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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Doesn't breathing take care of itself ?
We are generally unaware of our breathing. We
breathe "in" and "out" with our intelligent body taking
care of us allowing us to get on with our daily lives.
Many people when asked to stop and think about their
breathing become anxious, so avoid thinking about it.
While we are breathing we are alive and if it stops we
die, so why think about it?
This for many people is their only concern regarding
breathing and yet we speak about breathing in our
everyday language. We experience our life through
breathing and often use expressions such as; |
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It
was so beautiful it took my breath away |
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The scenery was breath taking |
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I need a breath of fresh air |
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Give me some room to breathe |
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I need to catch my breath |
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She gave a sigh of relief |
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Stop breathing down my neck |
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I waited with baited breath |
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Don't breathe a word |
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I
am out of breath |
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The more we breathe the more O2 we will get and
therefore the healthier we will be? |
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Not necessarily. At rest breathing should be soft and
silent through the nose. While exercising the breath is
heavier / faster but should be through the nose for both
"in" and "out" breath. When we discover that we are
breathing through our mouth then we are breathing too
much for our body to use the O2 well. |
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As an asthmatic I don't get enough O2. How will
breathing less give me more O2? |
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People with asthma can breathe 12 to 15 litres of air
per minute which is 2 to 3 times the normal. This causes
a decrease in normal levels of CO2 which reduces the
release of O2 from the red blood cells causing O2
starvation of the tissues - Bohr Effect. |
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Will I lose weight? |
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When healthy breathing is restored, metabolism of food
is more difficult. If you are overweight a reduction in
weight occurs. If you are underweight, weight will
normalise. |
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Isn't CO2 bad for us? |
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Co2 is just as important as O2. Without it our bodies
are severely compromised, even to the point of death.
But too much is also detrimental. |
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The air we breathe is made up of; |
| 78.62% |
Nitrogen |
| 20.84% |
Oxygen |
| 0.04% |
Carbon Dioxide |
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The air in the alveoli is made up of; |
| 74.9% |
Nitrogen |
| 13.6% |
Oxygen |
| 5.3% |
Carbon Dioxide |
| 6.2% |
Water |
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The air we breathe out is made up of; |
| 74.5% |
Nitrogen |
| 15.7% |
Oxygen |
| 3.6% |
Carbon Dioxide |
| 6.2% |
Water |
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The measurement is taken at sea level. (Source: Guyton
and Hall - Human Physiology) |
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Does it matter whether you breathe through your nose
or your mouth? |
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Yes it does. Nature gave us a filtering system called a
nose. The nose helps to regulate the volume or air we
breathe. The nose cleans, warms and humidifies the air
preparing it for the lungs. The mouth can do none of
this. If you breathe through the mouth there is a drying
of saliva leading to an increase of bacteria in the
mouth and throat which can lead to gum disease, tooth
decay and sore throats. So who wants to breathe through
their mouth? |
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Refer to effects of Chronic Mouth Breathing. |
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We have been taught to take 6 deep breaths "in"
through the nose and "out" through the mouth to help us
relax. Is this correct? |
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Some yoga breathing exercises may involve this type of
breathing which are supervised. Outside of this, this
type of breathing may lead to hyperventilation. It's the
volume of air you are breathing per minute.
There is confusion over the term "deep breathing" and
"shallow breathing". It is our understanding that
breathing should be "in" and "out" through the nose.
For many of us the instructions given at home, school
and in exercise classes have been to take a deep breathe
in through the nose, down to the tummy and then to
breathe out heavily through the mouth to get rid of all
the stale air.
We believe that breathing should be comfortable, deep in
the body using the diaphragm and not the upper chest, at
rest. There is a feeling of calm and wellbeing with
relaxation in the neck and shoulder muscles. Whereas
shallow breathing is fast, uncomfortable, unsatisfying
and sometimes noisy, breathing in the upper chest. Along
with this comes tightness and a feeling of stress in the
upper chest giving us a feeling of disease. |
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When we take lots of deep breaths we feel dizzy
because we are not used to so much oxygen. What cause
this? |
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The dizziness is caused by lack of O2. Deep breathing
may lead to hyperventilation and therefore we have upset
the O2 / CO2 balance and less O2 is reaching the brain
making us feel dizzy. If we keep breathing in this
manner we will faint, the body's way of returning to
normal breathing. |
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How do I know if my breathing I poor? |
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By answering the
questionnaire |
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How do I correct my breathing? |
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To bring our CO2 levels back to normal firstly we have
to become aware of what our breathing is doing
throughout the day and if our mouth is open or closed.
Secondly, we learn to focus on the breath by doing
specific Buteyko healthy breathing exercises. Thirdly,
integrating quieter, smaller in quantity breathing
through the nose comfortably with all our daily
activities.
Refer to
what
is the Buteyko Method? |
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How can I breathe through my nose when it is
constantly blocking? |
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There are simple breath holding techniques which help to
unblock the nose. This is one of the first things you
learn in the Buteyko Method. There are other effective
healthy breathing techniques for clearing the nose if a
person is anxious about holding their breath. |
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What triggers hyperventilation? |
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Overeating |
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Some foods e.g. chocolate,
caffeine and cows milk |
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Allergies |
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Chemicals e.g. perfumes,
spray or deodorant, petrol and paint fumes, food
additives |
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Lack of exercise or being
stationary for long periods. |
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Too much exercise or
excessive activity |
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Prolonged sleep |
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Poor sleep hygiene due to
chronic pain, snoring partner or crying babies /
infants |
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Temperature change e.g. warm
to cold |
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Overheating, hot stuffy
environments |
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Some medications e.g.
bronchodilators |
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Poor posture |
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Smoking |
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Alcohol |
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Awareness of Posture and Movement of the Body for
Comfortable Breathing |
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It is important for the skeleton to be flexible to allow
freedom of breathing. This requires awareness of how we
use ourselves with any activity. |
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When there is tension in the body; |
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Tight stomach muscles |
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Tight / shrugged / elevated
shoulders |
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Clenched hands |
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Tight feet |
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The breathing will be compromised. To assist we need; |
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A healthy diet |
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Good posture |
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Mobile joints - requires
exercise |
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Strong muscles - requires
exercise |
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The following methods increase our awareness of how
we use ourselves in relation to our breathing.
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Tai Chi -
encourages nose breathing with movement. |
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Qi Gong - uses
conscious focus on breath and movement. |
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Feldenkrais
Method Alexander Technique - both Feldenkrais and
Alexander teach awareness of movement. |
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Hatha / Dru
Yoga - Pranayama uses conscious focus on and control
of the breath with aim to reduce breathing. |
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Trager Method -
teaches awareness of movement and how softly that
movement can be made. |
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What is normal breathing? |
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At rest we should breathe 4 to 6 litres of air per
minute i.e. 8 to 12 breaths per minute of ½ litre per
breath.
For children;
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4 to 8 years - 18 to 24
breaths per minute |
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8 to 12 years - 16 to 20
breaths per minute |
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12 to 18 years - 8 to 14
breaths per minute |
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What is hyperventilation? |
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Hyperventilation is defined as ventilation in excess of
metabolic requirements. Hyperventilation is breathing
more than 6 litres of air per minute at rest. |
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Why is it important to breathe correctly? |
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The gas mix in the air that we breathe, 21% oxygen,
0.03% carbon dioxide is different to the gas mix we need
to maintain in our lungs, 14% oxygen and 5.6% to 6.5%
carbon dioxide. The body creates carbon dioxide through
metabolic processes and the lungs have the role of a
regulator of the gases to maintain correct body
functioning. |
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Hyperventilation - what happens? |
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If we breathe too much, we exhale more carbon dioxide
than we produce, creating a deficit of carbon dioxide. A
clinical trial in Australia in 1994 showed
hyperventilation in all asthmatic subjects. They
breathed on average about three times the recommended
volume of air per minute at rest. |
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What is the role of carbon dioxide in the body? |
1. Carbon dioxide is our body's natural bronchodilator,
blood vessel dilator and smooth muscle dilator.
2. Carbon dioxide is the body's most important buffer in
the regulation of the body's acid / alkali balance. Low
levels of carbon dioxide may lead to respiratory
alkalosis. The alkaline shifts interfere with metabolic
processes and causes a weakening in the immune system,
which can manifest itself in allergies, susceptibility
to colds, flues and viruses, infections.
3. Lowered levels of carbon dioxide strengthen the bond
between haemoglobin (in red blood cells) and oxygen
therefore making it difficult for sufficient oxygenation
of the body. Therefore we may suffer from oxygen
starvation (hypoxia) regardless of the amount of oxygen
present if there is insufficient carbon dioxide.
Oxygen starvation causes a false feeling of
insufficiency of air, shortness of breath - this prompts
the person to take bigger breaths. But the greater the
volume of air breathed the greater the oxygen starvation
can become and the viscous cycle is completed.
If carbon dioxide levels in the body falls below 3% the
whole organism dies. Therefore the body tries hard to
guard against excessive loss of carbon dioxide. The body
creates a defence mechanism that manifests itself in
constriction of the pathways that serve carbon dioxide
elimination e.g. blocked nose, bronchospasm, polyp
growth, increased mucus system, aimed at preventing
further loss of carbon dioxide as well as attempting to
raise these spasms create a shortage of oxygen supply to
the brain, heart etc. which increases the oxygen
starvation in the body. There is a strict physiological
law:
The greater the overbreathing - the less oxygen reaches
the body's cells.
The aim of the Buteyko Method
The Buteyko Method aims at normalising the breathing
rate and depth and therefore the carbon dioxide levels
so that metabolic processes can be restored and healing
can occur. As a result the symptoms of overbreathing are
greatly reduced or eliminated.
How does the Buteyko Application for Healthy Breathing
work?
We work with adults and children suffering from chronic
overbreathing which may be associated with asthma,
sinusitis, emphysema, bronchitis, chronic anxiety and
panic attacks, snoring, chronic mouth breathing and
abnormal orofacial development in children.
Our work teaches correct muscular function in breathing
and the relationship of this to physical activity,
emotions and environmental stresses.
We combine the work of Professor Buteyko of Russia with
the Feldenkrais Method, Yoga, basic Pilates, relaxation
techniques and our 10 years of research into breathing -
teaching as well as our many years working as health
professionals in hospitals and private practice
preceding this.
We support the Asthma Foundation's guidelines for the
use of medication.
We see people individually and work at a pace suitable
for that person's needs over a period of 2 to 3 months
and longer if necessary. |
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