Main breathing-retraining daily log (or your personal breath-work diary) for short Buteyko breathing sessions and for DIY breathing device sessions - 1 page (Rich Text Format file or PDF file for printing).

The practice of successful students shows that it is necessary to keep records of your progress. For example, in order to solve the problem of morning hyperventilation (and this is the problem for over 80% students), the daily log and knowledge about the extent of this problem in your particular case is vital. Whatever you want to check (your real requirements in essential fatty acids, Ca, and Mg; your sensitivity to allergy triggers; the effects of physical exercise on your CP growth and so on), the daily log, if correctly filled, will reflect the effects of all these parameters.

Here are several lines from one daily log (see below). Each line represents one breathing session that is about 15 min long. The very first column is the date. So, write the date. Then we have the approximate time of the day when you do the breathing session. The next column is your initial pulse. You can use any device to define your current heart rate or do it yourself. The pulse is measured at the wrist area using 2 or 3 fingers of the opposite hand. Or you may measure your pulse on your neck or chest. There is no need to measure the heart rate during one minute, but 10, 15 or 20 s are not enough since changes in pulse are small. We do it during a 30 s interval. Then multiply the number of heart beats by 2 and you get your pulse in one minute.

As you see from the log, reduced breathing is the next step and it starts immediately after the CP measurement. This is the main part of the session and for this daily log, all sessions are 12 min long. After the reduced-breathing session, you measure your final heart rate and, after 2-3 min of rest, measure your final CP. (This is indicated in the note at the bottom of the table.) We cannot measure the final CP immediately after the RB since you still have air hunger. But in 2-3 min this air hunger will be lost and we can find the parameters of your new breathing pattern and new level of body oxygenation. This is the end of the breathing session.

The daily log also includes main details of your physical activity (in minutes) and a column about your symptoms, medication and auxiliary activities, many of which will be described later.

The next breathing session will again result in one row of numbers, as shown here. For example, here we can see that the person had 3 breathing sessions on 7 May:

Note. On this site, you can get my PDF book that is called "Advanced Buteyko Breathing Exercises" (about 124 pages, 12 USD) or my Kindle book (on Amazon.com) with the same title. This book goes into details and provides a comprehensive overview of specifics and effects related to Buteyko exercises.

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