It's all about conscious breathing

Considering the effort of working the Buteyko method, it is slightly ironic that its main proponent in the West, Alexander Stalmatski should state that the optimum aim of a Buteyko student is a light breath into the abdomen via the nose....

But for many asthmatics this is a tall order...and the rigourous twice a day routine of what are known as control pauses and maximum pauses.

The basic Buteyko unit is the control pause. Which goes like this, you inhale gently to the count of two and exhale to the count of three. Then you hold your breath on completion of the exhale. An average control pause is about 25 seconds; goodish health 35 seconds; and above that you are hale and hearty!

Asthmatics in the training I did three years ago were lucky if they could reach ten seconds.

Professor Konstantin Buteyko discovered that control pauses recalibrated the carbon dioxide oxygen balance in the body and restored healthy breathing. He also maintained that this exercise would improve a whole host of other ailments.

Asthma, it seems, is just the body presenting symptoms of deeper underlying physical, and perhaps psychological, problems.

I'll work on a better explanation in the next week and post it here.

Meanwhile, this is how the Buteyko programme works. Twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, you find a chair where you can sit comfortably upright, together with your chart, where you log your performance, and a stop watch. First thing is to take your pulse and clock that on the sheet, then it's time for your first control pause. See above. You jot down your seconds and then set the stop watch ticking. After five minutes, it's time for your first maximum pause. You start exactly as per the control pause, but then when you are about to burst, you get up and walk briskly around the room or up and down a convenient corridor. You should be hitting a level about 20 seconds greater than your control pause. Then it's time for another five minutes relaxation and then onto your second control pause.

In total you do four control pauses and three maximum pauses - each separated by a five minute gap.

At the end of the regime you take your pulse again, which typically will have slowed by five to ten beats per minute.

Just what the purpose of the maximum pause is I'm not that clear about.... But over the forty minute period the length of my control pauses could rise by as much as 20 seconds, so the max pause has a warm-up and training effect.

My teacher, Margaret Brookes, said the measure of progress was always to look at the first control pause of the day - ideally 35 seconds or more...

Buteyko is a fantastic system - far my powerful than yoga when specifically targetted at asthma.

The Ozies, at a Queensland University, have done some pretty impressive experiments revealing the efficacy of the method...

Ultimately, it is all about conscious breathing, and conscious breathing is the gateway to conscious life.