Podcasts about control pause

It would be good to get your feedback about this training course so that we can improve it in any way and offer you more personalized help. If you could email me your starting Control Pause  and  your most recent Control Pause you achieved after completing the course. It would also be useful to know what made you decide to take this course, perhaps you had a health problem you thought might be helped with improved breathing, or you had heard of the Buteyko Method but not been able to find a trainer near you, or you may have just decided this would be a good way of improving your health and immune system. If you have any suggestions as to how the course might be improved or developed , that would be welcomed as well.I am passionate that as many people in the world should have access to this remarkable work of Professor Konstantin Buteyko, most of us need it. 

Better Breathing Means better Health - Episode #16  What you eat affects how you breathe and how you breathe affects what you eat.This idea comes as a surprise to many people who have never believed there was a connection between our eating and our breathing habits. However over the past forty years inn the health profession I have come to the conclusion that our health is connected to everything, and a few years ago I published a book entitled “Connection - Towards a Broader Understanding of Health in Medicine” that expands on this concept. After three years of research, gathering data from over 250 patients it seems quite clear that there is a strong relationship between our breathing and are eating habits. There are good physiological reasons why our diet impacts on our breathing and Professor Buteyko incorporated this in his training programme, but our Western diet today is very different from the diet of ordinary people in Russia back in the 1950’s. The link between our breathing and the food we choose to eat and how we eat it is more subtle with psychological influences.Basically the better our breathing, the more selective and better is our eating and likewise the better our eating habits, the better is our breathing.In the current situation of the COVID-19 (2020) this may have a profound impact on people's capacity to deal with infections and in particular all viral infections. Our immune system can be improved by lifestyle changes and there are three key factors that can influence the immune system in this way. They are: our nutritional status or what we eat, the way we breathe and our management of stress. Just as what we eat affects how we breathe, there is another correlation, and that is how we react to stressors is linked closely to how we normally breathe. If we usually breathe very gently and quietly we invariably are calm, if we are habitually hyperventilating or over-breathing we are usually stressed. We all have been told to breathe slowly and gently when we have been stressed. So in fact we have these three activities very closely linked; if we improve one, the others will improve. If we learn to improve all three, our health, wellbeing and immune system will all improve, and we shall be better able to respond to any infection. This podcast of Better Breathing Means Better Health will have given you an insight into how you may teach yourself to breathe better and in doing so you will be taking better control of your stress and you will find the way you eat will improve. To deal with the nutritional side of this question you may want to listen to my podcast entitled the World's Finest Diet, which guides you how to improve your diet, thereby improving your health and boosting your immune system this way. Alternatively you may take on my Skype training course entitled the Skype Lifestyle Training Course that incorporates these major factors. Details of this may be obtained on my website: www.totalhealthmatters.co.uk Observed relationship between Dietary Status & Breathing StatusDietary status was based on the 4LeafSurvey that estimates the %age of calories derived from Whole Plant Foods and the Breathing status is based on the Buteyko Control Pause that estimates the %age of carbon dioxide in the lungs or degree of oxygenation of the body.The 4LeafSurvey scores range from -44 to +44, the Control Pause ranges from 5 to 60 seconds  for most of the population. 4LeafSurvey Score (X)Control Pause Score (Y)70% CP Range-44125 to 19-40136 to 20-35158 to 22-30169 to 23-251811 to 25-201912 to 26-152114 to 28-102215 to 29-52417 to 3102518 to 3252720 to 34102821 to 35153023 to 37203124 to 38253326 to 40303427 to 41353629 to 43403730 to 44443831 to 45Michael Lingard BSc. DO.WPNutCert. 28/3/2020

Psalm 62:1-8

**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 # 10 Sealing the Leaks & Talking Like The Queen ** Hi, welcome to episode ten of Better Breathing Means Better Health entitled Sealing the leaks and Talking Like The Queen. As you will now know, our breathing is controlled automatically by the level of carbon dioxide in our body. It is a good image to hold in ones mind that our lungs are not just the means to get oxygen for our body but act as reservoirs or tanks of carbon dioxide that need to be kept at just the right level. Maintaining this image of the lungs as reservoirs or tanks of Carbon Dioxide that help maintain the normal 6% CO2 in our body, we can think of activities that may lead to “leaks” from the tanks. There are many possible reasons for these leaks that may include all those situations when we over-breathe: • When showering you may gasp as the water hits you • Most strong emotional states can lead to over-breathing • The act of bending to put shoes on can push out air • Getting over hot or too cold may increase breathing • Over concentration • Stress at work • Reading aloud and mouth breathing • Smoking • Coughing • Sneezing • Laughing • Yawning • Sighing, remember the old adage “Sigh a little, die a lttle”! • Whistling • Talking and mouth breathing rather than nose breathing • Over-eating • Brushing your teeth; an opportunity to mouth breathe as your mouth is open • Mouth breathing while eating and drinking Increasing awareness of your breathing will protect you from most of the above leaks but you will, we hope, want to laugh occasionally! So there are two things to note, firstly if your breathing is normal and you have a Control Pause of 45-60 seconds you have a large “buffer” of Carbon dioxide, and the occasional burst of laughing or emotional upset will not give you any problems, as soon afterwards, your Carbon dioxide levels will return to normal, but if your CP is around twenty seconds normally, any of these brief events of over-breathing can lower your carbon dioxide levels to trigger problems. It is not unknown for a child with asthma to have a sudden attack when giggling and laughing at a party due to this effect or a person suffering from anxiety to have a panic attack after a bout of coughing. However there is an instant solution to those moments of brief over-breathing and that is to immediately do a Mini Pause as explained in episode six. Remember; breathe in and our of your nose and pause your breath for 3 to 5 seconds, return to nose breathing then repeat as necessary. Use the Mini Pause after coughing, sneezing, yawning or sighing Use it to reduce night time nasal congestion that occurs during sleep by doing it many times for 10-15 minutes before going to sleep. Use the Mini Pause to help boost your immune system when you feel the onset of an infection or sore throat The effect of this very short breath hold is to quickly raise your carbon dioxide levels. The explanation behind the immune system boost comes from the reversal of the reactions of the “Fight or Flight” effects, where breathing is increased and the immune system is suppressed. Here you are reducing the breathing and stimulating the immune system. This is a reversal of the stressor response. Now to explain a little about “Talking Like The Queen” The Buteyko Method was first introduced by Professor Buteyko into Australia, and when he taught the necessity to only nose-breathing when talking, his Australian students commented “ Oh! You mean like we see the Queen talking in her Christmas message. She never seems to breathe through her mouth when she talks!” The expression has stuck since then. So here is your next training challenge. Find a few minutes each day to read aloud from a newspaper or book and follow these instructions. Begin with a breath in through your nose, not your mouth, continue reading until you see a comma or full stop, close your mouth and breathe in through your nose. Return to reading until the next comma or full stop that reminds you to take a breath in through your nose and to close your mouth. If you hit a long sentence you may want to take a breath half way, close your mouth and take a breath in through your nose in the same way. At first this may feel very strange and can be quite difficult but with practice this way of reading will become normal and easy. Then you need to use the same approach to your breathing when you are speaking at any time. For some people mouth breathing while talking can be their major problem and the main reason for their chronic hidden hyperventilation. This may be particularly true for teachers, lecturers, radio commentators, Sales people and any people who need to talk a lot in their work. You could watch weather forecasters on the television and see that many of them make this mistake because they need to read a lot of material in a very short time and recently a presenter collapsed on live television because of this effect. One of the advantages of talking this way is that it makes it far easier for listeners to understand you. Those brief pauses as you take a breath allows the listener time to take in what you have just said. Practice this over the coming weeks. The next episode will be about sleep and taping. You are doing well and are over half-way through the training already, keep it up.

Better Breathing Means Better Health Episode # 12 When You Are Ill With the best will in the world and despite your greatest care, it is still possible that you might fall ill at some stage, with a bad dose of a cold, some random infection or just be run down. When you are ill you are more liable to over-breathe and your Control Pause may fall & your pulse rate may rise. All infections are stressors, whether flu, a common cold or viral infection. So how can you combat the adverse effect on your breathing and how can you recover more quickly? There are many ways you can help yourself, some may be common sense but others may be new to you. Firstly don’t add more stress during these times; Don’t over-eat, avoid foods on the problem food list, eat less and even cut out a meal. Don’t over-sleep, try sleeping 1 to 11/2 hours less, since sleep is the body’s time for repair the ravages of the day, and if you have been inactive you will need less sleep. If your control pause is still low it makes sense to wake your-self up after four hours. Don’t do extra physical exercises, try to conserve your energy. Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration. Water is best, and according to a world leading expert on hydration most of us do not drink enough water. The rough guide to your ideal daily water consumption is equivalent to your weight in kilograms as fluid ounces, or divide your weight in pounds by two to give you the number of fluid ounces you need to drink per day. Rest more but don’t sleep more. Avoid extremes of hot or cold rooms, as both extremes will encourage over-breathing. Make sure you breathe through your nose, even use a nasal spray if your nose clearing exercises are not enough. Do more Buteyko exercises, up to nine a day, especially if you are resting in bed you will have the time. Do Mini Pauses, 100 a day will help keep your breathing in order and will also boost your immune system as discussed in episode six. Avoid the usual cold remedies that dry up mucus, they don’t deal with the underlying infection problem. Now you are skilled at measuring your Control Pause and Pulse you have an early warning system that can forecast if you are heading for a cold or other infection. Be aware of some of the warning signs You will notice early warning signs before getting ill, they may include: Your Control Pause starts falling and pulse starts rising. You start using upper chest for breathing rather than your diaphragm The nose starts getting blocked more frequently. You start feeling extra tired for no good reason. You may start pressing under your nose. You may get glassy red eyes. You begin breathing through your mouth more. You may start getting disturbed sleep patterns. You may find yourself yawning excessively throughout the day. You may get dark rings around your eyes. A persistent dry cough may be noticed, there are three exercises that can help. The first exercise to try is as follows: after a normal breath out, hold your breath for a count of ten. Then take twenty small, silent breaths through your nose, about one second in then one second out. Then breathe normally in and out through your nose once and repeat from the start. The second exercise is as follows: At the first sign of a tickling feeling of a dry cough. Stop. Put your hand over your mouth Take a small breath in and out through your nose, pinch your nose and hold your breath for as long as comfortable. Release your nose but keep your hand over your mouth. Breathe small careful breaths through your nose for thirty seconds, all the time resisting the urge to cough. Take a slow steady quiet breath in and out through your nose. Repeat the practice twice more or until the tickle has subsided. The third exercise is very simple. With your mouth closed, breathe out fully through your nose to totally “empty “ your lungs, hold your breath for five seconds then breathe in gently through your nose. Probably one of the most important warning signs is a falling Morning Control Pause, day after day. This is because the Morning Control Pause is the most reliable measure of your current breathing rate at rest. After sleep and before breakfast you have not been subjected to all the usual stresses that can change your normal breathing pattern. Your first morning Control Pause measure will give you a fair idea of how you are going to feel during the day. Obviously if it is lower than normal it is a good idea to do an exercise or two early in the day to bring your breathing back to normal. The next episode will deal with how to reduce and eliminate all exercises safely, this is the great aspect of the Buteyko Breath Training, that once you have restored good breathing your body will automatically continue breathing normally.

Episode # 8 Step Exercises & The Extended Pause Hi, this is episode eight of Better Breathing Means Better Health, entitled “Step Exercises and The Extended Pause”. As part of your breath retraining wouldn't it be good if you could speed up your breath training while out for a walk or while walking to work each day? Well this is exactly what the step exercise allows you to do. Remember what we are trying to achieve is a change in your breathing through a re-setting of your carbon dioxide receptors in your body that control your rate of breathing. For everyone who is over-breathing habitually their receptors are trying to maintain a lower level of carbon dioxide than is normal and healthy. The Buteyko exercises you have been doing have been gradually accustoming these receptors to accept a higher level of carbon dioxide through relaxation and perhaps reduced breathing with the accompanying slight “air hunger”. If we could apply more pressure on your receptors to get used to a higher level of carbon dioxide, that would speed up your recovery of normal breathing and reduce all your symptoms. Step Exercises do just that. Very simply, next time you are out walking, firstly remember to only breathe through your nose and pace yourself so that you can, even when going uphill. When you are ready, just hold your breath on an out-breath and see how many steps you can do before you feel the need to breathe in, counting in your head, then breathe in through your nose and continue on your way until you feel your breathing is comfortable again, then you can repeat this step counting with another breath hold after exhaling. Try to steadily increase your count each time, each time returning to normal nose breathing as you walk. This is a very powerful exercise that will speed up your progress. You may find the next time you do your Buteyko exercise after such a walk your Control Pause will have increased notably. This, in fact, is the main exercise that children are taught when leaning the Buteyko Method, there is a rough conversion rate of steps compared with the Control Pause, divide the number of steps you can achieve with a breath hold after exhaling by two should equal your control pause, many children achieve up to 100 or more steps by the time their breathing is back to normal which would be the equivalent to a Control Pause of over 50 seconds. The second subject in this episode is the Extended Pause. This is of particular importance for asthmatics trying to reduce the use of their reliever medication but can be used by others in certain circumstances. If you are asthmatic, the next time you feel you need to reach out for your reliever puffer, because you feel wheezy or tight chested, try to first relax, breathe in gently then out and hold your breath a little longer than you would for a control pause, until you feel the need to breathe in, quite strongly, then breathe in gently through your nose followed by a minute of relaxed breathing. Then breathe in and out gently and hold your breath again for an extended pause as before, if after another minute of relaxed breathing you still feel you need to use your inhaler, take one puff followed by two minutes of reduced breathing. Most asthmatics find that more times than not, this simple exercise is effective and they can avoid using their reliever. This is a great achievement, to become less reliant on always having to use the puffer. Initially you may still need the reliever but with time you will find the extended pause followed by a short period of gentle reduced breathing will replace your puffer except in extreme situations. When you do use your reliever remember to follow with a few minutes of reduced breathing as the reliever medication does open up the airways but also increases your breathing rate. The effect of the Extended Pause is to rapidly increase the carbon dioxide levels in your body. If you find this exercise in any way distressing do not use it. Try both these new exercises out over the coming days until the next episode when I will introduce you to three exercises you may use when you feel your breathing has begun to get worse for whatever reason, these exercises are the three Anti-Hyperventilation Exercises. Remember you can revise on most of the information taught in these episodes in the accompanying book “The Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing and Better Health” you may have already, if not click HERE to read about it or to buy it.

Episode # 7. Food and Your BreathingHi, welcome to episode seven that is all about food and your breathing.Professor Buteyko included advice on diet for people learning to improve their breathing. He found that a number of common foods tended to increase the patient’s breathing rate; they included dairy food such as cottage cheese, yogurt, ice cream and milk; stimulants such as strong tea, coke, coffee, alcohol and cocoa; other foods such as chocolate, honey, raspberries, strawberries, fish, chicken, nuts and beef, chicken or fish stock. However, when this research was conducted in Russia, the diet of most people was much simpler than today’s Western diet. In the West today our consumption of meat, dairy and processed foods is far greater and the link between our food and our breathing has become much more important.My research over the past two years has led me to believe there is a strong relationship between our diet and our breathing.Chronic hidden hyperventilation is related to stress, diet and bad breathing habits, but diet appears to be a major factor, perhaps because a stressful lifestyle usually leads to bad eating habits, as well as directly affecting breathing due to the fight/flight responses to stressors.I believe this is so important that I have advised all Buteyko Educators to screen their patients for diet before teaching them to improve their breathing.I use a simple screening method that is well established and used by many doctors in the USA called the “4LeafSurvey”. It is based on just twelve questions about your normal eating habits and will give you a good estimate of the percentage calories you are getting from whole plant foods as opposed to meat, dairy and other foods.I would strongly advise you to check your diet this way. You can do this online at www.4LeafSurvey.com. [HERE ](http://www.4leafsurvey.com)I have included in the notes that go with this episode a table that shows the range of Control Pause associated with the 4LeafSurvey Score:4LeafSurvey Score..........Range of Control Pause-40 to -30 ......................... 10 to 22-30 to -20......................... 12 to 25-20 to -10 ......................... .15 to 27-10 to 0 ......................... ..17 to 300 to 10 ......................... 20 to 3310 to 20 ......................... 23 to 3520 to 30 ......................... 25 to 3830 to 40 ....................... 28 to 40Note: Asthmatics will usually have a lower control pause than indicated in the table above simply because of their condition.The good news is that as you improve your breathing you will also begin to improve your diet. The reverse is also true and anyone wanting to improve their diet to help improve their breathing should check out my website TotalHealthMatters HEREInitially the key foods that seem to worsen our breathing are all dairy foods, excessive amounts of animal based foods and refined processed foods as well as sugary drinks or any drinks containing caffein.You can test whether any food has an adverse effect on your breathing and health using the Control Pause as a measuring tool.You can test for an allergic reaction or food intolerance reaction by taking your control pause, eating a small amount of the food to be tested, then after waiting a few minutes re-check your control pause and twenty minutes later again check your control pause. If the control pause stays unchanged then this food is unlikely to be a problem for you, if your control pause falls by over five seconds after just a few minutes this food may be giving you an allergic reaction but if there is no change until twenty minutes have passed and then your control pause has dropped by over five seconds, you may have a food intolerance to this food. You can also use your pulse to confirm these findings when a significantly raised pulse after just minutes would confirm a allergic reaction and no change until after twenty minutes would confirm a food intolerance.It is of interest to note that the early discoveries about food allergy by a Dr. Richard Mackarness was based on the pulse test; the control pause offers an even more sensitive testing system.The next episode will be about Step Exercises and the Extended Pause.

Episode # 6 Checking Your Progress & The Mini Pause Hi, Welcome to podcast episode six of Better Breathing Means Better Health. We shall be checking your progress and introducing the Mini Pause. By now you will have probably done a few Buteyko Exercises and recorded them on a worksheet or in the Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing & Better Health. In the last lesson I suggested you plot the average of each start Control Pause and end Control Pause. You will find your control pause will vary from day to day and also during the day depending on many things, so don’t be surprised if some days your exercises are not as good as you expected, what we are looking for is a slow steady improvement. This will always come if you persevere. You may improve your control pause by just a few seconds each time you do an exercise, perhaps increasing it by 3 to 5 seconds from start to finish but usually you will find by the time you do your next exercise your control pause will have dropped a little, this is normal. There are many ways of reducing this effect. The first thing to try to remember is to keep your mouth closed as you go about your daily routine, breathing only through your nose. Don’t forget to do the nose clearing exercises if your nose gets stuffy. Just being aware more of how you are breathing will help, if you catch yourself breathing heavily, just take a moment to think “reduced breathing”. This is something you can do throughout the day, anywhere you get delayed, in a supermarket queue, at traffic lights or waiting on the phone, rather than get stressed you can use these moments to do some more reduced breathing. The good news about breath training is that exercises are only needed until your breathing returns to normal, then you can stop doing any exercises and your breathing will continue to be good. This is because what we are doing is re-setting special receptors in the brain that control our rate of breathing. Every person that is over-breathing is doing so because their receptors are telling them to. Once you have changed the receptors they will keep you breathing normally. Curiously our breathing rate is not governed by the oxygen in our body but rather the level of carbon dioxide. Ideally this should be kept at around 5-6% when breathing normally but every person over-breathing will have too low a level of carbon dioxide probably nearer 3-4 % and this is one of the major causes of all their symptoms. So if your progress is not as fast as you would like you can try an additional simple trick when doing your reduced breathing; just try taking slightly smaller breaths in and breathing out more slowly so that you feel a little “air hunger”. You would like to breathe a little more but it is not stressful or anxiety provoking. What you are doing is pushing against your carbon dioxide receptors, getting them used to accepting a slightly higher carbon dioxide level than they have been used to. If this is in anyway unpleasant then revert back to just relaxation as the way to do your reduced breathing. Something else you can do to help keep your breathing better between exercises is the Mini Pause. The Mini Pause is exactly what it suggests, a breath hold after exhaling of just 3 to 5 seconds, then return to normal breathing. You can dot Mini Pauses in at any time during the day whenever you think about your breathing and this will help maintain a higher control pause. Some people may do up to a hundred during the day. Later on in the course we will talk about an exercise you can do when out walking. The next episode will be about food and your breathing Did you know that what you eat affects the way you breathe and the way you breathe affects how you eat? If you haven't yet purchased the recommended book for recording your exercises and more background information "Better Breathing Means Better Health" you can check it out or purchase it: HERE

Episode # 5 “Getting Started” Hi! This is Michael Lingard bringing you episode five of “Better Breathing Means Better Health” entitled “Getting Started”. Now have completed one Buteyko exercise you can begin to do more on a daily basis using the booklet “The Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing & Better Health” you should have purchased from Lulu.com by now. If you don’t have the booklet you can download a worksheet to print off copies from HERE Try to do at least one exercise in the morning and perhaps two in the evening, you can choose how long you spend doing the reduced breathing depending on how much time you can spare. If you want a short exercise that will take less than 10 minutes make the reduced breathing just three minutes long each time but if you have time you will get better results with a reduced breathing of five minutes each time giving you an exercise that will take about 15 minutes. You should find each time you do an exercise your control pause will rise from start to finish, and your pulse will fall or remain unchanged, depending on how far above your normal pulse rate you were at the start of the exercise. There are a few tips you can note when doing the exercises. Firstly make sure you are relaxed and undisturbed before beginning an exercise don't try to push your control pause for breath hold to try to increase the control pause, the control pause should always be the maximum comfortable breath hold and should not be in any way stressful. When doing the reduced breathing there are many ways patients achieve this but it is always through relaxation. Remember to be sitting comfortably feet on the floor, all muscles throughout the body relaxed, eyes closed, mouth closed, only breathing through your nose. Most people find it helps to visualize some favourite scene, for instance by the sea on the beach or in the garden or by a gentle flowing river. Whatever the scene you use, try to focus on small details there, so as to take your attention away from the daily problems and chores, to quieten your mind. This is not the same as meditation, since you need to keep fully aware of your breathing and relaxation. Some people find listening to certain music can help them relax more. Whatever you choose you will know you have found the right way if your exercises give good results. I usually suggest plotting the average of the start and end Control Pause. If you use a computer you can do this easily on Microsoft Excel or similar programs, these programs will allow you to add a trend line also. You may decide to monitor your progress this way once a week. In the next episode we will discuss what to do if you find you are not making progress and not achieving an increasing control pause. I will introduce some simple things you can do during the day that will help improve your breathing habits. It will help for you to read the sections on reduced breathing in your workbook as suggested before. Remember in preparation for the next episodes and for recording your exercises you should purchase “The Breath Connection – The Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing & Better Health” by Michael Lingard £10.00 from Amazon .co.uk or from Lulu.com HERE

Episode # 3 What’s Your Control Pause & How’s Your Breathing Hi, this is Michael Lingard bringing you the third episode of Better Breathing Means Better Health entitled “What’s Your Control Pause & How’s Your Breathing” Now you know your control pause, what does it mean and how can you improve on it? If your control pause was under 10 seconds you are breathing almost 3 to 4 times more than normal and need to try to change this urgently because medicine will not change your breathing, but will simply control symptoms. If you achieved 20 to 25 seconds with your comfortable breath hold, your breathing is about 2 to 3 times more than normal. A control pause of 25 to 35 seconds still means you are over-breathing, almost twice much as you need but you will only have problems when under stress or hit by any of the triggers that make your condition worse. If your control pauses 35 to 45 seconds it is good for most people, but you will still benefit from improved breathing in many other ways. It is very unlikely that your control pause was over 45 seconds as this would mean your breathing would be normal, a rare situation for anyone today. A control pause of 45 to 60 seconds is what we should all try to achieve and this will be the target for this full training course. So just to let you know what the rest of this course will cover I’ll give you an outline of the next episodes. Already you have been advised to try to always breathe through your nose and not to mouth breathe. However many people find it difficult to nose breathe because it is congested or stuffy, this is in part because they haven't been using their nose in the past, and as the old saying goes “If you don't use it, you lose it!” So the next episode will tell you how to unblock and clear your nose to get it back to perfect working order. You will learn how to reduce your breathing through relaxation, you will have advice on good posture for better breathing and what is the best way of avoiding over-breathing when asleep. You will learn how to check your pulse, how to reduce coughing bouts and a later episode will explain how certain foods may cause a problem for people, and you will be given a dietary screening that will help you improve your diet at the same time will improve your breathing. You will learn how to avoid mouth breathing when talking. Towards the end you will learn about anti-hyperventilation exercises that you will be able to use whenever you feel your breathing is getting out of control, at times of stress or after exercise. You'll be told what danger signs you should be aware of and when to see your doctor. And finally when you have improved your breathing you will be told how to stop exercises and monitor breathing with just a minute check-up each day. You'll be told about a summary of the Buteyko Method for your doctor to read so that he or she knows what you're doing and can help you on your way. The next episode is entitled “Nose Clearing & Your First Buteyko Exercise” Remember in preparation for the next episodes and for recording your exercises you should purchase “The Breath Connection – The Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing & Better Health” by Michael Lingard £10.00 from Amazon .co.uk and Lulu.com HERE

**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 #13 Reducing Asthma Medications Safely ** Hi, welcome to episode thirteen of Escape from Asthma that is about reducing your asthma medication safely. Since we know every medication carries some adverse side effects that vary from minor to potentially very serious, so it makes sense to try to manage with as little medication as possible while maintaining good control of your asthma. Side Effects of Reliever medications: reliever medications can cause tremors or nervousness in children with a 20% risk and over 10% risk of insomnia in young children, all users may experience nausea, fever, bronchospasm, vomiting, headaches and increased heart rate. A smaller percentage may suffer dizziness, coughs, allergic reactions, earache, nose bleeds, and a range of other symptoms. Warnings are given for any who have severe hypersensitivity to milk proteins. Patients are advised to use with caution if they suffer from cardiovascular disease, asthma, glaucoma, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or seizures. Excessive use may be fatal; do not exceed recommended dose; serious adverse effects occur when administered dose exceeds recommended dose. They may exacerbate heart failure in patients with reduced ejection fraction and may produce significant hypokalemia, possibly through intracellular shunting, which potentially produces adverse cardiovascular effects. Preventer medications (Steroid): although life-saving and an essential part of many asthma patient’s treatment do have far more serious adverse side effects when used long-term or in excess. Corticosteroids carry a risk of side effects, some of which can cause serious health problems. When you know what side effects are possible, you can take steps to control their impact. Side effects of oral corticosteroids Because oral corticosteroids affect your entire body instead of just a particular area, this route of administration is the most likely to cause significant side effects. Side effects depend on the dose of medication you receive and may include: • Elevated pressure in the eyes (glaucoma) • Fluid retention, causing swelling in your lower legs • High blood pressure • Problems with mood swings, memory and behavior and other psychological effects, such as confusion or delirium • Weight gain, with fat deposits in your abdomen, face and the back of your neck When taking oral corticosteroids longer term, you may experience: • Clouding of the lens in one or both eyes (cataracts) • High blood sugar, which can trigger or worsen diabetes • Increased risk of infections, especially with common bacterial, viral and fungal microorganisms • Thinning bones (osteoporosis) and fractures • Suppressed adrenal gland hormone production, which may result in a variety of signs and symptoms, including severe fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea and muscle weakness • Thin skin, bruising and slower wound healing Side effects of inhaled corticosteroids When using inhaled corticosteroids, some of the drug may deposit in your mouth and throat instead of making it to your lungs. This can cause: • Fungal infection in the mouth (oral thrush) • Hoarseness If you gargle and rinse your mouth with water — don't swallow — after each puff on your corticosteroid inhaler, you may be able to avoid mouth and throat irritation. Some researchers have speculated that inhaled corticosteroid drugs may slow growth rates in children who use them for asthma. So with these potential adverse side effects you will probably agree it makes sense to limit their use as much as safely possible, this is where your breath training provides a way forward. By this stage of the course I would hope you have increased your Control Pause to over thirty seconds and that you have found you hardly ever feel the need to use your reliever puffer. If you are still in the twenty to thirty second control pause range you will be feeling the benefits but not yet able to manage without your reliever medication from time to time. Don’t worry with more practice you will get there, it can take a little time to change a lifetime’s bad breathing habits. Remember how you can use an extended breath pause plus a few minutes of reduced breathing instead of your reliever when you have improved your everyday breathing enough. Usually this is when you are achieving a morning control pause of over thirty. Remember you must continue using your preventer medication, your corticosteroid puffer regularly as prescribed by your doctor. DO NOT DISCONTINUE ITS USE SUDDENLY BUT ONLY WITH GUIDANCE FROM YOUR DOCTOR. When you have been symptom free and have not used any reliever medication for six weeks you may then approach your doctor to agree on a safe protocol for reducing the preventer medication. The Buteyko Method suggests that you start by reducing your morning dose first as this is when your natural supply of corticosteroids is highest. If you were on two puffs in the morning and two puffs at night, you will now start a week of one puff in the morning and two at night. Keep a regular check on your control pause during this period and ensure it stays over thirty five seconds. If your control pause goes down then return to your two puffs in the morning again. Assuming your control pause stays high and you have no symptoms the second week eliminate one puff at night, so now you are taking one puff in the morning and one at night. Once again keep a close check on your control pause to ensure it stays above thirty-five seconds and if it falls go back to two puffs at night. The third week you can reduce your preventer to just one puff at night and as before maintain a close check on your control pause. If you have no symptoms and your control pause stays high, continue routinely checking your control pause every day especially in the morning. It is generally advisable to keep a check of the morning control pause for a year or more, it literally only takes less than a minute and it is your protection against the return of your asthma. Don’t try to reduce your preventer medication at a bad time of the year or during a period of stress. Remember it can take some people up to two years to come off all steroids as your adrenal glands need time to rehabilitate to normal functioning. **IF IN DOUBT ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR ** The next episode will discuss stopping taping and Buteyko Exercises and offer more helpful advice on restoring you to full health.

Episode # 12 When You Are Ill With the best will in the world and despite your greatest care, it is still possible that you might fall ill at some stage, with a bad dose of a cold, some random infection or just be run down. When you are ill you are more liable to over-breathe and your CP may fall & your pulse may rise. All infections are stressors, whether flu, a common cold or viral infection. So how can you combat the adverse effect on your breathing with the increased risk of your asthma symptoms returning and how can you recover quickly? There are many ways you can help yourself, some may be common sense but others may be new to you. Firstly don’t add more stress during these times; Don’t over-eat, avoid foods on the problem food list, eat less, even cut out a meal. Don’t over-sleep try sleeping 1 to 11/2 hours less, if you are inactive you won’t need so much sleep as sleep is the body’s time for repair of the ravages of the day. If your control pause is still low it makes sense to wake your-self up after four hours. Don’t do extra physical exercises, try to conserve your energy. Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration. Water is best, and according to a world leading expert on hydration most of us do not drink enough water. The rough guide to your ideal daily water consumption is equivalent to your weight in kilograms as fluid ounces, or divide your weight in pounds by two to give you the number of fluid ounces you need to drink per day. Rest more but don’t sleep more. Avoid extremes of hot or cold rooms, as both extremes will encourage over-breathing. Make sure you breathe through your nose, even use a nasal spray if your nose clearing exercises are not enough. Do more Buteyko exercises, up to nine a day, especially if you are resting in bed you will have the time. Do Mini Pauses, 100 a day will help keep your breathing in order and will also boost your immune system as discussed in episode six. Avoid the usual cold remedies that dry up mucus, they don’t deal with the underlying infection problem. Take your reliever & preventer medication as needed. Now you are skilled at measuring your Control Pause and Pulse you have an early warning system that can forecast if you are heading for a cold or other infection. Be aware of some of the warning signs You will notice early warning signs before getting ill, they may include: Your Control Pause starts falling and pulse starts rising. You start using upper chest for breathing rather than your diaphragm The nose starts getting blocked more frequently. You start feeling extra tired for no good reason. You may start pressing under your nose. You may get glassy red eyes. Peak flow readings start falling if you are still using this measuring tool. You begin breathing through your mouth more. You may start getting disturbed sleep patterns. You may find yourself yawning excessively throughout the day. You may get dark rings around your eyes. A persistent dry cough may be noticed, there are three exercises that can help. Cough Calming Exercises The first exercise to try is as follows: after a normal breath out , hold your breath for a count of ten. Then take twenty small, silent breaths through your nose, about one second in then one second out. Then breathe normally in and out through your nose once and repeat from the start. The second exercise is as follows: At the first sign of a tickling feeling of a dry cough. Stop. Put your hand over your mouth Take a small breath in and out through your nose, pinch your nose and hold your breath for as long as comfortable. Release your nose but keep your hand over your mouth. Breathe small careful breaths through your nose for thirty seconds, all the time resisting the urge to cough. Take a slow steady quiet breath in and out through your nose. Repeat the practice twice more or until the tickle has subsided. The third exercise is very simple. With your mouth closed, breathe out fully through your nose to totally “empty “ your lungs, hold your breath for five seconds then breathe in gently through your nose. The Morning Control Pause Probably one of the most important warning signs is a falling Morning Control Pause, day after day. This is because the Morning Control Pause is the most reliable measure of your current breathing rate at rest. After sleep and before breakfast you have not been subjected to all the usual stresses that can change your normal breathing pattern. Your first morning Control Pause measure will give you a fair idea of how you are going to feel during the day. Obviously if it is lower than normal it is a good idea to do an exercise or two early in the day to bring your breathing back to normal. The next episode will be dealing with how to reduce your medications safely with your doctor’s support.

Asthma Episode # 8 Step Exercises & The Extended Pause Hi, this is episode eight of Escape from Asthma entitled Step Exercises and The Extended Pause. As part of your breath retraining wouldn't it be good if you could speed up your breath training while out for a walk or while walking to work each day? Well this is exactly what the step exercise allows you to do. Remember what we are trying to achieve is a change in your breathing through a re-setting of your carbon dioxide receptors in your body that control your rate of breathing. Every asthmatic is over-breathing and their receptors are trying to maintain a lower level of carbon dioxide than is normal and healthy. The Buteyko exercises you have been doing have been gradually accustoming the receptors to accept a higher level of carbon dioxide through relaxation and perhaps reduced breathing with the accompanying slight “air hunger”. If we could apply more pressure on your receptors to get used to a higher level of carbon dioxide, that would speed up your recovery of normal breathing and reduce all your asthma symptoms. Step exercises do just that. Very simply next time you are out walking, firstly remember to only breathe through your nose and pace yourself so that you can even when going uphill. When you are ready just hold your breath on an out-breath and see how many steps you can do before you feel the need to breathe in, counting in your head, then breathe in through your nose and continue on your way until you feel your breathing is comfortable again, when you can repeat this step counting with another breath hold after exhaling. Try to steadily increase your count each time, each time returning to normal nose breathing as you walk. This is a very powerful exercise that will speed up your progress. You may find the next time you do your Buteyko exercise after such a walk your Control Pause will have increased notably. This is the main exercise that children are taught when leaning the Buteyko Method, there is a rough conversion rate of steps compared with the Control Pause, divide the number of steps you can achieve with a breath hold after exhaling by two should equal your control pause, many children achieve up to 100 or more steps by the time their breathing is back to normal which would be the equivalent to a Control Pause of over 50 seconds. The second subject in this episode is how to replace the use of your reliever medication with an Extended Pause. The next time you feel you need to reach out for your reliever puffer, because you feel wheezy or tight chested, try to first relax, breathe in gently then out and hold your breath a little longer than you would for a control pause, until you feel the need to breathe in quite strongly, then breathe in gently through your nose followed by a minute of relaxed breathing. Then breathe in and out gently and hold your breath again for an extended pause as before, if after another minute of relaxed breathing you still feel you need to use your inhaler, take one puff followed by two minutes of reduced breathing. Most asthmatics find that more times than not, this simple exercise is effective and they can avoid using their reliever. This is a great achievement, to become less reliant on always having to use the puffer. Initially you may still need the reliever but with time you will find the extended pause followed by a short period of gentle reduced breathing will replace your puffer except in extreme situations. When you do use your reliever remember to follow with a few minutes of reduced breathing as the reliever medication does open up the airways but also increases your breathing rate. Try both these new exercises out over the coming days until the next episode when I will introduce you to three exercises you may use when you feel your breathing has begun to get worse for whatever reason, these exercises are the three Anti-Hyperventilation Exercises. Remember you can revise on most of the information taught in these episodes in the accompanying ebook “The Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing and Better Asthma Management” you may have already bought from Lulu.com, if not click HERE You might still want to purchase my new book entitled "Better Breathing Means Better Health" to record your exercises now and in the future, and to be a reference book HERE

Asthma Episode # 7. Food and Your Breathing Professor Buteyko included advice on diet for people learning to improve their breathing. He found that a number of common foods tended to increase patient’s breathing rate; they included dairy food such as cottage cheese, yogurt, ice cream and milk; stimulants such as strong tea, coke, coffee, alcohol and cocoa; other foods such as chocolate, honey, raspberries, strawberries, fish, chicken, nuts and beef, chicken or fish stock. However, when this research was conducted in Russia, the diet of most people was much simpler than today’s Western diet. In the West today our consumption of meat, dairy and processed foods is far greater and the link between our food and our breathing has become much more important. My research over the past two years has led me to believe there is a strong relationship between our diet and our breathing. Chronic hidden hyperventilation is related to stress, diet and bad breathing habits, but diet appears to be the major factor perhaps because a stressful lifestyle usually leads to bad eating habits, as well as directly affecting breathing due to the fight/flight responses to stressors. I believe this is so important that I would advise all Buteyko Educators to screen their patients for diet before teaching them to improve their breathing. I use a simple screening method that is well established and used by many doctors in the USA called the 4LeafSurvey. It is based on just twelve questions about your normal eating habits and give a good estimate of the percentage calories you are getting from whole plants as opposed to meat, dairy and other foods. I would strongly advise you to check your diet this way. You can do this online HERE I have included in the notes that go with this episode a table that shows the range of Control Pause associated with the 4LeafSurvey Score: 4LS Score -40 to -30 (CP 16) Range (10 tp 22) -30 to -20 (CP 19) Range (12 to 25) -20 to -10 (CP 21) Range (15 tp 28) -10 to 0 (CP 24) Range (17 to 30) 0 to +10 (CP 26) Range (19 to 32) +10 to +20 (CP 29) Range (23 to35) +20 to +30 (CP 32) Range ( 25 to 37) Most asthmatics will have a lower control pause than indicated in the table above simply because of their condition. The good news is that as you improve your breathing you will also begin to improve your diet. The reverse is also true and anyone wanting to improve their diet should check out my website HERE If you haven't purchased my new book "Better Breathing Means Better Health" you will find it useful for recording your exercises and as a reference book HERE

Asthma Episode # 6 Checking Your Progress & The Mini Pause Hi, Welcome to podcast episode six of Escape from Asthma. We shall be checking your progress and introducing the Mini Pause. By now you will have probably done a few Buteyko Exercises and recorded them on a worksheet or in the Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing & Better Asthma Management. In the last lesson I suggested you plot the average of each start Control Pause and end Control Pause. You will find your control pause will vary from day to day and also during the day depending on many things, so don’t be surprised if some days your exercises are not as good as you expected, what we are looking for is a slow steady improvement . This will always come if you persevere. You may improve your control pause by just a few seconds each time you do an exercise, perhaps increasing it by 3 to 5 seconds from start to finish but usually you will find by the time you do your next exercise your control pause will have dropped a little, this is normal. There are many ways of reducing this effect. The first thing to try to remember is to keep your mouth closed as you go about your daily routine, breathing only through your nose. Don’t forget to do the nose clearing exercises if your nose gets stuffy. Just being aware more of how you are breathing will help, if you catch yourself breathing heavily, just take a moment to think “reduced breathing”. This is something you can do throughout the day , anywhere you get delayed , in a supermarket queue, at traffic lights or waiting on the phone, rather than get stressed you can use these moments to do some more reduced breathing. The good news about breath training is that exercises are only needed until your breathing returns to normal, then you can stop doing any exercises and your breathing will continue to be good. This is because what we are doing is re-setting special receptors in the brain that control our rate of breathing. Every person that is over-breathing is doing so because their receptors are telling them to. Once you have changed the receptors they will keep you breathing normally. Curiously our breathing rate is not governed by the oxygen in our body but rather the level of carbon dioxide. Ideally this should be kept at around 5-6% when breathing normally but every asthmatic will have too low a level of carbon dioxide probably nearer 3-4 % and this is one of the major causes of all their symptoms. So if your progress is not as fast as you would like you can try an additional simple trick when doing your reduced breathing; just try taking slightly smaller breaths in and breathing out more slowly so that you feel a little “air hunger”. You would like to breathe a little more but it is not stressful or anxiety provoking. What you are doing is pushing against your carbon dioxide receptors, getting them used to accepting a slightly higher carbon dioxide level than they have been used to. If this is in anyway unpleasant then revert back to just relaxation as the way to do your reduced breathing. Something else you can do to help keep your breathing better between exercises is the Mini Pause. The Mini Pause is exactly what it suggests, a breath hold after exhaling of just 3 to 5 seconds, then return to normal breathing. You can dot Mini Pauses in at any time during the day whenever you think about your breathing and this will help maintain a higher control pause. Some people may do up to a hundred during the day. Later on in the course we will talk about an exercise you can do when out walking. The next episode will be about food and your breathing. Did you know that what you eat affects the way you breathe and the way you breathe affects how you eat? If you haven't yet purchased the eBook "The Buteyko Guide to Better Health & Better Asthma Management" click HERE to access it. For recording your exercises and more background information purchase "Better Breathing Means Better Health" HERE

Asthma Episode #3 What’s Your Control Pause & How’s Your Breathing? Welcome back to episode three of escape from asthma entitled “What's your control pause and how is your breathing?” Now you know your control pause, what does it mean and how can you improve on it? As an asthma sufferer I will be surprised if your control was much higher than 20 seconds as most patients I have taught with asthma have a control pause in the teens anything from 13 to 19 seconds. If your control pause was under 10 seconds you are breathing almost 3 to 4 times more than normal and need to try to change this urgently because your medicine will not change your breathing, but will simply control the symptoms. If you achieved 20 to 25 seconds with your comfortable breath hold your breathing is about 2 to 3 times more than normal. A control pause of 25 to 35 seconds still means you are over-breathing, almost twice much as you need but you will only have problems when under stress or hit by any of the triggers that make your asthma worse. If your control pauses 35 to 45 seconds it is good for any asthma sufferer, but you will still benefit from improved breathing in many other ways. It is very unlikely that your control pause was over 45 seconds as this would mean your breathing would be normal, a very rare situation for any asthmatic. A control pause of 45 to 60 seconds is what we should all try to achieve and this will be the target for this full training course. If you have any doubts that your asthma is not due largely to over-breathing you could try and purposefully breathed heavily for a minute or so and you will properly feel many of your symptoms coming on. You may in fact need to take medication to help reduce the symptoms after this exercise. However I would not recommend this procedure except under the supervision of your doctor or asthma nurse. You may have been given two types of medication, Reliever medication that you can use whenever you feel tight chested or wheezy, this opens the airways but also increases your breathing rate. If you are using the reliever medication more than twice a week you will have been given a Controller medication, this is a steroid that will reduce inflammation of the airways and calm your breathing down. You may have been told to take the controller medication on a regular basis, if so, that is what you have to do until your breathing has improved so much that you don't need any reliever medication and don't have any symptoms. At that stage you can discuss with your doctor ways of reducing your controller medication safely. At the end of this course we will also give you advice on how to do this. So just to let you know what the rest of this course will cover I’ll give you an outline of the next episodes. Already you have been advised to try to always breathe through your nose and not to mouth breathe. However many people find it difficult to nose breathe because it is congested or stuffy, this is in part because they haven't been using their nose in the past and as the old saying goes “If you don't use it, you lose it!” So the next episode will tell you how to unblock and clear your nose to get it back to perfect working order. Later you will be told to download a free workbook that summarizes most of the course content and you will use it to record your exercises. You will learn how to reduce your breathing through relaxation, you will have advice on good posture for better breathing and what is the best way of avoiding over breathing when asleep. You will learn how to check your pulse, how to reduce coughing bouts and a later episode will explain how certain foods may cause a problem for asthmatics, and you will be given a dietary screening that will help you improve your diet at the same time that will improve your breathing. You will learn how to avoid mouth breathing when talking and how to use the control pause or reduced breathing as an alternative to your reliever medication. Towards the end you will learn about anti-hyperventilation exercises that you will be able to use whenever you feel your breathing is getting out of control, at times of stress or after exercise. You'll be told what danger signs you should be aware of and went to see your doctor. And finally when you have improved your breathing you will be told how to stop exercises and monitor breathing with just a minute check-up each day. You'll be given a summary of the Buteyko Method for your doctor to read so that he or she knows what you're doing and can help you on your way. The next episode is entitled “Nose Clearing & Your First Buteyko Exercise” At this stage you might prepare for the full course by buying the eBook "The Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing & Better Asthma Management" HERE or my book that accompanies this podcast entitled "Better Breathing Means Better Health" HERE

Episode 2. Why Asthmatics Need Breath Training As an asthmatic you may have never considered yourself as suffering from over-breathing, especially as you have often found yourself short of breath and needing to breathe more. This is the paradox that many people don't understand; that an asthmatic seems to suffer from shortness of breath and needs to breathe more but the cause of their asthma is the fact they are breathing too much. The reason for this is we all need to breathe around five litres per minute at rest, and our breathing is controlled by the level of carbon dioxide in our lungs that ideally should be between 5% and 6%. We produce all the carbon dioxide ourselves, in fact far more than we need, so breathing is the way we control this. If the carbon dioxide level is too high breathing is increased automatically to expel the surplus, if too low, breathing is reduced to conserve it. So why does carbon dioxide matter? Professor Buteyko called carbon dioxide the hormone par excellence as it has a profound effect on all of the body’s functioning. When carbon dioxide levels fall too low smooth-muscle wrapped around airways, blood vessels and other hollow organs begins to contract. This is the sensation every asthmatic feels when an attack is imminent, airways narrow & constrict and make it hard to breathe. Most asthmatics also breathe through the mouth rather than through their nose and this causes extra irritation of airways which leads to increase production of mucus. Most asthmatics have more mucus producing cells in their airways and lungs. Breathing through the nose filters out dust and irritants and so mouth breathing leads to more irritation of the airways. Also when we breathe too much there is an increase of histamine production that makes us more sensitive to pollen and other allergens. Most asthmatics do not breathe through their nose but through their mouth. The nose is for breathing, and the mouth is for eating and talking. When we breathe through the nose dust and irritants are filtered out, the air is warmed if it is cold, the air is moisturized if too dry and most bacteria are killed off while passing through the nose so protecting us from infections of the chest. When carbon dioxide levels are low the blood carrying the oxygen to all the cells in the body doesn't releases oxygen readily and holds onto it. This creates a sensation of a shortage of breath that makes us try to breathe even more, but as we breathe more we expel even more carbon dioxide and the problem gets worse. So perhaps you see why breath training is essential for asthma sufferers. **Let's check whether you are really breathing too much now. ** We're going to measure what Professor Buteyko called the “Control Pause” (CP). The control pause is the maximum comfortable breath hold after exhaling while at rest. It gives a fair measure of how well your body is oxygenated. If you are breathing normally and have good oxygenation, you will be able to hold your breath for 45 to 60 seconds without any effort. If you are very poorly oxygenated you may need to take a breath almost immediately or manage only a few seconds before you have to take another breath in. So let's try it now. Make sure you're sitting comfortably and relaxed and that you haven't just eaten as this will affect the result, wait at least an hour after eating before checking your control pause. Keep your mouth shut and breathe in through your nose a normal breath, breathe out through your nose and then hold your nose. Checked the time on your second hand of a watch or start a timer. Hold your breath until you feel the need to take another breath in, release your nose and breathe in. Note how many seconds you were able to hold your breath. This was your control pause. The next episode will discuss how well your breathing is and what the control pause means. You can purchase my book that accompanies this podcast for revision and recording your exercises entitled "Better Breathing Means Better Health" HERE

**The Other “Five a Day” for Children** Every parent has become increasingly aware of the need for good nutrition, good exercise and supportive home & school environment for the health and wellbeing of their children. The government campaigns have advised “Five a Day” and more sport in schools, but as yet there has been no recognition of the equally vital matter of good breathing for good health. Poor breathing has been the hidden, silent factor responsible for many childhood health problems that can lay the foundation for a wide range of modern diseases in later life. Here is another “Five a Day” recommendation to help your child: 1. Ensure your child is a good breather. A simple test is the “Step exercise” Get your child to take a normal breath in then a normal breath out, then while they hold their nose see how many steps they can do, keeping their mouth closed before they need to release their nose to take another breath. This is a simple measure of how well oxygenated their body is: 120 to 80 steps indicates excellent breathing 60 to 80 steps is very good 40 to 60 steps is good 30 to 40 steps is poor and will be impairing their health. 20 to 30 steps is very poor with an almost certain adverse effect on their health Fewer than 20 steps is a dangerously low result and efforts should be made to correct this. Older children may be able to measure their breathing with a “Control Pause” Keeping their mouth closed, take a normal breath in then a normal breath out and see how many seconds they can hold their nose for before taking another breath in. This exercise should be easy and stress-free, it is a measure of their maximum COMFORTABLE breath hold. 45 to 60 seconds is excellent, 35 to 45 is very good, 25 to 35 is good, 20 to 25 is poor, 15 to 20 is very poor, 10 to 15 is seriously poor and under 10 suggests an urgent need to correct this. Why not check your own breathing with a Control Pause as well? 2. Help teach better breathing habits. Encourage quiet nose breathing all the time. Set a good example by improving your own breathing! 3. Watch for signs of bad breathing habits. The signs of poor breathing include mouth breathing, upper chest breathing, breathlessness, snoring at night. Set a good example by being aware of your own breathing faults! 4. Encourage relaxation and quiet when stressed. Teach quiet relaxation, breathing as gently as possible with all the body relaxed. Set a good example by learning to relax yourself! 5. Tell them why they need a nose & how to make it work well. The nose is for breathing & the mouth is for eating and talking. “They should breathe through their mouth as often as they eat through their nose!” Teach nose-clearing exercise: Breathe in then out through the nose, keep the mouth closed, hold the nose, gently nod the head until they need to breathe in, release the nose and take a breathe in. Repeat two or three times. Check their progress from time to time with (1) above. If your child, whatever age, mouth breathes rather than using the nose to breathe most of the time they could be heading for many health problems that could be easily avoided. Children who habitually mouth-breathe will usually develop crooked, crowded teeth and fail to develop normal facial features. They will be more at risk of developing asthma especially if there is a family history of asthma. They will probably suffer more throat and chest infections than others simply because they are not using their first line of defense; nose breathing that kills most airborne bugs and aids the immune system. As they get older and continue to mouth breathe they will begin to suffer the many health problems of chronic hidden hyperventilation, anxiety, panic attacks, hypertension, heart diseases, angina, hay fever, gastric problems, breathlessness, low energy, and the list goes on. Finally, there is a strong connection between what we eat and how we breathe, so this additional “Five a Day” is going to help with the original “Five a Day” and any improvement in diet will lead to an improvement in breathing. Don’t take our word for this, watch and hear a number of children from a Glasgow school who have trained this way, telling their own story on a video. HERE All this is not new, the dangers of mouth breathing were brought to the attention of the medical profession over a hundred years ago in a book published, not by a doctor, but by an artist who recognized the problem while painting the indigenous population of the Americas. “Shut your mouth and save your life”. Visit our website “Thebreathconnection.com” HERE to learn more about the health connections with our breathing, and if you want to understand the orthodontic relationship watch the video by Dr John Flutter, an Australian dentist HERE Learn the Buteyko Method on Skype at any distance and at your convenience, download pdf details HERE

Podcast #4 Hyperventilation 21st-century Epidemic It is estimated that 90% of the population in the West are in the habit of over-breathing, they suffer from chronic hidden hyperventilation. Because chronic hidden hyperventilation is not easily recognized, it is rarely diagnosed, and when it is patients are given little advice and support to deal with a habit. The Buteyko Method of breath training appears to be the most effective system to correct the problem. Why is it termed hidden? Normal breathing at rest involves breathing about five to six litres of air per minute with a respiratory rate of between eight and twelve breaths per minute. If a person breathes slightly faster say between twelve and sixteen breaths per minute, this will not be easy to noticed by any observer, but that will increase their minute volume by two to three litres. If they breathe slightly larger breaths, perhaps 25% larger, this will increase their minute volume by other two to three litres but again this increase will not be easily observed. If they habitually sigh or yawn this can add another two to three litres per minute, the total effect will be to increase the volume of of air breathed per minute to ten to fifteen litres, two to three times normal. Chronic hidden hyperventilation is frequently associated with habitual mouth breathing as it is far easier to breathe through the mouth than the narrow passages of the nose. The effects of chronic hidden hyperventilation is to lower carbon dioxide levels in the body, to increase the risk of airborne infection as the filtering protection of the immune system in the nose is bypassed, to irritation and inflammation of the airways as dry or cold air is breathed through the mouth and because loss of nitric acid, normally produced naturally in the nasal cavities. The lower carbon dioxide disturbs the entire physiology of the body; the blood does not release its oxygen to the tissue freely due to the Bohr Effect. Smooth muscle wrapped around all hollow organs of the body, airways, arterial blood vessels, bladder and gut is caused to spasm restricting circulation, breathing or digestive problems. The body’s pH shifts to becoming more alkaline and this affects every biochemical activity in the body. So do you hyperventilate? Check your own breathing now, if you have a CP or control pause (the Buteyko Measure of your breathing) of less than twenty seconds here is the simple way to improve your health and fitness in just a few weeks. The health consequences oof chronic hyperventilation can be serious. Conditions invariably associated with this problem include asthma, sinusitis, breathlessness, angina, diabetes, hay-fever, low-energy,gut problems, hypertension, chronic fatigue syndrome, panic attacks, snoring, IBS and much more. Improved breathing generally helps all these conditions and improves wellbeing. Perhaps the most common cause of sudden death is a heart attack or myocardial infarction. The vast majority of these sad events can be avoided with two simple lifestyle changes; improved breathing and the right diet. Myocardial infarction, otherwise known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow bringing oxygen to the heart is severely reduced or totally blocked. It results in oxygen starvation and damages part of the heart. These attacks often occur during or following physical exercise or emotional stress, both activities increase breathing volume but when breathing volume is greater than the body’s needs: carbon dioxide is lost resulting in reduced blood flow and reduced oxidation of the heart. In a paper entitled Hyperventilation Myocardial Infarction by Jovanovski in 1988,wrote in addition to causing peripheral cerebral vasoconstriction hyperventilation has also been shown to cause diminished coronary blood flow, oxygen delivered to the heart is reduced because of the above mentioned effects. Cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack, the principal cause of a cardiac arrest is electrical signals that control timing and organization of the heartbeat becoming completely chaotic and when signals degenerate into total chaos the heart suddenly stops beating, cutting off normal circulation to the body. While the cause of cardiac arrest and numerous, by far the most was common in adults is ischemic cardiovascular disease. Breathing in excess of normal metabolic requirements causes a loss of carbon dioxide from the blood leading to hypocapnia with reduced oxygenation of the heart and disturbed cardiac rhythm. Breathing exercises aimed at normalizing breathing volume provide therapeutic benefits, it takes less than a minute to measure your breathing quality. The measure I recommend is called Control Pause, the key monitoring tool of the Buteyko Method developed by Professor Konstantin Buteyko. It is a measure in seconds of your maximum comfortable breath hold after exhaling while at rest. It is a useful guide to the degree of hyperventilation and the level of carbon dioxide levels in the lungs.Now Check Your BreathingTake a breath in through your nose, keep mouth closed, breathe out through your nose, gently hold your nose and your breath until you feel the need to take a breath in, then release your nose then take a normal breath in through your nose. With a timer note how many seconds you held your breath, this is your Control Pause. If your control pause is less than 20 seconds you would be well advised to improve your breathing, if you are breathing normally you should have a control pause of between 45 and 6o seconds. Most patients I check have a control pause less than 30 seconds, many who have health problems will have a control in the teens. Don't forget you can learn to improve your breathing in just two or three weeks anywhere with our Skype Course, visit our website www.totalhealthmatters.co.uk  to learn more about this course.