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Breathing Method is actually a very simple set of tools

and techniques used to correct chronic patterns of

hyperventilation, or overbreathing. The method was

developed in Russia in the 1950’s by Dr. Konstantin P.

Buteyko, who had a fascination with the breath, and

spent hundreds of hours quietly observing the

breathing patterns of patients. He noticed that

hyperventilation was one of the primary symptoms of

illness, and theorized that it contributed to carbon

dioxide depletion in the body. Over the next 30 years

his theories were tested in medical diagnostic

laboratories throughout Russia, and time and time

again he was proven correct. When hyperventilation

was corrected and carbon dioxide levels in the body

were increased, he and his colleagues witnessed

100% improvement of conditions such as hypertension,

angina pectoris (lack of blood supply to the heart

muscles) and asthma. In 1981, after a successful

clinical trial with asthmatic children, it was adopted as

the treatment of choice in pediatric asthma and is still

widely used to this day.

Our human bodies are but a microcosm of the world at

large. As the entire planet has literally sped up (Utne

Reader, March-April 1997, p.41) in the last 300 years,

as airplanes, fast cars, fast foods and instantaneous

global communication via the internet have become

the norm, so have our bodies had to adapt to this fast

paced life style by compensating with our respiratory

system. It has been estimated that in the last decade

of the 20th century, up to 90% of individuals throughout

the world are chronic “hidden hyperventilators”, which

means that it is not apparent to most of us that we are

hyperventilating, if in fact we are. Reversing this

pattern of overbreathing not only can restore

physiochemical balance in the body, but can take us to

an inner place of quiet and calm as we pay attention to

each and every breath we take.

The German spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle says,

“Attention is the key to transformation” and talks of the

importance of “inhabiting the body”. It has been widely

accepted over the centuries in both Aryuvedic and

Oriental medicine that breathing is the route to longevity

and emotional stability, and has great restorative and

regenerative powers for persons suffering from illness

and debilitation as it is a key element in immune system

health. Tolle also says in his book The Power Of Now,

“Great strengthening of the immune system occurs

when you inhabit the body. It's as if every cell awakens

and rejoices - the body loves the attention. Most illness

creeps in when you're not present in the body. The

more consciousness you bring into the body, the stronger

the immune system. This is a potent form of self healing.”

As we learn to regulate and calm the overstimulated

breath, so we take responsibility for our own healing.

The Buteyko Breathing Method is also known as

Eucapnic Breathing. “Eucapnia” is defined as “the

presence of normal amounts of carbon dioxide in the

blood”; this is what makes this breathing method stand

apart from the many breathing methods that are taught

and practiced worldwide. It is by inducing intermittent

periods of hypoxia (low oxygen) on a regular basis,

that carbon dioxide is able to increase steadily over

time. The use of intermittent hypoxic breathing training

has been developed by other Russian doctors, and

Professor Assya Kolchinskaja of the Commission for

Advanced Medical Technologies of the Ministry of

Health Care of the Russian Federation says, “The cell

of the person after being given hypoxic training will

utilise even more oxygen than in the case of being

given hyperoxia.” In one research trial in which 49

infertile women were given hypoxic training (involving

breathing an air mixture low in oxygen daily over short

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To meet everything and everyone through stillness

instead of mental noise is the greatest gift you can offer

to the universe. - Eckhart Tolle

T H E B U T E Y K O B R E A T H I N G M E T H O D

Dorisse Neale

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periods of time), 48 of the 49 women became pregnant

and went on to deliver healthy babies.

One of the essential points to know about this much

needed chemical is that carbon dioxide is the body’s

natural bronchodilator (opens up the air passages of the

lungs) and is a potent vasodilator (relaxes the blood

vessels). A body low in carbon dioxide will manifest

spasming of the smooth muscle which lines the blood

vessels; this means that there will be a decreased

ability for blood to circulate, from the brain to the

pancreas to the toes and everywhere in between. This

fact stands behind the basis of “eucapnic” breathing:

when carbon dioxide levels are increased, circulation

and oxygenation improve throughout the body.

The most efficient means of slowing carbon dioxide

release is by slowing the breathing rate and depth.

Breathing in and out always through the nose (which is

the beginning of the respiratory system) will insure a

healthy maintenance of CO2, as rapid exhaling through

the mouth depletes CO2 more rapidly than any other

factor. Chronic depletion of carbon dioxide will cause

the body to begin compensating through a complex

series of events, which signal the beginning of disease.

Essentially it is a highly developed dance of balance which

is going on within the physiology of our cells at every

moment of our life. Breathing is happening to us whether

we’re sound asleep or going about our daily lives.

The relationship between oxygen and carbon dioxide is

a well-known scientific fact. In any physiology textbook

we will find Bohr’s Law, which states that “oxygen can

only be released into an acid environment”, and carbon

dioxide is that acid component of our blood. To visualize

this, make a tight fist. Imagine this fist to be a red blood

cell, holding on to oxygen as it travels throughout the

blood stream. The only way that fist can relax, or that

the oxygen can be released, is if there are adequate

amounts of carbon dioxide. Because of this, a person

being checked for the oxygen content of their blood can

show a 98% – 99% O2, yet still be extremely short of

breath and acutely or chronically ill.

Carbon dioxide is the chemical which allows the

body to utilize oxygen efficiently. When oxygen

is utilized efficiently, we are able to function at a

more vibrant state of internal homeostasis, and well

being is maximized. When oxygen is deficient, we go

into a state of anaerobic metabolism, which

ultimately draws resources away from certain cells in

order to support others. It is estimated that about

85% of the work of maintaining normal pH in the

body is carried out by the respiratory system; the

kidneys respond by their regulation of bicarbonate,

which is the alkaline component. These two organs,

the lungs and the kidneys, work together to keep this

delicate balance of internal equilibrium.

The respiratory system is the only system of our

bodies of which we have both voluntary and

involuntary control of at any given moment. During

acute trauma, shock or surprise, our sympathetic

nervous system kicks in with the well-known “fight or

flight” reaction: blood pressure increases, our pain

threshold increases, blood gets diverted away from

the extremities towards the head and torso, and

respiration increases. During meditation, all of the

reverse is true, and breathing automatically slows

down. And, whenever we choose, we can increase

or decrease our breathing voluntarily, although it’s

more difficult to lower our blood pressure at will, or

decide to send more blood to the brain when we’re

trying to memorize something important.

Other stressors such as dehydration, nutritional

deficiencies, over-stimulation of our senses with

constant noise, lights, temperature regulating and

illness will contribute to overbreathing, since

breathing is the place where our body automatically

speeds up in order to compensate. So, as human

beings have created an external “world out of

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balance” as reflected in planetary changes that are

taking place, we have internalized this “world out of

balance” by our increasingly frequent dysfunctional

breathing patterns.

The Control Pause is a term which Dr. Buteyko coined,

and is used to measure the pause at the end of the

exhaled breath; that pause that exists before our

respiratory system automatically takes another breath

and “breathes” us. This breath is triggered by the carbon

dioxide threshold at the base of the brain and also by

increasing hypoxia as we hold a breath. If carbon dioxide

levels are low, there will be a short control pause; if they

are high, the control pause is longer. The control pause

is a diagnostic tool used to measure the approximate

amount of carbon dioxide in the alveoli of the lungs at

any given time. One of the goals then becomes to

increase the control pause over time by doing exercises

designed to increase the body's CO2 threshold, and

therefore it's ability to retain carbon dioxide and ultimately

relax the body.

References to the “pause” can be found in literature

throughout the world. In Yogic traditions, it is known as

“the place of the no breath”. In studies done in India

measuring breath rates and depth of yogis, most were

found to have small, slow breaths as they maintained a

meditative state. It is during the “pause” that the body

can relax completely with absolutely nothing else going

on save internal physiological functioning; the skeletal

and muscular systems are at rest and there is a moment

or longer of total peace and quiet internally. If we can be

truly present in these moments, if we can bring our

awareness and conciousness into this stillness, then we

become connected with our internal, intuitive wisdom and

power and can ultimately release the need so many of us

have to look externally for our sense of self and who we

are in the world. As Franz Kafka, the Austrian poet and

philosopher said, “You do not need to leave your room.

Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even

listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and

ordinary. The world will freely offer itself to be unmasked,

it has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

All it takes to master the Buteyko Breathing Method is

patience, plenty of slow time, commitment and a

willingness to go beyond our comfort zone in order to

experience our true self, where no emotion,

psychological trauma or intellectual story exists.

Herein lies the challenge, and therefore the potential

for it to become a “psychospiritual practice”. Author

and teacher John Ramsey in his book Clarity says,

“The Self is perfect. It is beyond right and wrong. It is

even beyond life and death. The Self produces all

that we experience”. By slowing the breath, by

becoming aware of and then decreasing the need to

quickly take in another breath as soon as we have

exhaled, we come closer to a place of stillness within,

and closer to knowing the Self.

The Buteyko Breathing Method offers us one of the

greatest tools to retrain our breathing towards a goal

of increased physiological health and well being and

repair of physiological damage already done. It gives

us an opportunity to fully embrace the present as we

quietly observe and slow our breathing, as we learn

to embrace and enjoy the pauses between the

breaths. The well known and much loved medical

doctor from India, Deepak Chopra, reminds us of the

Vedic principle of economy of effort “do less and

accomplish more”. He says, “If you embrace the

present and become one with it, and merge with it,

you will experience a fire, a glow, a sparkle of ecstasy

throbbing in every living sentient being. As you begin

to experience this exultation of spirit in everything

that is alive, as you become intimate with it, joy will

be born within you, and you will drop the terrible

burdens and encumbrances of defensiveness,

resentment and hurtfulness. Only then will you

become free.”

Please contact the author for permission to reprint any

or all of this article.

T H E B U T E Y K O B R E A T H I N G M E T H O D

Dorisse Neale

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