Healthy breathing is breathing that meets the body's needs and provides optimal conditions for good health. We know that one of the best ways for good health is by fasting or restricting diet. Our family dogs and cats go off their food when feeling unwell. Clinical observations by Professor Buteyko showed that by reducing breathing it allowed the body to return to good health.

The common thought is that the more we breathe the healthier we will be. But Professor Buteyko, over many years of research, showed that the sicker we became the larger the volume of air we needed. Physiological norms apply to pulse, blood pressure, sugar levels, temperature and to breathing.

The function of breathing is to maintain a very specific ratio of O2 to CO2. Ideally, at rest, an adult should breathe lightly and only through the nose. A healthy person can perform exercise and continue to breathe through the nose, whilst a sick person requires larger breaths almost all of the time. Therefore healthy breathing is;
 

•	The ability to breathe comfortably
•	Breathing easily
•	The body feels invigorated
•	The body and mind are calm
•	The body is able to adapt the breathing to accommodate the various degrees of physical activity and stress with ease
•	The ability to nose breathe most of the time
•	Breathing QUIETLY
•	Good use of the diaphragm allowing slower, more satisfying breaths
•	Restful, satisfying sleep

Breathing can be disturbed by stress, exercise, poor posture, infection, some medications, diet, poor instruction, weather and chemicals. This is noticeable when a person is not able to breathe comfortably through their nose and needs to breathe through their mouth.

Mouth breathing leads to hyperventilation. The body's response to this is to restrict breathing even more by making more mucus, creating swelling in the nasal passages and spasm of the smooth muscle rings of the bronchi. Professor Buteyko lists sinusitis, rhinitis, nasal polyps, asthma and chronic bronchitis as a result.

People who hyperventilate are very quick to respond to any decrease in levels of CO2 with increased respiration thereby overbreathing and further depleting their levels of CO2.

Disturbed breathing is often in the upper chest only using the secondary muscles of respiration. Rapid upper chest breathing is the classic sign of hyperventilation. People who regularly suffer with asthma breathe approximately 15 times per minute and during the attacks can increase this to over 20 breaths per minute.

Exertion of exercise in people who overbreathe can lead to palpitations, tightness of the chest and many other symptoms. There is excess production of lactic acid and their fitness level, for they too will hyperventilate. Low levels of CO2 makes our nervous system more excitable. Brain wave patterns change reflecting low uptake of O2 as a result of the low CO2 levels.