The Beuteyko Breathing Technique is an innovative approach to improving health in the realm of alternative and complementary medicine. The Beuteyko Breathing Association offers excellent information about this approach as well as its founder, Dr Konstantin Buteyko, a Russian physician.

The approach is specific to individuals who have breathing problems. The Beuteyko Breathing Technique helps by providing helpful exercises that help the patient to control his or her breathing patterns in a way that lessens the severity and the frequency that they experience symptoms of the breathing problem.
Elements of the Beuteyko Breathing Technique
The breathing exercises are just part of the technique. In addition to learning how to control breathing patterns, patients are also encouraged to make healthy dietary choices, improve physical exercise routines, and address emotional elements that may come into play.
Many fail to see the deep connection between breathing and emotional states but when you think about it, they are very closely tied. When a person is very upset, he or she usually experiences an onset of physical symptoms that correspond with the emotional state; among the most prominent are breathing problems. Consider what happens during a panic attack.
Emotions and Breathing
Any person who has experienced a panic attack knows all too well about the breathing problems that are associated with the emotional response. The person is unable to breath, feeling faint or dizzy. The inability to breathe feeds into the emotions off fear and panic.
This is a drastic example of how our emotions influence our breathing patterns. In most cases, we fail to notice that our emotions play a role in our breaths. Excess stress and anxiety can lead to breathing disruptions that ripple out into the physical state.
Using the Buteyko Technique
Using the Buteyko Breathing Technique involves learning how to breath naturally. It appears as if people may tend to breathe too repetitively, using shallow breaths. The approach seeks to help people learn how to breathe less rapidly with greater delivery of oxygen into the body. The process involves:
Controlling muscles used for respiration
Relaxing the muscles used for respiration
Relating external influences to breathing problems
Become tolerant to feelings of breathlessness without panicking
Incorporate a holistic approach to treatment
What Conditions are Treated?
The Buteyko Technique may be useful in treating a number of breathing problems and it is best used as an augmentation to orthodox medical approaches. Some patients find that they see marked improvements using this therapy, requiring less medication and fewer doctor visits.
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- Snoring
- Pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Sinusitis
- Panic attacks
- Rhinitis
- Other breathing problems
The program is commonly used to complement medical interventions with considerable success. However, there are a lack of clinical studies to support this claim, as promising as it is.
The Beuteyko Breathing Technique is an innovative approach to improving health in the realm of alternative and complementary medicine. The Beuteyko Breathing Association offers excellent information about this approach as well as its founder, Dr Konstantin Buteyko, a Russian physician.
The approach is specific to individuals who have breathing problems. The Beuteyko Breathing Technique helps by providing helpful exercises that help the patient to control his or her breathing patterns in a way that lessens the severity and the frequency that they experience symptoms of the breathing problem.
Elements of the Beuteyko Breathing Technique
The breathing exercises are just part of the technique. In addition to learning how to control breathing patterns, patients are also encouraged to make healthy dietary choices, improve physical exercise routines, and address emotional elements that may come into play.
Many fail to see the deep connection between breathing and emotional states but when you think about it, they are very closely tied. When a person is very upset, he or she usually experiences an onset of physical symptoms that correspond with the emotional state; among the most prominent are breathing problems. Consider what happens during a panic attack.
Emotions and Breathing
Any person who has experienced a panic attack knows all too well about the breathing problems that are associated with the emotional response. The person is unable to breath, feeling faint or dizzy. The inability to breathe feeds into the emotions off fear and panic.
This is a drastic example of how our emotions influence our breathing patterns. In most cases, we fail to notice that our emotions play a role in our breaths. Excess stress and anxiety can lead to breathing disruptions that ripple out into the physical state.
Using the Buteyko Technique
Using the Buteyko Breathing Technique involves learning how to breath naturally. It appears as if people may tend to breathe too repetitively, using shallow breaths. The approach seeks to help people learn how to breathe less rapidly with greater delivery of oxygen into the body. The process involves:
Controlling muscles used for respiration
Relaxing the muscles used for respiration
Relating external influences to breathing problems
Become tolerant to feelings of breathlessness without panicking
Incorporate a holistic approach to treatment
What Conditions are Treated?
The Buteyko Technique may be useful in treating a number of breathing problems and it is best used as an augmentation to orthodox medical approaches. Some patients find that they see marked improvements using this therapy, requiring less medication and fewer doctor visits.
The program is commonly used to complement medical interventions with considerable success. However, there are a lack of clinical studies to support this claim, as promising as it is.