Breath IS life...

This Winter has been bitterly cold, and I have had many requests for Buteyko information as folks struggle with their breathing in the colder months. 
Dr Rudolph Steiner, who also founded the Waldorf method of education once said '...A secret activity of healing resides in the breathing system, and all the secrets of healing are at the same time secrets of breathing.' ('The Four Seasons and the Archangels' Lecture 5, Para's 16&17). How true that is when one looks at it from Professor Buteyko's perspective. 

We can live without food for many weeks, without water for several days, but without breath for only a few short minutes. Air - and thereby breathing itself - is so vital to all existence that it is the reason why Earth is the only one planet able to sustain life in our entire galaxy, yet we completely disregard our breathing and the way we breathe as important. 
Why do we take our breathing so for granted? Is it because it is an automatic function that we usually do not consider until we have difficulty breathing, or is it because no one has told us that there is a better way to breathe than the way we do now? As evolved beings we are constantly striving for improvement. We look to improving our circumstances, our social skills, our sporting performance, our health - heck, even our cars and mobile phones! So why not also improve our breathing - especially if the benefits are better health, less stress and better quality of life?

The cause of breathing difficulties and many illnesses lie in hidden hyperventilation, but yet we continue to do deep breathing exercises and believe that the key to successful relaxation lies in deep, slow breathing. 
No one ever tells us why this is considered good practise, or what studies have proven that this is a good method of reducing stress and improving health, although telling people to breatheless will always encourage doubts as to how that can be good for the health! Luckily, we can back this statement up with plenty of studies to prove that the Buteyko method works. In fact, the method is proven to reduce the symptoms of asthma by 75% - which in the words of Cornell University respiratory physician and researcher, Dr. Robert Cowie, "is about as good as it gets for any asthma treatment". 

Asthma and sleep apnoea are considered breathing problems that are incurable managed only by drugs and devices that artificially open the airways and reduce inflammation. Yet if these conditions are breathing problems, then why do no treatments other than the Buteyko Method consider changing the rate and volume of the breathing as a viable solution?
Despite our efforts to discover a new way to treat our asthma, snoring, sleep apnoea, allergies and panic, we are so conditioned to think that a pill, potion or device is the answer - if not allopathic then homeopathic, if not chemical then something natural...something external will fix the problem. Yet all the answers lie within. 

Lao-Tsu famously said that "The perfect person breathes as though he is not breathing". Master your breathing and you cannot fail to master your health.