You may ask, if this approach is as good as we are suggesting why is it not more widely used by the medical profession. They argue that more research should be done to confirm the benefits, and that would be reasonable considering the millions of asthma patients who would be affected, but sadly, most medical research is funded by the drug companies and they are not prepared to fund research that would demonstrate patients could manage without their medications. This especially is true since up to 20% of their income is derived from asthma medication and they have responsibility to their shareholders. The last major research trial was conducted in Canada and funded with a million dollars by a benefactor who had enjoyed the benefits of the Buteyko Method. So it would seem that if we are to wait until more research is done before accepting this approach to asthma management, we could be waiting a long time. Meanwhile you can decide for yourself whether to give it a try, it is safe, the commonest side-effect is the need for less medication, it’s free and will require only a few hours of your time doing exercises. The benefits will amaze you and you will be better able to control the condition yourself. In the next episode I will explain how asthmatics are different and what happens when they breathe is too much.

Hi, I’m Michael Lingard , Orthopath, Buteyko Educator and Plantrician introducing Podcast 12 entitled “Forget Your Drugs, Sort Your Lifestyle!” Forget Your Drugs, Sort Your Lifestyle! Almost all chronic diseases and most acute illnesses are the product of years of many lifestyle stressors on the body. It is wishful thinking or just ignorance to believe we can take a single pill to fix a disease. Let me emphasise the fact that some people may be totally dependent on certain drugs, this podcast is about the rest of us. This trust in the drug based solution has been driven by two main forces, the commercial profit motives of the pharmaceutical companies supported by the modern reductionist medicine and the demands from patients to be given a pill for every ill rather than accept the need to make changes in their lifestyle supported by a failure of health promotion education for both doctors and the public at large. I am not deriding the enormous advances that have been made in drug treatment that are keeping millions alive and in a functioning state that without their use and without any significant change in lifestyle most would suffer far more and meet an early death. So what are the factors that might ensure most of us would live a long, active, disease free life? What evidence is there to support this concept? Essentially, could it be true that vibrant health is the normal state of affairs and that diseases should be the remarkable exceptions? Health is based on normal structural integrity (almost ignored in modern medicine yet the fundamental tenet of osteopathy that recognizes the fact that “structure governs function”), health is founded on the optimal diet (once again a factor almost ignored by modern medicine despite the fact that 90% of chronic diseases are closely related to diet, “we are what we eat”), health is dependent on normal breathing (few doctors routinely check their patient’s breathing despite the fact that almost all diseases are linked to dysfunctional breathing and that most people in the West suffer from over-breathing or chronic hidden hyperventilation), health is dependent on an adequate level of physical activity (our sedentary lifestyle and increasing reliance on wheels over legs has become a major issue), health is severely damaged by stress or our mental outlook and state (this is the most complex factor affected by our childhood, our family, work, education, emotional traumas etc., so it would seem pretty unlikely that such a complex, multifaceted problem could be fixed with a drug or two), health is dependent on our environment (this is for most of us outside our individual control, pollution of the air we breathe or the water and food we consume along with many other toxins found in our modern lives, there are few drugs that can eliminate or neutralize these poisons to our body), the list could be extended indefinitely for the simple reason that health is connected to, well, everything, as I expand on in my book entitled “Connection- towards a broader understanding of health in medicine.” As a first small step in this direction I offer a short Skype Course “ Optimal Health Lifestyle Course” that addresses the three most important factors, diet, breathing and stress. Download details as pdf: http://www.totalhealthmatters.co.uk/Skype%20Lifestyle%20Course.pdf All this is not new but can be found in the growing interest in “functional medicine” that tries to find the causes of ill health, where the body’s functioning has gone astray and then to address these factors. Looks very much like the above, don’t you think!

Hi, I’m Michael Lingard, Orthopath, Buteyko Educator and Plantrician introducing podcast number 11 entitled “Enjoy Optimal Health with The Skype Lifestyle Course” This course is based on a six lessons over three-weeks. Health is both simple and complex, when anyone asks me what are the factors affecting our health I am now quite clear that the answer is, everything. Our health is affected by many things including body mechanics, our diet, our breathing, our stress, our work, our family, exercise, the environment, and much more or as I said before, everything, but we only have any substantial control over two of these factors. The good news is that by taking control over the two key factors we are better able to live with the others. So what are these two health-promoting activities in our lives? They are what we eat and how we breathe! There is an old saying “We are what we eat” or I tell children “We can’t make eyeballs from chocolates, they usually get the idea from that” Today it is now recognized that bad eating habits have led to an epidemic of obesity, heart disease and diabetes but the public are still not given the facts that scientific research proved over twenty or so years ago. This is in part due to the fact that the food industry would rather keep us all in the dark, also because doctors do not have any significant training in nutrition so feel unable to offer any good advice to their patients and often their patients don’t want to hear any advice that might involve them cutting out foods they have come to love. However the fact is that ninety percent of our major diseases are diet related, in other words we can reduce or eliminate the risk of developing the major diseases like, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Strokes, Alzheimer’s Disease, Cancer, MS, Arthritis and more by changing our diet. Yes, it’s that simple and that powerful, we have the power to improve our health without drugs. We can live for three weeks without food, three days without water but barely three minutes without air. Would this alone not make us think that breathing is the most vital activity in our lives? Over seventy five percent of us breathe badly, most of us over-breathe or suffer some degree of chronic hidden hyperventilation. Dysfunctional breathing impairs oxygenation of our body, causes restrictions of blood vessels, disturbs the entire chemistry of the body and may be associated with over a hundred diseases including Asthma, Angina, Anxiety, Hypertension, ME, Poor Sleep, IBS, Allergies, Sleep Apnoea, Orthodontic Problems, Panic Attacks and many more health problems. We can all learn how to improve our breathing in just a few weeks, because bad breathing is just a bad habit and the body is ready and waiting to return this vital activity back to normal. The really good news is that my research over the past year, based on over two hundred patients I have screened for breathing and diet, has shown that the way we breathe affects the way we eat and the way we eat changes the way we breathe. This means every improvement of one will automatically lead to improvements in the other. I have a Skype Lifestyle Course that teach you how to improve both your diet and your breathing and is based on two major research works; the dietary advice is based on the largest epidemiological study ever done in the field of nutrition, backed by over 25 years of clinical tests and used by over 12,000 success of doctors worldwide, often referred to as “The China Study”. The breath training is based on the clinically proven system the Buteyko Method developed by the Russian doctor Professor Konstantin Buteyko. The course is based on six half hourly sessions and usually extends over three weeks. See my website for details : www.Totalhealthmatters.co.uk

Hi, I’m Michael Lingard, Orthopath, Buteyko Educator and Plantrician presenting podcast number ten entitled “What is a Plantrician?” Although I have been in practice as a therapist for over 35 years I only began including nutrition screening and advice three years ago. This was not because I didn’t believe nutrition to be one of the most important factors underpinning good health, far from it, I had decided twenty years ago that health was founded on good structure, good diet, good breathing, good mind as well as a good supportive environment from birth, but I had not been able to find any substantial scientifically based nutritional advice to give my patients. Only when I read “The China Study” by Dr. T Colin Campbell that detailed the research that began with the largest epidemiological study in nutrition ever conducted. This was the information I had been looking for all those years, superbly presented and backed by many years of clinical research as well. My next step was to enroll on an intensive eCornell University Course over the internet called “ Plant Based Nutrition”. Once again I was given an educational feast from the leading doctors and practitioners in this field. Very soon afterwards I added “The Food Connection” to my website and began introducing this work to all my patients. By this time I had been in close communication with the founders of the 4LeafSurvey, Dr. Kerry Graff & J. Morris Hicks, exchanging my research on the connection between diet and breathing, and began using this simple but effective questionnaire routinely with every patient. Since then I have been doing whatever I can to promote the use of this simple screening for doctors and other heath workers who want to offer sound nutritional advice to their patients as part of their practice service. It takes just a few minutes for the patient to complete the questionnaire, just one minute for the practitioner to mark their results with a guide to changes to be made over time, backed up with an A4 information sheet plus, in my practice, access to a substantial library of cook books the patient may borrow, giving them the guidance they need to get started towards a better nutritional lifestyle. What I find so rewarding is that I now know I can help every patient I see with sound nutritional advice that is simple to understand but not always so easy to follow. Whether they decide to make changes in their dietary habits is their decision but at least they now have the information how to change for the better if they so choose. Only two nutritional supplements may be suggested, B12 if they make all the advised changes to their diet or if blood tests indicate a need for this supplement, and Vitamin D in winter for some, again if there is any concern a blood test will clarify whether this is needed or not. Any patient on medication from their doctor is advised to have this checked out as they make substantial changes to their diet, often improved nutrition leads to reduced need for medication. So a Plant-ri-cian is a physician or clinician empowered with knowledge of the benefits of whole food plant-based nutrition. I can most strongly recommend the Plant Based Nutrition eCornell University Course to every doctor or therapist who wants to give good guidance on diet to their patients. For me it was the best value educational training I have ever had, based on the study time involved and the benefits derived. For more information visit my website “thefoodconnection.org.uk” or “theplantricianproject.org”