It may sound strange, and it may be hard to comprehend, but it’s very likely that you aren’t breathing properly. People often believe that breathing is an automatic reflex and that there’s not much they could change about it. However, breathing is something we train our body to do, and very often, we don’t train it correctly.
People who have breathing issues are sometimes trained to take short, shallow breaths. Many people are mouth breathers or prone to frequent hyperventilation. The Buteyko breathing exercises can help with almost any respiratory issue, but it can also do so much more than that.
Different Types of Breathing
Although you may think we all breathe the same, in reality, things are much more diverse. If you observe any group of people and try to monitor their breathing, you will find that each person breathes differently.
Some people breathe through their noses, while others are mouth breathers. Some take soft and gentle breaths, while others always sound like they’re breathing heavily. Many people sigh randomly but frequently, while others seem to have a consistent pattern of breathing. While some breathe into their tummy by using the diaphragm, others take breaths from the upper chest.
Breathing is natural and vital for our survival, which is why the fact we all breathe so differently is so strange. However, many factors influence the breathing habits of a person. Factors such as environment, genetic predispositions, and lifestyle may have a major impact on the way we form our breathing patterns. The best way to describe the way we can alter our breathing is to compare it to changing our eating habits. Think of a person who has a habit of overeating. When they are stressed, they reach out to food to help them relax. If they continue eating in this manner, over time, they will develop the habit of eating too much, and their body will constantly demand more food than it actually needs.
A similar thing happens with breathing. Factors that influence breathing may include sitting at your desk too much, eating processed foods, being stressed and prone to anxiety, and many more. When we expose our bodies to those factors for a longer period, our bodies become accustomed to breathing more deeply and heavily. It also gets accustomed to all the side-effects of over-breathing.
When we eat processed foods, our blood is acidified because our body attempts to obtain and maintain optimal pH, and this makes us breathe heavier. One of carbon oxide’s important roles is to regulate the pH in our bodies. Aside from water, some foods have little impact on your breathing patterns, and they include raw fruits and vegetables, as well as lightly boiled vegetables.
How Buteyko Breathing Exercises Benefit Your Health
The Buteyko breathing normalization method includes using various techniques for changing your breathing pattern. It helps in treating various respiratory problems and conditions such as sleep apnea, asthma, increased respiratory rate, hyperventilation, etc.
However, in addition to treating asthma and high blood pressure, the Buteyko method is also useful for many other problems, such as sleep apnea and anxiety. The way we breathe affects the way we oxygenate our organs. There are many recorded detrimental effects of over-breathing, mouth breathing, and hyperventilation, and Buteyko breathing classes can help with them all.
If you read a Buteyko breathing book, you will realize that the method is based on the premise that people survive on water, food, and air. Each of these surviving factors is utterly important. However, when it comes to air, the quantity of the air we breathe in and the way we breathe is just as important as its quality.
The Buteyko method focuses on teaching you how to bring your breathing patterns back to optimal levels. In other words, it promotes reversing chronic over-breathing as well as chronic hyperventilation. When you regulate your breathing, all of your tissues and organs, including your brain and your heart, get better oxygenation.
Over many years, Buteyko breathing research has shown remarkable efficiency in helping improve many breathing problems, including:
- Respiratory problems such as asthma, hay-fever, rhinitis
- Neurological problems such as stress, anxiety, or panic attacks
- Childhood developmental problems such as ADHD, dental health, and craniofacial development
- Sleeping breathing disorders, such as snoring, insomnia, and sleep apnea.
Buteyko Breathing for Anxiety
A Buteyko clinic can help you experience all the benefits of the breathing method, including improved respiratory functions and more energy on a day to day basis. However, learning Buteyko will also help you with depression and anxiety.
When a person suffers from an anxiety attack, their first impulse is to begin breathing more heavily with little to no control over the volume of the breaths they take. It can often lead to hyperventilation or other harmful forms of shallow breathing. Stress triggered by anxiety and panic attacks almost always leads to inconsistent breathing. The Buteyko method focuses on helping with all of these problems.
When you learn to breathe with the help of Buteyko control pause, the technique will help you remain calm in stressful situations. The breathing method will help you maintain stable level breathing that’s calming and relaxing for your whole body, including your mind.
One of the most common mistakes people make when they’re having an anxiety attack is taking deep breaths. Breathing deeper instead of breathing slower doesn’t make anxiety go away. Instead, it makes you hyperventilate. Breathing less is the key to remaining calm, and the Buteyko method focuses on helping you achieve that.
