Rodger Douglas
Doctor of Medical Heilkunst
Breathing Exercises
The breath is one of the simplest ways to influence how we feel.
Everyone knows that breathing is essential to life but not everyone does it correctly. There is a tendency among many people to take small, rapid breaths using the muscles of the chest instead of breathing slowly and deeply with the muscles of the abdomen. This type of shallow chest breathing can cause a wide range of physical and mental symptoms.
Are you breathing properly?
The quality of your breathing can have an enormous effect on your physical and mental wellbeing. Here is a quick test you can do to determine if you are breathing correctly.
Sit up in a chair with your back straight. Place one hand on your chest and other on your abdomen. Breathe normally. Which hand rises up and down the most as you breathe? If your abdomen rises and your chest stays relatively flat, you are breathing properly, bit if your abdomen barely moves and your chest rises, then your breathe is too shallow.
Buteyko Breathing
I’ve tried many breathing techniques on myself and my patients and settled on the Buteyko method is by far the best in a clinical situation.
Konstantin Buteyko commenced his medical training in Russia in 1946 at the First Medical Institute of Moscow. While at University Buteyko was diagnosed with malignant hypertension and was given a life expectancy of just 12 months.
One evening in 1952 after suffering an anxiety attack he began wondering whether his deep breathing might be the cause of his condition. He checked this by slowing down his breathing. Within minutes his pain ceased. To confirm this he took five deep breaths and the pain returned. He again slowed down his deep breathing and the pain disappeared.
He did not appreciate it at the time, but this was one of the greatest, although as yet largely unacknowledged, medical discoveries of the twentieth century.
Buteyko had realized that breathing was the cause of many of diseases of civilization, and thus could also be the cure.
He spent the rest of his life working on the theoretical aspects of his discovery at the Central and Lenin Medical Libraries where he devised a program to recondition patients to breath correctly. This involved:
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Switching from mouth breathing to nasal breathing.
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Relaxation of the diaphragm until an air shortage is felt.
Three breathing exercises
One. The Control Pause
Sit down with your back straight. Breathe normally for a few minutes. After a relaxed exhale, hold your breath. Use your index finger and thumb to plug your nose. Hold your breath until you feel the urge to breathe and then inhale. Breathe normally for at least 10 seconds. Repeat several times.
Two. Abdomen breathing
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Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor
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Place your hands on your abdomen
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Breathe in through your nose, counting to four. Picture a balloon in your belly that you're inflating with the air you are inhaling. Your hands should rise as your abdomen fills with air
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Hold the breath for a few seconds
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Exhale slowly through your nose counting to four. Picture letting the air out of your belly balloon. Your hands should go down as your abdomen deflates
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Practice this exercise for a minimum of five minutes at a time, at least two or three times a day.
Three. The Maximum Pause
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After a relaxed exhale, hold your breath
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Use your index finger and thumb to plug your nose
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Retain your breath for as long as possible (usually twice as long as the Control Pause)
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Once you’ve reached the point of moderate discomfort, inhale
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Breathe normally for at least 10 seconds
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Repeat several times
When practicing Buteyko breathing always breathe in and out through your nose. If at any time you experience anxiety, shortness of breath, or intense discomfort, discontinue the practice and breathe normally. As you progress, you may be able to hold your breath for longer periods. Over time, you may be able to hold the Control Pause for 1 minute and the Maximum Pause for 2 minutes.
