A Buteyko Breathing course has been a complete revelation to me. Have others experienced this?

[boxers66]

I have been asthmatic for 56 years and in five weeks I achieved a marked improvement in my quality of life. Including:

• minimalisation of inherent wheeziness• resulting in no reliever inhaler for a month (which is unprecedented)

• Higher day-time energy levels and less sleep

• increase in tolerance to strenuous activity.

[PabloSmith]

Hey, What course did you do?

[boxers66 in reply to PabloSmith]

Hi Pablo I did a 5 week course - 1 hour each week to learn the breathing exercises. It was with a qualified instructor/coach. I did an hour of exercises each day and have built the techniques into everyday activities to continue to get the benefits.

[Troilus]

Thanks for posting this boxers. I have looked it up and there have been small studies and their findings are what you describe. Very interesting.

[Birthday60]

I took up XC skiing a fe2 years ago and it helps with my breathing

[hilary39]

I've done it on and off for years and have found that and diaphragmatic breathing to be helpful in terms of relaxation and building my muscles but my asthma has still worsened over time. Glad to hear it's been helpful for you!

[boxers66 in reply to hilary39]

Hi Hilary, sorry you didn't get the benefits that I'm currently experiencing. The main exercise that seems to help me (and reduce wheeziness) is the single nostril breathing of 4 minutes per nostril.

[Jjude1003]

I’ve been doing Buteyko exercises for the last three months and have cut my inhaler use in half and generally feel better than I have in years. I’m totally bought into it. May I ask what course you took? I found a local person who is actually a massage therapist and holistic coach of sorts but only had a cursory knowledge if Buteyko - enough to get me started. Now that I’ve had such success I would like to find someone with in-depth knowledge to work with.

[boxers66 in reply to Jjude1003]

I did a 5 week course (a one hour session each week) with a registered Instructor/coach. He was registered with Buteyko International. I practised the exercises every day for 1 hour+ (I'm still doing them). My instructor is based in Billericay, Essex. I'm now doing more advanced exercises - the results are incredible: I haven't used ventolin for over a month (previously I used it most days) and my peak flow has increased by over 30%.