Your breathing landscape
Let’s see where you’re at.
No fancy gadgets, just a timer and your breath. A simple, non-invasive test that gives us valuable insight into your breathing pattern and respiratory health. In the Buteyko Breathing Method, it’s known as the Control Pause (CP). In Oxygen Advantage®, it’s known as the BOLT Score: Body Oxygen Level Test.
Insightful
Reflects your CO₂ tolerance and breathing efficiency
Personalised
Helps us tailor your breathing retraining program
Progressive
Tracks your progress and
changes over time
How to measure your Control Pause
Sit comfortably and breathe normally in and out through your nose for a few breath cycles to allow the breath to settle.
A gentle breath in through your nose, followed by a normal, gentle breath out through your nose with the lips sealed. At the end of your exhalation, gently pinch your nose and start the timer.
Hold your breath until you experience your first definite desire to breathe. This may be a subtle movement of your diaphragm or abdominal muscles, a sensation in your throat or airway, or simply a clear feeling that your body wants to take another breath.
Release your pinch and resume breathing gently through your nose.
Your breathing should return to normal fairly quickly. If you need to take a big gasp or several large breaths afterwards or open your mouth, you've paused for too long.
The number of seconds you timed is your Control Pause (CP).
For the most consistent results, measure your CP under similar conditions each time. First thing in the morning, before you get busy with your day, is ideal.
Carbon dioxide and your breath
One simple way to assess your breathing is to measure how comfortable your body is with carbon dioxide (CO₂), the gas that is a main signal driving your urge to breathe.
It also gives us an opportunity to understand how your breath shows up in your body; how fast it is, how much air you're moving and whether your breathing sits high in your chest or lower.
Your CP is the number of seconds you can comfortably hold your breath from the end of a normal exhalation until you experience your first definite desire to breathe. This is not a test of how long you can physically hold your breath.
We're not interested in pushing yourself to your maximum. We're interested in your body's first clear response as carbon dioxide begins to rise during the breath hold. After the hold, your breathing should return to normal, calm, controlled breathing and through your nose. In other words, you should be breathing the same way you were before the hold.
Use the timer here to help time your Control Pause in seconds. Or alternatively you can use the timer app on your mobile device or smart watch.
What does your CP tell you?
Your Control Pause gives us a starting point and helps your practitioner understand where to begin when individualising your program. A lower CP means we need to take things a little easier and not dive in too deeply straight away. We’ll also measure your CP regularly, including at the beginning of sessions, so we can track how your breathing is responding and improving over time.
For many people, it’s possible to see noticeable changes in their CP within the first few weeks. However, your score can naturally vary depending on factors such as sleep, stress, illness, the time of day you do the CP, and even where you are in your menstrual cycle.
A Control Pause of under 10–15 seconds is often associated with dysfunctional breathing habits, while ideally, our goal is to consistently sit somewhere around 20–25 seconds. This is where better breathing starts to become more established — and where we can begin to build a respiratory system that works for you, rather than against you.
Fun fact: Dr Buteyko originally set a Control Pause of 40 seconds as the goal, even for his critically ill patients.
The journey to increase your CP
Many people with unhelpful breathing habits or certain health conditions may have a lower tolerance to rising CO₂. This can contribute to a stronger urge to breathe and may be associated with breathing that is faster or greater in volume than the body requires. Some of my clients with conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and Long COVID have also presented with lower Control Pauses.
This is where breathing retraining can help. Through exercises that encourage you to breathe less, rather than more, you can gradually become more comfortable with the sensations associated with rising CO₂. Over time, this supports a more functional breathing pattern.
At Breathscape, two of the key tools we use are Breathing Light and breath holds, including breath holds following an exhalation. These exercises are designed to gradually increase your comfort with carbon dioxide while helping you develop more controlled and efficient breathing habits in everyday life.
Remember
Your CP is not a competition.
Don't try to hold your breath for as long as possible. The goal is to measure the point where your body gives you its first clear signal
to breathe, then return to calm, normal nasal breathing.
Your CP is simply one tool we can use to understand your breathing, individualise your program and track changes as you progress
through your Breathscape journey.
