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By Dr. Artour Rakhimov, Buteyko breathing teacher and educator

Our primitive ancestors were physically active for 6-12 hours every day.

 

We, on average, are active for about 1-2 hours per day or often less. Too little physical exercise depresses metabolism and oxygen transport, gradually causing chronic hyperventilation. Russian practical observations revealed that, if a healthy individual (with about 60 s CP) has only 1-2 hours or less of daily physical activity, his/her breathing will be getting worse and worse. The CP can drop down to about 30-35 s or even less.

 

Note that even during physical exercise we should keep our mouths closed. Unfortunately, it is rare to meet a person who exercises with his/her mouth closed all the time.

 

How healthy should we be in order to exercise? Practical experience of Soviet and Russian doctors revealed that intensive exercise is inadvisable for people with low CPs (below about 20 s). Physical exercise does not provide maximum benefits when people breathe through their mouths while exercising. In these cases CO2 stores usually get smaller. Breathing and the CP can get worse for many hours after such an exercise. When the CP is critically low (as with severely sick people), exercise becomes dangerous.

 

“Physical work, sport, and exertion increase CO2 production. Its level increases in the blood, while oxygen decreases. The higher the intensity, the stronger the excitement of the breathing centre and the deeper the breathing, but it is only deeper formally. Breathing becomes not deeper, but shallower: it is less in relation to metabolism. This is the reasoning behind the usefulness of exercise and sport! During prolonged intensive exercise the receptors, which control breathing, adapt to increased CO2. If the person regularly works and toils, then he practically follows our method: he is decreasing his breathing using exercise” (Buteyko, 1977).

 

Buteyko KP, Carbon dioxide theory and a new method of treatment and prevention of diseases of the respiratory system, cardiovascular system, nervous system, and some other diseases [in Russian], Public lecture for Soviet scientists at the Moscow State University, 9 December 1969, Science and life [Nauka i zshizn’], October 1977.

 

Vice versa, if we do not exercise after experiencing stress, or anxiety, or strong emotions, we can continue over-breathing that leads to habitual or chronic hyperventilation.

 

Russian medical professionals from the Buteyko Clinic in Moscow currently believe that a lack of physical activity is the main cause of carbon dioxide deficiency in modern people (for more details one may visit their website www.buteykoclinic.ru).

 

“Q: Why does hyperventilation form, since nobody specially practices deep breathing…?

A: The main cause is the lack of physical activity, low level of metabolism in general. We must work out at least 4 hours per day, with heavy perspiration. Then you would get high level of metabolism. The method should be practiced until the level of carbon dioxide is stabilized and reached the value when the attacks are impossible. It is practically impossible to maintain this state without physical exercise. If a person, due to some reasons, cannot do physical exercises, he should do the breathing ones. There is nothing wrong with that, since the [breathing] exercises are not hard and can be performed practically in any situation” (Novozshilov, 2003a).  

 

Novozshilov A, How do you breathe? The interview by Julia Ekareva with Andrey Novozshilov, chief medical doctor of the Moscow Buteyko Clinic (www.buteyko-clinic.ru), Russian national magazine “Argumenti i fakti” [“Arguments and facts”], Health Section, 30 January 2003a, issue 05(442), Moscow.

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