Breath with Ease
Asthma and Exercise-Induced Asthma
It's been documented that people with asthma can be significant overbreathers. And this isn't necessarily obvious. You don't have to be gasping for air to be overbreathing.World-renowned breathing expert Patrick McKeown often states that people with asthma breathe approximately 10 to 15 litres per minute compared with 5 to 6 litres in healthy adults,and this can occur without obvious symptoms. This is why breathing volume plays such an important role in the Buteyko Breathing Method, particularly for this group.
Breathing your way to freedom
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“I've had three sessions with Alana so far. Since then my need to use Ventolin for asthma symptoms has decreased dramatically. From needing to use it almost daily (between 1-4 puffs a day),
I've gone as long as three weeks without using it since practising the breathing exercises Alana taught me. It was hard for me at first but I persisted and I'm reaping the benefits.
And I even enjoy the exercises now!”
Mia, Melbourne VIC
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Research & Further Reading
Mater Hospital Asthma Trail
The first documented trial of the Buteyko Breathing Method was conducted at Mater Adult Hospital in Brisbane in 1995 and published in 1998.
It was a blinded, randomised study involving 39 people with asthma, comparing Buteyko Breathing techniques with a control programme that
included relaxation and breathing exercises.The researchers measured medication use, lung function, end-tidal CO₂, resting minute volume and quality of life.
After three months, the Buteyko group had significant reductions in beta₂-agonist use and resting minute volume, alongside a trend towards reduced inhaled steroid use and improved quality of life:
Measurement
Breathing pattern at start
Breathing pattern at end
Preventer use at 3 months
Reliever use at 3 months
Control Group
14.2 L
13.3 L
Unchanged
5% reduction
Buteyko Group
14 L
9.6 L
49% reduction
96% reduction
The air diet
We’re all too familiar with how a nutritionist might put someone on a food diet to lose weight. In Buteyko, we’re working towards reducing unnecessary breathing volume so that your breathing can gradually normalise to a more functional level. We call this the ‘air diet’.
People with asthma who have developed overbreathing habits may find that these patterns contribute to their symptoms. So rather than suddenly asking the body to breathe much less, we gradually introduce a sensation of air hunger, allowing the body to become more comfortable with a lighter breathing pattern.
We’re teaching your breathing system that it doesn’t always need to work so hard, helping your breathing become calmer and supporting more efficient oxygen delivery.
Less air equals less irritants
As your body becomes more comfortable with a lighter breathing rhythm, you're also moving less air in and out of your lungs. This can mean less exposure to airborne irritants that may contribute to your symptoms, such as pollen, dust, pet dander, smoke and household chemicals.
Breathing through the nose also helps warm, humidify and filter the air before it reaches the lungs. The nasal passages produce nitric oxide, which plays a role in respiratory defence and other important functions.
Mouth breathing bypasses many of these functions, bringing air directly into the mouth and throat rather than allowing the nose to do its job first. For already sensitive airways, we don't want to add fuel to the fire.
Watch: Breathless
A fascinating BBC QED documentary that aired in 1998, following people with severe asthma as they took part in the Buteyko Breathing Method. It brought the method into the public eye at a time when the idea of deliberately breathing less was still very unfamiliar. Grab your popcorn, the instructor is quite a character.
Want to start learning? Breathing 101
Learn the foundations of functional breathing and discover the skills no-one ever taught you. A 75-minute introduction to the Buteyko Breathing Method, with practical exercises you can take into everyday life.
Or ready to explore your breathing?
Let’s talk about your story, what you’re experiencing, what you notice, and explore whether breathing retraining could benefit you.
The CO₂ connection
Anyone with asthma knows that feeling where your chest begins to tighten. Then breathing feels restricted. Then there's the wheezing, and our natural survival response kicks in, suggesting that maybe now is the time to breathe harder.
Asthma involves narrowing of the airways, including constriction of the smooth muscle wrapping the bronchial tubes, increased mucus and swelling of the airway walls, all of which can make breathing more difficult.
Dr Buteyko proposed that airway narrowing was the body's response to excessive CO₂ loss caused by overbreathing. This makes sense when you learn that CO₂ plays an important role in how readily oxygen is released from haemoglobin to the tissues. When we breathe too much CO₂ out, oxygen is held more tightly to haemoglobin, making it harder for the tissues to access it.
Breathing to protect sensitive airways
The breathless sensations that accompany asthma can trigger the natural instinct to breathe more. The bigger breaths can then lead to faster, harder breathing, increasing the effort and contributing to a cycle of overbreathing. Before long, this breathing can become their everyday pattern.
This is where retraining the breath can really change the quality of life for people with asthma. We gradually work towards reducing unnecessary breathing volume at rest, which helps make everyday breathing quieter, softer, lighter and much more pleasant for already sensitive airways.
We’re rewiring your breathing patterns so they work with your respiratory system, rather than constantly fighting against it.