Blocked nose
Chronically blocked noses are common, so one of the first aims of the Buteyko Method is to re-establish comfortable nasal breathing. Almost all participants achieve this during the first week.
The nose has a number of very important roles. It prepares the air for the lungs to use in ways that breathing through the mouth cannot. The functions of the nose include filtering, warming and humidifying the air we breathe, so by the time the air reaches the lungs it is clean, at body temperature and has sufficient water vapour in it to avoid drying out of the airways.
Mouth breathing draws dirty, cold, dry, and potentially germ-laden air directly into the lungs. The larger volumes of air inhaled through the mouth disrupt the normal gas balance within the body; unfiltered air carries with it airborne allergens and dust particles which irritate and inflame the airways; cold dry air dries out the mucosal tissue leading to inflammation, dehydration and greater volumes of thicker, more 'tacky' mucus
The nose has a number of very important roles. It prepares the air for the lungs to use in ways that breathing through the mouth cannot. The functions of the nose include filtering, warming and humidifying the air we breathe, so by the time the air reaches the lungs it is clean, at body temperature and has sufficient water vapour in it to avoid drying out of the airways.
Mouth breathing draws dirty, cold, dry, and potentially germ-laden air directly into the lungs. The larger volumes of air inhaled through the mouth disrupt the normal gas balance within the body; unfiltered air carries with it airborne allergens and dust particles which irritate and inflame the airways; cold dry air dries out the mucosal tissue leading to inflammation, dehydration and greater volumes of thicker, more 'tacky' mucus
Breathlessness
Breathlessness, or shortness of breath, is a common symptom experienced by many people. Our general assumption is that we must not be breathing deeply enough; that somehow the tightness around our chest is restricting our breathing and making it too shallow, making us breathless.
Breathlessness is principally an outcome of poor oxygen exchange. Most people, understandably, assume that they require a greater volume of air to reach the lungs to bring more oxygen in. Paradoxically, the greater volume of air that is pushed in and out of the lungs the less oxygen will be available for use by our tissue cells.
To understand this more clearly: if deep breathing enabled greater oxygen availability then blowing up balloons or opening your mouth and breathing quickly and as deeply as possible would leave you feeling totally refreshed. But these activities can quickly make us breathless, light headed and dizzy. Thus over breathing reduces the supply of oxygenated blood to the brain and if we were to continue, despite the warning signals, we may very well faint.
Paradoxically deep breathing does not deliver greater amounts of oxygen to our bodies, on the contrary, it delivers less. Buteyko overcomes symptoms of breathlessness by normalising the volume of air breathed, thereby maximising oxygen exchange.
The more we breathe the less oxygen reaches our cells
Breathlessness is principally an outcome of poor oxygen exchange. Most people, understandably, assume that they require a greater volume of air to reach the lungs to bring more oxygen in. Paradoxically, the greater volume of air that is pushed in and out of the lungs the less oxygen will be available for use by our tissue cells.
To understand this more clearly: if deep breathing enabled greater oxygen availability then blowing up balloons or opening your mouth and breathing quickly and as deeply as possible would leave you feeling totally refreshed. But these activities can quickly make us breathless, light headed and dizzy. Thus over breathing reduces the supply of oxygenated blood to the brain and if we were to continue, despite the warning signals, we may very well faint.
Paradoxically deep breathing does not deliver greater amounts of oxygen to our bodies, on the contrary, it delivers less. Buteyko overcomes symptoms of breathlessness by normalising the volume of air breathed, thereby maximising oxygen exchange.
The more we breathe the less oxygen reaches our cells