Podcasts about professor buteyko

#188 Patrick Mckeown is the President of Buteyko Professionals International. He is also a member of the Management Board and the Advisory Faculty of the International Academy of Breathing & Health. Patrick was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and later studied in the Moscow clinic of the founder of the Buteyko Breathing Method; the late Professor Konstantin Buteyko. He was honoured to be awarded a Diploma in the Buteyko Method by Professor Buteyko. Patrick’s current professional affiliations include being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (UK), a Member of the Physiological Society (UK), a Member of the Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences, a Fellow of Buteyko Professionals International, and a Fellow of the International Academy of Breathing & Health. In this episode we cover The principles of buteyko breathing Why we want to avoid over breathing and losing too much carbon dioxide Some of the protective mechanisms that the body creates (in the form of disease) to limit the loss of CO2 Why we snore and how breathing can impact this Why Patrick believes that no one that is mouth breathing is reaching their full potential How the Buteyko breathing method can benefit digestive health The signs that can indicate that babies and children are breathing poorly And so much more

Patrick is the President of Buteyko Professionals International. He is also a member of the Management Board and the Advisory Faculty of the International Academy of Breathing & Health. Patrick was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and later studied in the Moscow clinic of the founder of the Buteyko Breathing Method; the late Professor Konstantin Buteyko. He was honoured to be awarded a Diploma in the Buteyko Method by Professor Buteyko. Patrick's current professional affiliations include being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (UK), a Member of the Physiological Society (UK) and a Member of the Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences. Patrick has penned 7 books and is the International best-selling author of The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healthier, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You and creator of the oxygen advantage method. Patrick McKeown is widely regarded as one of the world's leading breathing re-education experts. Whether you're a weekend warrior or an Olympic athlete, Patrick's methods provide a fast, simple, scientific and certain way to revolutionize your sports performance and improve your daily wellbeing and health. Over the past two decades, Patrick has trained thousands of people around the world to safely challenge their bodies and produce positive changes through breathing re-education. He teaches a new way to breathe, combined with specific exercises designed to improve blood chemistry. The result is an increase of oxygen flow to all the body's systems, meaning greater endurance, strength and power. “Patrick's mission is to empower you to make tremendous gains across many body systems vital to reaching your optimal sports performance.” In this episode you will learn: How Patrick got into breath work by accident after being a life long asthma sufferer Why nasal breathing is so important and beneficial for your overall health How to become a nasal breather The science and mechanics of breathing and why Co2 is not just a waste gas How taping your mouth whilst you sleep can stop snoring and improve your sleep quality Why nasal breathing is so beneficial in athletic performance and how it can give you the edge How facial structure is impacting our breathing Some simple methods for assessing your breathing rates Why breathing exercises are more important than mindfulness How big pharma companies do not necessarily have the health of individuals as their number one priority Plus much much more. Connect with Patrick: https://buteykoclinic.com/ https://oxygenadvantage.com/ https://www.instagram.com/oxygenadvantage/ https://www.instagram.com/buteykoclinic/ Connect with me: https://www.kinetikfitness.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/aliwestcoach/ Watch the podcast interviews on YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCR9Oe_kjET63UrlCyIXlsnA Book a coaching call: https://westcoachingconsultcall.as.me/consultation Get your DNA Kit from Muhdo Health (20% off use code: ALDNA at checkout): https://muhdo.com/shop-uk/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thekinetikfitnessshow/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thekinetikfitnessshow/support

Patrick Mckeown, BA, MA, Dip BM (Prof. K. P. Buteyko), FBPIis the President of Buteyko Professionals International. He is also a member of the Management Board and the Advisory Faculty of the International Academy of Breathing & Health.Patrick was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and later studied in the Moscow clinic of the founder of the Buteyko Breathing Method; the late Professor Konstantin Buteyko. He was honoured to be awarded a Diploma in the Buteyko Method by Professor Buteyko.Patrick's current professional affiliations include being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (UK), a Member of the Physiological Society (UK), a Member of the Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences, a Fellow of Buteyko Professionals International, and a Fellow of the International Academy of Breathing & Health. From a very young age, Patrick suffered from asthma and relied on an array of medicines and inhalers until he discovered the Buteyko Method at the age of 26. This life-changing discovery motivated him to change his career in order to help children and adults who suffered from similar breathing problems. Following his time in Russia in 2002, Patrick has been teaching the Buteyko Method in Australia, USA and throughout Europe.He has penned seven books, including three Amazon.com best sellers, and has been invited to speak at dental and respiratory conferences throughout the world. In collaboration with the University of Limerick & Limerick University Hospital in Ireland, Patrick was the Buteyko method instructor in a clinical study investigating the Buteyko Method as a treatment for individuals who had a diagnosis of asthma and chronic rhinosinusitus.As published in the leading Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose & Throat) journal Clinical Otolaryngology, the results showed a 70% reduction of nasal symptoms in participants, including snoring, loss of smell, nasal congestion and difficulty breathing through the nose. Patrick's latest book ‘The Oxygen Advantage' is based on his experience of working with thousands of clients and hundreds of health care professionals, along with his extensive research of breath hold training over the past 13 years. Patrick has been interviewed internationally for radio and television including with Dr Joseph Mercola, founder of the world's largest health website, Mercola.com.Support the show (http://gf.me/u/w5fjfs)

We all breathe. It is a subconscious function of life. What happens when we breathe chronically through the mouth? How does nasal-breathing lead to improved health, body composition and performance? Today we welcome to the show renowned breath expert Patrick McKeown to shed light on the value of conscious breathing. From crooked teeth and weight gain to attention deficit disorders and mental health concerns, Patrick dives deep into the negative impacts of mouth-breathing and the how the simple act of nasal-breathing can change your life. Tune in now! Show Notes: 0:00 – Who is Patrick McKeown and how did he become a breath expert? 3:00 – Patrick explains why breathing isn’t a function of the mouth. 5:25 – Allergies? Congestion? Rhinitis? You can still nose breathe. You just have to train it. 9:15 – How mouth breathing contributes to sleep apnea and chronic health concerns. 10:50 – The connection between nasal breathing and emotions/focus/mental health. 13:35 – The importance of nasal breathing for athletes 18:15 – Big nostrils are a benefit! 20:20 – We discuss how mouth-breathing negatively affects the development of children: - Facial structure - Crooked teeth - Attention deficit issues - Free resource to help children breathe properly: https://buteykoclinic.com/buteykochildren/ 27:00 – How does a diet high in processed food affect breathing quality? 31:30 – We discuss the benefits of mouth-taping at night: Better concentration, better breath, better energy, etc. 34:25 – How do we get children to breathe through their noses? 37:00 – The value of breath work for chronic diseases and disorders 40:00 – How breath work helps create a focused mind and a better quality of life 45:00 – Some social commentary on Social Media vs. a rise in mental health issues 48:30 – How nasal breathing contributes to maintaining a healthy immune system 50:45 - Patrick details how to improve your breath hold time 57:00 – Patrick’s book recommendation: - The Coddling of the American Mind, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt - Breath, by James Nestor 57:30 – Patrick’s daily self-care tool 58:30 – Patrick’s one piece of health advice 59:15 – Where you can find Patrick McKeown and keep up with his latest work Recommended Reading & Listening: https://www.movewelldaily.com/health-habits/ https://www.movewelldaily.com/move-daily-health-podcast-016-breathing-techniques/ https://www.movewelldaily.com/move-daily-health-podcast-27-science-of-health-performance-dr-marc-bubbs/ More About Patrick McKeown Patrick is the President of Buteyko Professionals International. He is also a member of the Management Board and the Advisory Faculty of the International Academy of Breathing & Health. Patrick was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and later studied in the Moscow clinic of the founder of the Buteyko Breathing Method, the late Professor Konstantin Buteyko. He was honoured to be awarded a Diploma in the Buteyko Method by Professor Buteyko. Patrick’s current professional affiliations include being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (UK), a Member of the Physiological Society (UK), a Member of the Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences, a Fellow of Buteyko Professionals International, and a Fellow of the International Academy of Breathing & Health. From a very young age, Patrick suffered from asthma and relied on an array of medicines and inhalers until he discovered the Buteyko Method at the age of 26. This life-changing discovery motivated him to change his career in order to help children and adults who suffered from similar breathing problems. Following his time in Russia in 2002, Patrick has been teaching the Buteyko Method in Australia, USA and throughout Europe. He has penned seven books, including three Amazon.com best sellers, and has been invited to speak at dental and respiratory conferences throughout the world.

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

#143 Patrick Mckeown is the President of Buteyko Professionals International. He is also a member of the Management Board and the Advisory Faculty of the International Academy of Breathing & Health. Patrick was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and later studied in the Moscow clinic of the founder of the Buteyko Breathing Method; the late Professor Konstantin Buteyko. He was honoured to be awarded a Diploma in the Buteyko Method by Professor Buteyko. Patrick’s current professional affiliations include being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (UK), a Member of the Physiological Society (UK), a Member of the Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences, a Fellow of Buteyko Professionals International, and a Fellow of the International Academy of Breathing & Health. In this episode we cover The principles of buteyko breathing Why we want to avoid over breathing and losing too much carbon dioxide Some of the protective mechanisms that the body creates (in the form of disease) to limit the loss of CO2 Why we snore and how breathing can impact this Why Patrick believes that no one that is mouth breathing is reaching their full potential How the Buteyko breathing method can benefit digestive health The signs that can indicate that babies and children are breathing poorly And so much more

#112 My awesome guest this week is Patrick Mckeown, an expert in Buteco breathing and author of the extremely popular book; The Oxygen Advantage. I'm a huge advocate of the breath and different breathwork modalities have been a part of my personal practices for many years, so to have someone with as much experience as Patrick on the show was fantastic. We dive into understanding more about our breathing 24/7, nasal breathing, slow breathing and the impact this can truly have on ou rhealth and wellbeing. These are just some of the conditions the Buteko Method can help with: - Snoring and Sleep Apnea - Stress, Anxiety, Panic Attacks & Depression - Parents: How Buteyko Can Help Your Child’s Development - Asthma, Rhinitis, COPD, Cystic Fibrosis   About Patrick Mckeown: Patrick Mckeown is the President of Buteyko Professionals International. He is also a member of the Management Board and the Advisory Faculty of the International Academy of Breathing & Health. Patrick was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and later studied in the Moscow clinic of the founder of the Buteyko Breathing Method; the late Professor Konstantin Buteyko. He was honoured to be awarded a Diploma in the Buteyko Method by Professor Buteyko. Patrick’s current professional affiliations include being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (UK), a Member of the Physiological Society (UK), a Member of the Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences, a Fellow of Buteyko Professionals International, and a Fellow of the International Academy of Breathing & Health.     Useful Links: NOTE: Patrick will be in Sydney teaching in March 2020:   Buteyko Instructor Training Sydney March 2020   (Health) https://buteykoclinic.com/location-date/ OxygenAdvantage Instructor training Sydney march 2020   (Sports performance) https://oxygenadvantage.com/teach-it/   ---------------------------------------------------   Free exercise (relaxation and functional breathing) https://buteykoclinic.com/reduced-breathing/ Free Childrens online course with all exercises (soon to be updated as current videos are 2010) https://buteykoclinic.com/buteykochildren/ For parents- how mouth breathing affects childhood development https://buteykoclinic.com/crookedteeth/ Masterclass in OxygenAdvantage https://oxygenadvantage.com/learn-it/ Learn more about Guy: www.guylawrence.com.au Let It In Academy: www.letitin.com.au

McKeown was a chronic asthmatic who suffered from regular wheezing and coughing for more than twenty years before he discovered the Buteyko Method. After mastering the method, he has been completely free of symptoms, as well as medication, since the late 90s. Today, McKeown is a qualified practitioner after training with Professor Buteyko, the originator of the method. McKeown talks about his background and how his own struggles with issues such as asthma, constant stuffy nose, and mouth breathing motivated him to find a solution. As he explains, having these issues can seriously impact the quality of our sleep, and as such McKeown used to wake up very tired often, before discovering Buteyko. Further, the Buteyko practitioner delves into the various techniques people can use to decongest their noses, to allow clearer breathing through the nose. The nose, in fact, is so important, that it is responsible for over 30 functions in the human body, so it's clear that we want to keep it clear! As McKeown explains, nasal issues that prevent quality nasal breathing can contribute to so many problems from dry mouth/inflammation, to learning difficulties, reduced IQ, decreased productivity, and much more. The breathing expert talks about blood vessels and how breathing affects carbon dioxide levels. Blood circulation and breath are directly connected. Anxiety, depression, and high stress can greatly benefit from slower, fuller breathing. McKeown's book, Close Your Mouth, is a respected self-help book that offers an easy to follow, complete instruction set for the Buteyko Method, to help combat asthma, nasal congestion, and snoring. And the proof is in the results, as multiple clinical trials have proven that the Buteyko Method is highly effective and provides a true remedy for the reversal of asthma, resulting in 70% less coughing and wheezing, and an astounding 90% reduction in the need for reliever medication, and a remarkable 50% reduced need for preventer medication. McKeown talks about how he works with clients to help them develop an exercise plan that works for them. He can measure their breathing during their first visit and ascertain how they will be able to function in various exercises and periods of physical exertion. Through the Buteyko method, many people have found relief from their nagging, lifelong problems, and McKeown is helping to spread the word to the world, to help people find real solutions to their debilitating health issues.

**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.

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.

**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 # 11 Posture, Sleep, and Taping. Hi, this is Michael Lingard welcoming you to Better Breathing Means Better Health, episode eleven, entitled Posture, Sleep and Taping. I hope you are finding this course already helping with your general health and that the work you have put in so far beginning to pay off as you feel more in control of your health and perhaps experiencing more energy, better sleep and fewer symptoms. So how does posture affect our breathing? The raised shoulders, expanded chest and tense upper muscles are to be seen on most patients who normally over-breathe. With habitual heavy breathing these ancillary respiratory muscles need to be used repeatedly and they become chronically tense with over-use. We should breathe primarily with just our diaphragm, the large dome shaped muscle under our lower ribs, and we should not normally use the upper chest for normal activity breathing. During Buteyko training the effects of different postures on our breathing, when awake and asleep are discussed, based on Professor Buteyko’s research. He found that sleeping on our left side reduced breathing at night the most, sleeping on the right side or stomach was almost as good for our breathing, but sleeping on the back invariably increased the breathing rate. So try to avoid sleeping on your back as this has been clearly demonstrated to lead to over-breathing in sleep and often also mouth breathing since the lower jaw easily drops when on our back. This is usually the sleep position when snoring is at its worst. Sleeping on the left side was found to reduce breathing the most, on the right side or front was found to keep breathing rate lower than when sleeping on the back. When sitting try to keep the back upright and the diaphragm free to move easily, avoid slouching and restricting the lower ribs and abdomen. Good posture is just part of the many elements taught on a Buteyko course. Good posture permits normal body action and in particular aids better breathing. Improving your posture is part of the bad habit correction. Improved posture will also improve the overall physiology of your body. There are various ways you can train yourself to avoid sleeping on your back and one is to attach a cork or small ball to the back of your pyjama top, whenever you roll onto your back this will painfully remind you to go onto your side or stomach! Obviously during your waking hours you will by now be very aware of how you are breathing but when you are asleep you are no longer in control of your breathing. One of the commonest bad habits when sleeping is mouth breathing and snoring. If you awake in the morning with a dry mouth, the chances are is that you have been mouth breathing in your sleep. If you snore you almost certainly have been mouth breathing. So how do we stop this when we are unconscious? The simplest solution is to use a thin strip of micropore adhesive tape as used to secure dressings. You can use one centimeter wide tape, tear off about 10 centimetres, fold over one end, it's a good idea to reduce some of the stickiness by pressing it on your bedclothes a couple of times then place it diagonally across your mouth. You will still be able to talk and breathe through the corners of your mouth but it will remind you to keep your mouth closed. When you get used to using the tape this way you may need to begin to place it horizontally across your mouth to ensure you do keep your mouth totally closed. Don’t forget to make sure your nose is clear before going to sleep by doing the nose clearing exercises if you need to. Many people have found this simple procedure has stopped them from snoring and that they have the best sleep ever. The next episode 12 will be about When You Are Ill. If you haven’t yet downloaded the book to accompany this course entitled “The Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing & Better Health” by Michael Lingard, you can view it or buy it From Lulu.com HERE

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 # 4 Nose Clearing & Your First Buteyko Exercise Hi, this is Michael Lingard bringing you the fourth episode of Better Breathing Means Better Health entitled “Nose Clearing & Your First Buteyko Exercise” Perhaps the simplest advice is to try to always breathe through the nose. Why? Because the nose functions to deliver air to the lungs in as perfect condition as possible. It makes over-breathing physically more difficult simply because of the smaller size of the nostrils compared with an our large open mouth. It filters out most of the dust and particulates found in the atmosphere. It moisturizes the air when it's dry, as in centrally heated rooms, delivering air that doesn't irritate and dry out the delicate membranes of the lungs. It conserves water and helps reduce the risk of dehydration. It contains active organisms that trap and destroy many potential infective agents in the air we breathe, protecting the lungs from infection. It is also found to be responsible for the production of up to 50% of nitric oxide in our body when we breathe normally through our nose. Nitric oxide has many vital functions in the body that are still being discovered, we know nitric oxide can dilate blood vessels and improve circulation hence its use for treatment in angina. When people have not been habitually nose breathing for many years it may take a little time and perseverance to retrain the nose to do the work of breathing it was designed for. A Buteyko Conference I attended in Brisbane a marathon runner told, how with Buteyko Training she had learned to nose breathe throughout the entire marathon and this had improved her performance by doing so. Many Olympic athletes in Australia and New Zealand have undergone Buteyko Training to improve their sports performance, endurance and recovery, so breath training is not just for anyone who is not well but also for those who want super fitness and endurance. What if it is difficult to breathe through the nose? There is a saying “If you don't use it you lose it!”, this seems to be what many people are found who have difficulty breathing through their nose. However it is the experience of all Buteyko Educators that with specific exercises and perseverance practically everyone can relearn to nose breathe easily. Whether there is a history of chronic catarrh, deviation of the nasal septum, polyps, old injury or any other condition, everyone can improve their ability to nose breathe. Two simple exercises are taught to help regain normal nose breathing capabilities. Nose clearing exercise number one. On a normal out-breath, hold your nose and keep the mouth shut, and nod the head forward and backwards about eight times gently, then released the nose and breathe gently through the nose, always keeping the mouth shut. Repeating this up to 3 times will clear most stuffy noses and mild blockages. You may need to repeat this procedure a number of times in the first few days until the nose remains clear. Note clearing exercise number two. This is similar to the first exercise but more effective when the congestion or blockages are more severe and long-standing. On an out-breath hold your nose, keep the mouth shut and walk as many steps as you can. When you feel the urgent need to breathe, keep your mouth shut, release the nose and breath in gently through the nose. Repeat till the nose becomes clear. Despite the simplicity of these exercises they have been repeatedly shown to work remarkably well. Remember, always breathe through your nose it's what it's there for, it’s our beautifully designed breathing tube! Reduced breathing. Since Professor Buteyko claimed over a hundred common diseases are due to hyperventilation or over-breathing, a substantial part of the full Buteyko course is spent teaching patients how to reduce their breathing. This is probably the greatest conceptual hurdle for most of us to overcome, and reasonably so! Everyone has been breathing all their lives and we assume we know how to do this; we don’t need to be taught how to walk do we? It is only when we understand the physiology of tissue oxygenation, which is part of this training does it then makes sense that we can still function but can be breathing very badly. The basic background for most poor breathing is stress or lifestyle factors that cause us to hyperventilate. Some people require a lot of individual support and help to learn to reduce their breathing and to break often a lifetime's habit of habitual chronic hidden hyperventilation, others find it easier to learn quickly. At its simplest level the secret is to be totally relaxed, as Professor Buteyko said “Be soft as a cloth”. When we clench our fist we need more energy hence more oxygen to meet the muscles demand, hence more breathing to provide the oxygen. If all muscles are relaxed, a demand for oxygen goes down and are breathing is reduced. If we then relax our breathing muscle, the diaphragm, breathing is reduced further. Because some people may initially have unpleasant reactions when they do strong reduced breathing they are carefully monitored during training to avoid this, but if reduced breathing is achieved only through relaxation most people will not suffer any ill effects. There are many tips and techniques which we will give to help people individually with this vital component of training. The long-term aim is to alter our breathing habits so that all our breathing becomes “reduced breathing” or in other words we return to normal breathing. At this stage further exercises are unnecessary. Thus reduce breathing exercise are a short-term training and become unnecessary when normal breathing is restored as the new habit. So how do we get so bad? Apparently man was not the hunter but the prey and our survival depended on fast reactions to danger, the fight or flight reflex evolved that was life-saving for our ancestors but is a potential health hazard for us today. Repeated stressors for modern man with little or no physical activity, leads to raise heart rate, increased breathing, increased blood directed to muscles increase clotting of blood, reduced immune system activity, increased sweating, and increase histamine production. Our body gets locked into a state of anxiety, our carbon dioxide receptors get used to this low level of carbon dioxide and our over-breathing is maintained. We become hidden chronic hyperventilators. There are two possible reasons that seem to make sense in the West, we are subjected to recurrent stressors from an early age and there is a culture of deep-breathing. It is primarily the recurrent stressors that leads to a chronic hidden hyperventilation but also because Western man has developed a culture of over-breathing; we are encouraged to breathe deeply when we are children, when we are stressed and whenever we take exercise or do keep fit. This is quite the reverse in the East where a perfect man was once judged to breathe “as if not breathing” in other words very softly and quietly. We can now do our first Buteyko exercise, just record this simplified exercise on any notepad at hand. Write down eight headings across the page. Control pause, pulse, reduced breathing, control pause, reduced breathing, control pause, pulse. If you have difficulty finding a pulse on your wrist don't worry at this stage just leave this section blank. Now check your control pause and record this under the control pause heading, if you can easily find your pulse, count the number of beats in 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to give your pulse rate per minute and record under pulse. Now make yourself comfortable, sitting upright and try to totally relax, close your eyes and try to keep your mind quiet by imagining some pleasant scene in a beautiful sandy shore on an island, a special garden or any picture that keeps your mind occupied quietly. Keep your mouth closed and breathe gently through your nose. Keep reminding yourself to be completely relaxed. If you have a timer set it for three minutes. When the timer rings open your eyes and when you are ready check your control pause again. Record this control pause on your notepad. Now, once again return to relaxation for another three minutes setting the timer as before. When the timer rings wait for about a minute before checking your control pause again and your pulse if you're able. The minute wait is to measure what your breathing is now like after the exercise. If you have been able to relax well you should find that either your end control pause is a little higher than your start control pause or your end pulse is lower than the start pulse. This was your first simple Buteyko exercise. Well done! 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

Episode # 2 “Why Most of Us Need Breath Training” Hi, this is Michael Lingard bringing you the second episode of Better Breathing Means Better Health entitled “Why Most of Us Need Breath Training” The fact that you are listening to this second episode tells me you know this is true and that you are wondering whether you could benefit yourself. I have been teaching the Buteyko Method of breath training for over fifteen years and have been delighted to see what a great help it has been to all those I have taught but it has also been a disappointment to me that this powerful health promoting work has not gained mainstream medical support. There may be many reasons for this lack of interest from the medical establishment and the public at large but two main ones come to my mind. As regards the medical establishment there is a bias towards disease management and treatment rather than health education and promotion, and with something so radical as this, they demand more scientific research before committing resources or recommending it. We now know that doctors are given little training in health promotion and natural medicine during their years of study and this has now been recognized and efforts are being made to improve this aspect of healthcare. So doctors by and large are reluctant to refer their patients to breath educators. We may also have to wait a long time for more research to be done since most is financed by the pharmaceutical companies who would not want to demonstrate simple breath training and other lifestyle changes could dramatically reduce the need and demand for their drugs. As regards the public in general I understand it is a lot to expect of them to believe that they need to train themselves how to breathe since they have been doing it ever since birth! They don’t need to have walking or talking lessons so why should they need breathing lessons? The second barrier to acceptance is that they not unreasonably go to their doctor for all advice on health matters, who either doesn't support the idea of breath training or dismisses it as irrelevant. The third barrier in the UK is that we have all become used to the idea that all healthcare is free at point of delivery and Buteyko Breath training is not funded by the NHS but can cost a few hundred pounds and that can be difficult for many people. I decided that perhaps the time had come to use modern communication technology to launch breath training more successfully, hence this free podcast you are now listening to. I hope I can make a small contribution to the growing awareness and use of healthy lifestyle self-help systems. So let’s start on this journey towards a better lifestyle and improved health and wellbeing. During my thirty-five years as a holistic healthcare practitioner I have found that over seventy five percent of my patients breathe badly and that this may account for much of their poor health or at the very least is contributing to the disease or illness they complain of. In fact I have found only a few percent breathe optimally and these people tend to have already been doing breath work in yoga, tai chi or other such training. There are two major causes of this widespread problem, stress of our modern lives and lifestyle problems including our diet, exercise and work. If you took time out and watched my video I suggested in episode one “Chronic Hidden Hyperventilation 21st Century Epidemic” you will by now realize why stress produces this dysfunctional breathing due to our ancient fight/flight response to stressors. The lifestyle connections are not so clear cut but from my research over the past two years I have found a strong relationship between what we eat and how we breathe and also that how we breathe influences what and how we eat. You may never have considered the possibility that you over-breathe especially as we are advised to do deep breathing, encouraged to take deep breaths when stressed and generally taught to increase our breathing to get more oxygen into our bodies. But we have been taught wrong! It is not as simple as that and the truth is quite the opposite. Over-breathing lowers our body oxygenation and in fact if you are stressed you will already be over-breathing and the last thing you want to do is to forcibly increase your breathing! To summarize the physiology quickly; we all need to breathe about five litres of air per minute at rest, and our breathing is automatically controlled, not by the level of oxygen in our body, but the level of carbon dioxide. The level of carbon dioxide should normally be around 5 to 6 percent ideally for optimal oxygenation. We produce far more carbon dioxide than we need, so breathing is the body’s way of controlling 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, this is one of the reasons many people suffer hypertension as the narrowed arteries demand a higher blood pressure and why others may suffer panic attacks through restricted blood flow to the brain. Many people breathe through the mouth rather than through their nose and this makes over-breathing more likely because of the large mouth compared with small nasal passages. 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. 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 our problems gets worse. So perhaps you now see why breath training is essential for most of us in the West. But let's check whether you are 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, make a note of it and in the next episode will discuss how well your breathing is and what the control pause means. 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 Lulu.com HERE

**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 # 11 Posture, Sleep, and Taping. Hi, this is Michael Lingard welcoming you to Escape from Asthma episode eleven, entitled Posture, Sleep and Taping. I hope you are finding this course already helping with your asthma and that the work you have put in so far beginning to pay off as you feel more in control of your condition and perhaps experiencing more energy, better sleep and fewer symptoms. So how does posture affect our breathing? The raised shoulders, expanded chest and tense upper muscles are to be seen on most asthmatic patients and others who normally over-breathe. With habitual heavy breathing these ancillary respiratory muscles need to be used repeatedly and they become chronically tense with over-use. We should breathe primarily with just our diaphragm, the large dome shaped muscle under our lower ribs, and we should not normally use the upper chest for normal activity breathing. During Buteyko training the effects of different postures on our breathing, when awake and asleep are discussed, based on Professor Buteyko’s research. He found that sleeping on our left side reduced breathing at night the most, sleeping on the right side or stomach was almost as good for our breathing, but sleeping on the back invariably increased the breathing rate. So try to avoid sleeping on your back as this has been clearly demonstrated to lead to over-breathing in sleep and often also mouth breathing since the lower jaw easily drops when on our back. This is usually the sleep position when snoring is at its worst. Sleeping on the left side was found to reduce breathing the most, on the right side or front was found to keep breathing rate lower than when sleeping on the back. When sitting try to keep the back upright and the diaphragm free to move easily, avoid slouching and restricting the lower ribs and abdomen. Good posture is just part of the many elements taught on a Buteyko course. Good posture permits normal body action and in particular aids better breathing. Improving your posture is part of the bad habit correction. Improved posture will also improve the overall physiology of your body. There are various ways you can train yourself to avoid sleeping on your back and one is to attach a cork or small ball to the back of your pyjama top, whenever you roll onto your back this will painfully remind you to go onto your side or stomach! Obviously during your waking hours you will by now be very aware of how you are breathing but when you are asleep you are no longer in control of your breathing. One of the commonest bad habits when sleeping is mouth breathing and snoring. If you awake in the morning with a dry mouth, the chances are is that you have been mouth-breathing in your sleep. If you snore you almost certainly have been mouth-breathing. So how do we stop this when we are unconscious? The simplest solution is to use a thin strip of micropore adhesive tape as used to secure dressings. You can use one centimeter wide tape, tear off about ten centimetres, fold over one end, it's a good idea to reduce some of the stickiness by pressing it on your bedclothes a couple of times then place it diagonally across your mouth. You will still be able to talk and breathe through the corners of your mouth but it will remind you to keep your mouth closed. When you get used to using the tape this way you may need to begin to place it horizontally across your mouth to ensure you do keep your mouth closed. Don’t forget to make sure your nose is clear before going to sleep by doing the nose clearing exercises if you need to. Many people have found this simple procedure has stopped them from snoring and that they have the best sleep ever. The next episode 12 will be about When You Are Ill. If you haven’t yet downloaded the book to accompany this course entitled “The Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing & Better Asthma Management” by Michael Lingard, Click HERE

Escape from Asthma Episode # 10 Sealing the Leaks & Talking Like The Queen Hi , welcome to episode 10 of Escape from Asthma 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, they 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, laugh occasionally! So there are two things to note, firstly if your breathing is normal and you have a CP of 45-60 seconds you have a large “buffer” of CO2 and the occasional burst of laughing or emotional upset will not give you any problems, as soon after, your CO2 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 an asthma attack. 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. 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 raise your CO2 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, salesmen 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. 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.

Asthma Episode #4 Nose Clearing & Your First Buteyko Exercise Hello this is Michael Lingard welcoming you to “Escape from Asthma” episode 4, “Nose Clearing and Your First Buteyko exercise”. Nose breathing, an aid to better asthma control. Perhaps the simplest advice is to try to always breathe through the nose. Why? Because the nose functions to deliver air to the lungs in as perfect condition as possible. It makes over-breathing physically more difficult simply because of the smaller size of the nostrils compared with an open mouth, it filters out most of the dust and particulates found in the atmosphere, it moisturizes the air when it's dry, as in centrally heated rooms, delivering air that doesn't irritate and dry out the delicate membranes of the lungs, it conserves water and helps reduce the risk of dehydration, it contains active organisms that trap and destroy many potential infective agents in the air we breathe, protecting the lungs from infection, it is also found to be responsible for the production of up to 50% of nitric oxide in our body when we breathe normally through our nose. Nitric oxide has many vital functions in the body that are still being discovered, we know nitric oxide can dilate blood vessels and improve circulation hence its use for treatment in angina. When people have not been habitually nose breathing for many years it may take a little time and perseverance to retrain the nose to do the work of breathing it was designed for. A Buteyko Conference I attended in Brisbane a marathon runner told, how with Buteyko Training she had learned to nose breathe throughout the entire marathon and had improved her performance by doing so. Many Olympic athletes in Australia and New Zealand have undergone Buteyko Training to improve their sports performance, endurance and recovery. What if it is difficult to breathe through the nose? There is a saying “If you don't use it you lose it!”, this seems to be what many people are found who have difficulty breathing through their nose. However it is the experience of all Buteyko Educators that with specific exercises and perseverance practically everyone can relearn to nose breathe easily. Whether there is a history of chronic catarrh, deviation of the nasal septum, polyps, old injury or any other condition, everyone can improve their ability to nose breathe. Two simple exercises are taught to help regain normal nose breathing capabilities. Nose clearing exercise number one. On a normal out-breath, hold your nose and keep the mouth shut, and nod the head forward and backwards about eight times gently, then released the nose and breathe gently through the nose, always keeping the mouth shut. Repeating this up to 3 times will clear most stuffy noses and mild blockages. You may need to repeat this procedure a number of times in the first few days until the nose remains clear. Note clearing exercise number two. This is similar to the first exercise but more effective when the congestion or blockages are more severe and long-standing. On an out-breath hold your nose, keep the mouth shut and walk as many steps as you can. When you feel the urgent need to breathe, keep your mouth shut, release the nose and breath in gently through the nose. Repeat till the nose becomes clear. Despite the simplicity of these exercises they have been repeatedly shown to work remarkably well. Remember always breathe through your nose it's what it's therefore. Reduced breathing. Since Professor Buteyko claimed asthma is a disease of hyperventilation or over-breathing, a substantial part of the full Buteyko course is spent teaching patients how to reduce their breathing. This is probably the greatest conceptual hurdle for asthma sufferers to overcome, and reasonably so! They find themselves breathless, struggling to take another breath, then to be told they are breathing too much and should reduce their breathing to overcome the symptoms takes a great leap of trust initially. It is only when they understand the physiology of tissue oxygenation which is part of this training does it then makes sense to them. The basic background is that triggers or stresses cause us to hyperventilate and the hyperventilation produces the symptoms. Some people require a lot of individual support and help to learn to reduce their breathing and to break often a lifetime's habit of habitual chronic hidden hyperventilation, others find it easier to learn quickly. At its simplest level the secret is to be totally relaxed, as Professor Buteyko said “Be soft as a cloth”. When we clench our fist we need more energy hence more oxygen to meet the muscles demand, hence more breathing to provide the oxygen. If all muscles are relaxed, a demand for oxygen goes down and are breathing is reduced. If we then relax our breathing muscle, the diaphragm, breathing is reduced further. Because some people may initially have unpleasant reactions when they do reduced breathing they are carefully monitored during training to avoid this, but if reduced breathing is achieved only through relaxation most people will not suffer any ill effects. There are many tips and techniques which we will give to help people individually with this vital component of training. The long-term aim is to alter our breathing habits so that all our breathing becomes “reduced breathing” or in other words we return to normal breathing. At this stage further exercises are unnecessary. Thus reduce breathing exercise are a short-term training and become unnecessary when normal breathing is restored as the new habit. So how do we get so bad? Apparently man was not the hunter but the prey and our survival depended on fast reactions to danger, the fight or flight reflex evolved that was life-saving for our ancestors but is a potential health hazard for us today. Repeated stressors for modern man with little or no physical activity, leads to raise heart rate, increased breathing, increased blood directed to muscles increase clotting of blood, reduced immune system activity, increased sweating, and increase histamine production. Our body gets locked into a state of anxiety, our carbon dioxide receptors get used to this low level of carbon dioxide and our over-breathing is maintained. We become hidden chronic hyperventilators. There are two possible reasons that seem to make sense in the West, we are subjected to recurrent stressors from an early age and there is a culture of deep-breathing. It is primarily the recurrent stressors that leads to a chronic hidden hyperventilation but also because Western man has developed a culture of over-breathing; we are encouraged to breathe deeply when we are children, when we are stressed and whenever we take exercise or do keep fit. This is quite the reverse in the East where a perfect man was once judged to breathe “as if not breathing” in other words very softly and quietly. We can now do our first Buteyko exercise, just record this simplified exercise on any notepad at hand. Write down eight headings across the page. Control pause, pulse, reduced breathing, control pause, reduced breathing, control pause, pulse. If you have difficulty finding a pulse on your wrist don't worry at this stage just leave this section blank. Now check your control pause and record this under the CP heading, if you can easily find your pulse, count the number of beats in 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to give your pulse rate per minute and record under pulse. Now make yourself comfortable, sitting upright and try to totally relax, close your eyes and try to keep your mind quiet by imagining some pleasant scene in a beautiful sandy shore on an island, a special garden or any picture that keeps your mind occupied quietly. Keep your mouth closed and breathe gently through your nose. Keep reminding yourself to be completely relaxed. If you have a timer set it for three minutes. When the timer rings open your eyes and when you are ready check your control pause again. Record this control pause on your notepad. Now, once again return to relaxation for another three minutes setting the timer as before. When the timer rings wait for about a minute before checking your control pause again and your pulse if you're able. The minute wait is to measure what your breathing is now like after the exercise. If you have been able to relax well you should find that either your end control pause is a little higher than your start control pause or your end pulse is lower than the start pulse. This was your first simple Buteyko exercise, well done. Before the next episode download the Buteyko work sheet and print off copies for future use, you will find this at www.totalhealthmatters.co.uk/Worksheet.pdf or you may prefer to buy the companion eBook "The Buteyko Guide to Better Breathing & Better Asthma Management" HERE or my book that accompanies this podcast for recording your exercises and further studies 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

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.