Imagine having an asthma attack; that feeling of panic that overwhelms you because you feel like you can’t breathe; the compression in your chest, the heat rising in your face. Most people hunch over, eyes watering and lungs gasping for air during an asthma attack. A Breathing Normalization Specialist, who teaches effective breathing exercises for asthma, might describe the choking and gasping that occurs as symptoms of a person who is in fact drowning in air, rather than in water, which has very similar characteristics. But is that even possible? Most of us have the idea that you can’t ever get too much air, and the more that you inhale, the better off you will be, especially during an asthma attack.
It is true that people who suffer from asthma often begin to panic, or in fact, may be told by well-meaning family or friends to take deeper breaths, and understandably so, because they believe that they are not getting enough air. As a result, they hyperventilate. This in fact, s not helpful because it causes a large amount of carbon dioxide to be lost, which in turn causes more problems. The loss of carbon dioxide causes the body to narrow or constrict air channels by producing excessive mucus and to create bronchial spasm, coughing fits and suffocation attacks. All this just to reduce our breathing! The Russian physiologist, Dr. K.P. Buteyko pointed out (based on the Bohr Effect) that oxygenation of the vital organs reduces as breathing increases and deepens. One might think of flooding a car so that it is unable to start as a metaphor for what occurs – when there is too much oxygen coming in, more carbon dioxide than usual is flooded out so that not enough remains to control and regulate the delivery of oxygen to the cells that need it.
Unfortunately, this can result in a negative feedback cycle wherein the person suffering from asthma experiences the effects of the lack of oxygen delivery to the cellular tissues and therefore feels compelled to breathe more deeply and to try to get all the oxygen available into his system. The body does not understand that this will only make the problem worse unless one trains himself to reduce, or normalize breathing, as an automatic and reflexive action. This can be done through learning and inculcating Buteyko Breathing Normalization exercises for asthma that assist one in training the body to reduce breathing, which is to consume far less air than most people tend to breathe.
Specific breathing exercises for asthma allow sufferers to train their bodies to breathe more in a more healthy way. Dr. Buteyko’s discovery and breathing method both revolve around balancing the body’s use of oxygen and carbon dioxide. It is the imbalance of these two elements that causes the reactions of the body, which, in turn, create the majority of breathing difficulties people experience. The Buteyko Breathing Normalization Method involves the practice of reduced, nasal breathing; which, when applied properly, restores system balance so that the asthma and breathing difficulties are resolved. While there may be other factors that contribute to an asthmatic condition, many people have benefitted from this practice of breathing less intensely and more shallowly resulting in dramatic improvement of their asthma conditions and health.
Breathing Center Holistic Health Improvement is the official representative of Clinica Buteyko Moscow, an organization that offers methods for normalizing breathing in order to reach optimal levels of personal health. We offer specific breathing exercises for asthma to people who may benefit from reduced breathing, and have seen many people experience dramatic improvements in their symptoms. Visit us online at Website URL or call us for a free consultation at 800-520-3450.
