BREATHING RETRAINING
Breathing - it's one of those things we take for granted. 'It's just something that you do ... isn't it? I mean ... if you are alive ... you MUST BE breathing???' WRONG!!! You may be alive ... and you may be breathing, BUT you may not be breathing correctly.
In today's society, despite all our developments in medicine, our rising levels of pollution and high stress lives and environments are making breathing difficulties more common.
We develop poor breathing habits over time, without realizing it. Posture, diet, our environment, emotions can all impact our breathing patterns. Our breathing patterns also influence how we feel on a daily basis. In many instances, dysfunctional breathers, use their mouth, instead of their noses to breathe. They will use their chest muscles and not their diaphragms (see the chest or shoulders heaving with each breath). They are noisy breathers or eaters. They are always tired ... have poor mental clarity and short attention spans ... get sleepy in the afternoons ... can have high blood pressure, chest pains or a tightness across the chest, feelings of panic or anxiety. They find they may hold their breath sometimes ... always feel breathless and so on. In many ways, you are hyperventilating every minute, every hour of every day ... without realizing it. (this can sometimes be referred to as Hyperventilation Syndrome).
Breathing properly is not just about oxygen. It is also about carbon dioxide and ensuring that the balance between the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide is maintained to ensure an optimum PH balance within the blood. Yes - we must have some carbon dioxide in our bodies to survive. It isn't the baddie that we are led to believe. (You might be thinking of Carbon MONoxide.)
Less than normal levels of carbon dioxide in the blood leads to the medical condition known as "Hypocapnia". Hypocapnia develops when the lungs remove more carbon dioxide than is produced in the tissues, resulting in the pH balance of your blood becoming too alkaline (can also be referred to as Respiratory Alkalosis).
According to Jackie A Hayes, MD, FCCP, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; "Respiratory alkalosis is the most common acid-base abnormality observed in patients who are critically ill. It is associated with numerous illnesses and is a common finding in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation (CPAP)."
(Conversely, just because we know you are now totally interested, when you hyperventilate, your can suffer from HypERcapnia - which is when the blood pH balance becomes Acidic from too much Carbon Dioxide in the blood: This can be known as Respiratory Acidosis.)
The way we breathe controls the balance of gas and gas exchange in the alveoli. Imbalances in carbon dioxide levels within the body can lead to all sorts of conditions. Most of us develop dysfunctional breathing patterns over a long period of time, without even realising or noticing - until the problems start!
Breathing Retraining is a series of exercises and practices designed to "normalize" your breathing. Our aim to to enable you to maximise each breath, with less effort, so that you get more oxygenation through your system, without the need to breathe harder or faster, and you won't get as tired. Efficient breathing promotes an optimum balance of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide within the body, allowing your body to function as it was intended. Correct breathing ensures your lungs are full of fresh air when you breathe in, and not stale air, which occurs when you shallow breathe. Normalizing your breathing has been shown to greatly assist in the treatment of Asthma, Snoring, Sleep Apnoea and other Respiratory related problems.
There are various methods of Breathing Retraining ... Buteyko ... Papworth...Pranayama ... .etc. We use the Buteyko method predominantly, which is an education program, designed to teach you how to restore the natural breathing balance. It is easy to learn, easy to practice and in no way interferes with existing medication programs. Breathing Retraining helps you to manage and in many instances, may minimise your symptoms.