Learn the Buteyko Method — How to Do Buteyko Breathing Exercises, and More, for Better Breathing 24/7

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- Updated on November 10, 2021

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Learn the Buteyko Method -- How to Do Buteyko Breathing Exercises, and More, for Better Breathing 24/7 1By Dr. Artour Rakhimov, Alternative Health Educator and Author

- Medically Reviewed by Naziliya Rakhimova, MD

Learn Buteyko Breathing for free by modules

“Just as lions, elephants, and tigers are controlled by and by, so the breath is controlled by slow degrees …”
Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Sanskrit text, 15 century.

The Buteyko Method is the most effective system of lifestyle changes for maximum body-oxygen levels 24/7. The Buteyko Method includes breathing exercises, as well as other lifestyle changes, for better breathing. You can learn all about the Buteyko Method in the modules below.

Can other breathing techniques be combined with the Buteyko method?

Yes, Buteyko techniques can be applied for rapid restoration of your health, while also using the Frolov and/or Amazing DIY breathing devices, Yoga Pranayama, Samozdrav, Chi Gong/Tai Chi, and Wim Hof method. Buteyko breathing is also complementary to other less effective breath training methods, such as Breathslim, PowerLung, Resperate, PowerBreathe, Expand-A-Lung, Pursed Lip Breathing.

Introducing Breathing Retraining and the Buteyko Method

The following video explains how to retrain our breath and how the Buteyko method works (giving an overview of the process and what happens weeks or months later).

How to Learn the Buteyko Method by Modules

Q: How can I best use the module resources on this website to learn the Buteyko breathing method?

A: First understand, to learn the Buteyko Method means to normalize (or improve) your personal breathing pattern 24/7. That means that simply learning or practicing Buteyko breathing exercises is not sufficient. You must change your unconscious breathing pattern, i.e., how your body breathes throughout the day.

Consider these examples from real life. If a person usually wakes up with dry mouth each morning, due to mouth breathing at night, he will never restore his health and his body-oxygen content will remain low (day and night). If another person sleeps every night on her back, her disease symptoms and usual breathing pattern will likely be almost the same, even after practicing the best breathing exercises.

The point is, it’s very important to learn the key healthy lifestyle factors associated with the Buteyko Method, and follow the suggested instructions. (Which are based on hundreds of medical studies!) Before you start any breathwork, you should have a very clear understanding of where to go and how to achieve your goals. In order to help yourself through the Buteyko Method, you should learn:
– what is the main purpose of breathing retraining
– why over-breathing (or a deep, unconscious breathing pattern) reduces oxygen content on the cellular level
– what normal breathing patterns and the ideal breathing pattern look like
– how to breathe for maximum cell oxygen content
– how to measure one’s body-oxygen level using the Control Pause test
– what are the carbon dioxide uses in the human body
– which lifestyle factors make breathing heavier (deeper and/or faster)
– which lifestyle factors make breathing lighter (shallower and slower)

While they are not difficult to understand, these topics require you to invest time in order to understand and apply the fundamental principles. That’s why there are so many pages on this website. They are created for you!


Q: Which modules should I start with?

A: As a Buteyko student, you do not need to know all details and peculiarities of the method to restore your health. To save you time in learning, I have designed a series of modules that address factors relevant to most students. If you wish, you can skip modules and select those that you feel are most applicable to your situation; this can lead to a more focused approach and faster learning. However, if you are new to the Buteyko Method, I recommend you start with Module 1 and go from there. Overall, your goal should be to design and execute a self-plan that includes Buteyko breathing exercises, physical exercise, and optimizing diet and lifestyle factors.

Normalization of breathing — as a way of ameliorating asthma, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other conditions — is a serious and fundamental personal project. Please invest the time to fully understand the Buteyko Method so that you can experience not just good health, but also improved mood, mental clarity, and spiritual connection. Follow all required paragraphs, sentences, and links. Each idea here is important for your ultimate success. (A summary of each module is below.)

Module 1. Crucial Preliminary Conditions
Module 2. Learn Buteyko: How to measure the Control Pause (CP)
Module 3. How to Ground Yourself
Module 4. Learn the Emergency Procedure
Module 5. Measure and Record Your Morning CP (MCP) Everyday
Module 6. Prevent Sleeping on Your Back; Best Sleeping Positions
Module 7. Maintain Nasal Breathing 24/7
Module 8. How to Develop Diaphragmatic  Breathing 24/7
Module 9. Restrictions, Limits, and Temporary Contraindications
Module 10. Free Buteyko Breathing Exercises
Module 11. Nutrients and Diet for Better Body Oxygenation
Module 12. Who Should Take Cold Shower, and How and Why
Module 13. How Focal Infections Keep Body Oxygen Low
Module 14. Buteyko Cleansing Reactions
Module 15. Good Sleep Hygiene
Module 16. Physical Activity and Running
Module 17. How to Talk for Better Breathing
Module 18. Digestive Health
Module 19. Buteyko Breathing Problems
Module 20. Emotional Trauma: Effects and Solutions
Module 21. Breathing Retraining for Children and Elderly

Module 99. Long-Term Success

*** Under Construction ***

Level 1: Surviving Disease with Buteyko Breathing Exercises (Modules 1-7)

Level 1 Goals: The student should aim to eliminate the main symptoms of their own health problems (e.g., asthma, heart disease, epilepsy, sinusitis, eczema, insomnia, constipation, etc.) using the Buteyko Emergency Procedure. Properly practiced, the Emergency Procedure can significantly reduce medication use (e.g., twice less) or even eliminate it completely. Students on level 1 have low morning CPs (usually about 5-15 secs.). Survival is the main practical result! Less than 10% of learners are satisfied with this level. Once people experienced improved health through the breathing exercises, most want to proceed to higher CP levels. Achieving a working understanding of level 1, depending on the student, can take anywhere from 1 hour to about 1-2 days.

Module 1. Crucial preliminary Buteyko instructions and goals

Over several decades, more than 200 medical professionals have taught the Buteyko Method to over 200,000 patients. As a result, doctors (the majority of them Russian) have accumulated a huge amount of clinical experience in teaching the method, what determines chances of patients’ success, outcomes over years (and decades), etc. They’ve also found that there are preliminary conditions, of social and psychological nature, which are linked to the long-term results of a typical Buteyko student. Your chances of sustained success in the future depend on:
1-A. Voluntary hyperventilation or deep breathing test
1-B. Theoretical studies (at least 2 hours)
1-C. Your interactions with the surrounding people

“Such patients who have undergone deep breathing tests and assimilated the theory with an excellent mark are allowed to proceed with the second stage of training. Those who have not understood the theory will continue the studies…” Buteyko KP, The method of volitional elimination of deep breathing [Translation of the Small Buteyko Manual], Voskresensk, 1994.

After understanding the above, the following steps are:
1-D. Select your goals and own pace for learning
1-E. Your rate of progress (uncontrollable and controllable factors)

Module 2. Learn Buteyko: How to measure the Control Pause (CP)

Warning sign Warning. Most people do not have any problems with measuring CP, or the stress-free, breath-holding time test. However, some people with heart disease, panic attacks, migraine headaches, and a few other, exceptionally rare conditions, may experience unpleasant symptoms, which can appear soon after measuring the CP (in 1 to 5 minutes). If this happens, do not measure your CP for a while. Later, when your breathing becomes about 2 to 3 times lighter and your CP 2 to 3 times longer, these unpleasant symptoms after the CP test will not appear. Your initial breathing program should focus on the reduction of your pulse (or heart rate).

For over 95% of people, it is safe to measure the CP many times per day and observe the effects of stress, meals, exercise, posture, thermoregulation, and many other lifestyle factors on CP, breathing, and overall health. You can learn easily how to measure your body-oxygen level using CP here (this web page is from the Homepage section; with Google Video clip).

Module 3. Earthing – How to ground yourself

The very first and easiest step to increase your (low) CP is to get free electrons from Earth due to grounding yourself. Electrons are nature’s free antioxidants. You can find more information about the health benefits and reasons behind electrical grounding here: Earthing. This is an exceptionally important step to reduce inflammation and normalize sleep, nerve and muscle function, as well as dozens of other fundamental physiological processes.

For practical actions and steps, click here: How to ground yourself.

Module 4. Learn the Emergency Procedure

“Practically, a human can change own breathing using willpower and experience how the disease relates to breathing. Reduced breathing can alleviate, in 1-5 minutes, all the symptoms we were talking about: bronchial spasms (attacks of asthma or bronchitis), blocked nose (to unblock the nose), eliminate spasms of brain vessels (migraine or headache), spasms of heart vessels, spasms of blood vessels of arms and feet (endarteritis), ulcer pains (spasms of vessels in the stomach), spasms of bile ducts (cholecystitis), to prevent an epilepsy attack… [D]uring frost to warm up the arms or the nose is simple – decrease breathing. Blood vessels dilate and you are warmed up! You are frightened, excited, you have a nervous shiver – slow down the breathing and in 1-2 minutes you will get peace. Using these mechanisms you can control your own body!” 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,” Public lecture in the Moscow State University, 9 December 1969.

Free Buteyko Breathing Exercises:  Combination of Buteyko Breath Holds and Shallow Breathing (or Reduced Breathing) Exercise

Follow these links, if relevant for Buteyko self-help:
4-A. How to stop or prevent heart attack, stroke, asthma attack, epilepsy attack, and other life-threatening situations using Buteyko breathing exercises (with reduced breathing explained)
4-B. How to unblock the nose, eliminate constipation, and prevent high blood glucose (diabetes problems) using Buteyko breathing exercises
4-C. How to stop or prevent bouts of coughing, sneezing, sighing, yawning, hiccups, deep inhalations, sniffing, and other deep breathing activities using Buteyko breathing exercises
4-D. How to warm up cold hands and feet, prevent insomnia, skin itching and panic attacks using Buteyko breathing exercises
The same Procedure (4-D) with reduced breathing and no breath holds can be safely also applied for phobias, spasms of the stomach, spasms of the bile duct, edema, puffiness of the eyes, and other situations.

All students would benefit to apply the Buteyko reduced breathing exercise for these two natural situations (instructions included on these pages):
How to fall asleep faster
How to have easy bowel movements

Module 5. Measure and record your Morning CP (MCP) everyday

Each morning, as soon as you wake up and are still in bed, you should measure the morning CP (if there are no contraindications). Do this immediately after you open your eyes. Why? Just 5 to 10 minutes later, your breathing parameters can be different, and crucial information about the nature of your breathing during the last hours of sleep can be lost. If you have contraindications to CP, measure your heart rate for 1 minute and record it in your daily log.
Your changes in MCP numbers will be used later for getting to the root of the problem of morning hyperventilation.

See the following page: How to measure morning CP, and why it’s crucial for your health restoration. Optional link: Morning hyperventilation* (with Google Video clip) from the Homepage. Follow this link, especially if your CP drops during the night (i.e., MCP is lower than evening CP).

Module 6. Prevent sleeping on your back; best sleeping positions

Q: Do I need this module?
A: If you find yourself sleeping on your back two nights a week or more, yes, you should study this module. When your morning CP is 25 seconds or more, you do not need any steps in this direction, since this problem will disappear naturally.
Manual (Instructional Guide – Workout – Workbook – EBook) “How to prevent sleeping on one’s back” with a free PDF file to download Buteyko self-help web page: Best sleep positions.

Module 7. Maintain nasal breathing 24/7

Q: Do I need this module?
A: If you sometimes breathe through your mouth, yes, you need this module.
If you ask any of your friends, relatives or co-workers, and they tell you that you sometimes breathe through your mouth or have your mouth open, yes, you need this module.
If you wake up in the morning with a dry mouth at least 2 times per week, yes, you need this module.
When your CP is 25 seconds or more 24/7, you do not need any steps in this direction, since non-nasal breathing will disappear naturally.
Manual (Instructional Guide) “How to stop mouth breathing” with a free PDF file to download. For more ideas, see Buteyko mouth-taping technique and Stop mouth breathing treatment.

Level 2: Enhancing Your Existence with the Buteyko Method (Modules 8+)

Level 2 Goals: When students have partly normalized their own breathing — to 25-35 seconds daily CP and over 20 seconds MCP (morning CP) — they typically have no need for medication, and do not experience symptoms of previous health problems (e.g., asthma, bronchitis, heart disease, epilepsy, sinusitis, eczema, etc). However, such students can still suffer from airway inflammation, allergies, GI problems, diabetes, arthritis, and other hormonal and musculoskeletal disorders. Most medications are absolutely unnecessary, but some medical drugs (e.g., insulin, thyroxin, etc.) can be required to control symptoms of such “higher-CP diseases.” Most people following Buteyko instructions in the West usually achieve Level 2 CPs. Depending on the amount of practice and other factors, 25 to 35 secs. CP takes about 0.5 – 2 months to attain.

Here is an important diagram with the required steps (how the process works), in order to achieve over 20 secs. CP 24/7. This diagram, used in my teaching materials, is below. You can unlock it if you share this page.

Learn Buteyko Breathing

“No acute hv” means avoiding hyperventilating activities that cause CO2 losses that lower CP. These activities include coughing, sighing, yawning, sniffing, singing, and others. “PE” means physical exercise.

All other requirements have a specific module on this page.

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Module 8. How to develop diaphragmatic breathing 24/7

Topics in this module include:
Understanding diaphragm function – Overview of the most important functions of the diaphragm in the human body
– How to check one’s predominant breathing pattern: is it diaphragmatic or costal?

Do you breathe using the diaphragm or chest at rest and/or during sleep?
– Check your ability to move and control your diaphragm using a simple technique
– Practice exercises and techniques for developing diaphragmatic breathing
– Learn what is required to transition to unconscious or automatic diaphragmatic breathing at rest

See the following for details: Module 8. How to develop diaphragmatic breathing 24/7.

Module 9. Restrictions, limits, and temporary contraindications

Normal breathing is fundamental to a healthy organism. Hence, breathing normalization is the natural approach to resolving pathologies in the human body. However, not all people can use the same method in their breathing normalization journey.

While most can apply the same general ideas, exercises, and techniques (including reduced breathing exercises and the DIY breathing device), certain groups require modifications (individual tailoring) in their breathing retraining programs, due to various restrictions, limits, and temporary contraindications.

Warning sign for Buteyko breathing retraining program You should adjust your program and follow specific links if you have:
Migraine headaches, panic attacks, and heart disease (aortic aneurysms; angina pectoris; arrhythmia; atherosclerosis (plaque buildup); cardiomyopathy; ciliary arrhythmia (cardiac fibrillation); chest pain (angina pectoris); high cholesterol; chronic ischemia; congenital heart disease; congestive heart failure; coronary artery disease; endocarditis; extrasystole; heart murmurs; hypertension; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; tachycardia; pericarditis; post-myocardial infarction; stroke)
Respiratory disorders involving lungs (asthma, bronchitis, COPD, emphysema, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia, tuberculosis; pulmonary edema; etc.)
Presence of transplanted organs
Pregnancy
Brain traumas and acute bleeding injuries
Blood clots
Acute stages (exacerbations) of life-threatening conditions (infarct, stroke, cardiac ischemia, severe asthma attack, metastasizing cancer, septic shock, multiple organ failure, near-death experience, etc.)
Insulin-dependent diabetes (type 2 diabetes)
Loss of CO2 sensitivity
Low weight (underweight)

Warning: Consult your family physician or GP about the use of breathing exercises for your specific health condition.

Advice sign If your current CP is less than 25 secs., your most optimum breathing exercise for faster CP growth is with a DIY or Frolov breathing device.

Hence, it is smart and much easier to start a breathing program using the Amazing DIY Breathing Device or Frolov Breathing Device (their effects are similar). You can learn the classic Buteyko reduced breathing exercises later when your CP is more than 30 secs.

Module 10. Free Buteyko breathing exercises

Note: On normalbreathing.com, you can buy my book Advanced Buteyko Breathing Exercises (about 124 pages, $12 USD). You can read reviews of the book (from happy customers) on Amazon.

This book explains many nuances of the Buteyko Method, such as the effects of overtraining, lost CO2 sensitivity, blunted CO2 sensitivity, the “click” effect, “Steps” breathing exercises for walking, Buteyko breathing exercises during physical activity, and many more. If you are interested in raising your CP to the highest possible level, I would recommend you study the book.

Warning: A student who has solid food in the stomach should not practice any breathing exercises that increase CO2 levels in the lungs. This is the most common serious or grave mistake made by self-learners.

Air hunger and increased CO2 intensify peristaltic movements in the GI tract, and within 3 to 4 hours after eating, this can cause damage to the lining of the mucosal surfaces. Therefore, practice breathwork only when you have an empty stomach or nothing more than water.

The most fundamental Buteyko breathing exercise is called “Reduced Breathing” or “Shallow Breathing.” A diagram and short description of this exercise has been provided in self-help Module 4-A above.

Buteyko Breathing instruction: How to stop or prevent heart attack, stroke, asthma attack, epilepsy seizures, and other life-threatening situations using Buteyko breathing exercises. There are several parts in this workout (workbook or sections from Buteyko eBooks) that explain Buteyko breathing exercises.

Part 1. Preliminary requirements for learning Buteyko breathing exercises, details the following factors and environmental conditions that positively influence CP progress:
– A quiet place to focus one’s attention
– Silence (no speaking)
– Empty stomach
– Hydration (water)
– Clean and fresh air
– Thermoregulation
– Good posture during the breathing session

Part 2. Learning relaxation and RELAXED diaphragmatic breathing. This page is for all those students who do not have automatic diaphragmatic breathing at rest. It gives 4 steps to achieve relaxed diaphragmatic breathing.

Repeated Warning. NEVER practice reduced breathing or any other CO2-increasing exercise with food in your stomach.

Part 3. Learning Buteyko Shallow Breathing (or Reduced Breathing) with light air hunger. Detailed instructions for reduced breathing exercise, Dr. Buteyko’s instruction (formula for the RB in a nutshell) of reduced breathing, and typical sensations and signs indicating that students are indeed breathing less and doing the exercise correctly.

Part 4. Your daily log and how to keep it. Download here your breathing-retraining daily log (a personal breath-work diary; PDF and RTF files) with detailed instructions on how to fill it out.

Part 5. Structure and effects of one breathing session. Details about the structure of one breathing session of Buteyko reduced breathing exercise, typical signs, and criteria of success, what can be wrong, and other suggestions and tips for better health and higher CPs. (This breathing session is for those who do not have relevant contraindications; see Module 9 above for more details.)

Part 6. Breath holds: their effects and uses. Maximum pauses and other breath holds produce various physiological responses depending on numerous factors, including the initial CP, health state, and hereditary factors.

Part 7. Structuring a program of breathing exercises. How much to exercise (per day), details of week-after-week progress (how fast is one’s CP growth), and gradualism in learning air hunger.

You can find more advanced exercises and related topics (including a loss of CO2 sensitivity, the “click effect,” how to combine Buteyko breathing exercises with physical activity, and more) in my PDF book Advanced Buteyko Breathing Exercises (about 124 pages, $12 USD), available on this website or as a Kindle book (on Amazon.com) with the same title.

Note that you should adjust this program correspondingly if you have any temporary contraindications or restrictions described above. If you have them, choose those Buteyko breathing exercises and those Buteyko breath holds that suit your physiological make-up and current health state.

Module 11. Nutrients and Diet for Better Body Oxygenation

This nutrient guide is based on the experiences of hundreds of people who made significant improvements in their health and their automatic or unconscious breathing pattern using breathing-retraining methods.

It explains in detail various questions related to vital or essential nutrients, deficiency signs, dosages, and other practical questions, including the 3-day test to discover macro-deficiencies. Self-help Buteyko instructions in relation to diet:
Major Nutrients Guide for Better Body Oxygenation
* Part 1. Macrominerals (Ca, Mg, Zn) and fish oil
* Part 2. Fish oil, cod liver oil, salmon oil, krill oil, flaxseed oil: sources of omega 3 DHA-EPA (for better body oxygenation and breathing), benefits, sources, side effects, and dangers
* Part 3. Sea salt vs. table salt
* Part 4. Check your iodine deficiency (test)
* Part 5. D3 (the sunshine vitamin) or cholecalciferol (most common nutritional deficiency).
* Part 6. Benefits of spices: better health and higher body oxygen levels.

Diet and body weight
* Part 7. Why and how obese students naturally lose weight through breathing retraining
* Part 8. Diet for breathing retraining
* Part 9. Resources about the ketogenic diet and ketosis.
* Part 10. PKD: Paleomedicina Diet Review

Module 12. Who Should Take a Cold Shower, Why and How

Taking cold showers has always been an indispensable part of the Buteyko method. Here is a Buteyko How-To : Cold shower benefits and rules.

Module 13. How Focal Infections Keep Body Oxygen Low

Focal infections theory and Buteyko focal infections – This module considers the following:
1. Western medical research about focal infections and origins of the focal infection theory (including cavities in teeth, dead or degenerated tonsils, athlete’s feet or feet mycosis, worms, helminths or large intestinal parasites living in humans, and root canals).

2. Buteyko focal infections and Russian Buteyko medical experience: effects of, and what to do with dead tonsils, cavities, feet mycosis (athlete’s feet), intestinal parasites, root canals, and mercury amalgams; spine misalignment and health.

Module 14. Buteyko Cleansing Reactions

Body cleansing reactions and body cleanse myths – As students progress with the Buteyko Method, body cleansing reactions can take place due to body-oxygen increases. Learn more about typical cleansing reactions and superficially-similar health-destructive allergic (or pathological) reactions.

Module 15. Good Sleep Hygiene

Good sleep hygiene – for high body oxygen and good health – provides an in-depth exploration of lifestyle factors, methods, and techniques to improve sleep and increase morning CP.
Helpful extra pages: How to fall asleep fast – using the Buteyko reduced-breathing exercise for falling asleep and higher morning CP.
How to sleep less: If you want to increase your morning CP, you need to know and use methods that will help you sleep less. Longer sleep means more damage due to unconscious hyperventilation during sleep, and will greatly reduce the rate of your overall week-to-week progress.

Module 16. Physical Activity and Running

These pages are linked from the Exercise Section, but they are essential for successful breathing retraining:
Benefits of physical activity – It always promotes increased cell oxygenation. Learn about the relationship and optimum proportions between exercise and breathing exercises.
Benefits of running – Jogging, according to Dr. Buteyko, is the most natural way to improve body-oxygen levels. Furthermore, it can be the key factor to achieve very high CPs and super-health states.
Breathing techniques for running – correct breathing during running (for maximum O2 delivery to cells) is based on nasal, diaphragmatic, and slow breathing. This is the secret of the Tarahumara, the Mexican indigenous tribe famous for their amazing abilities to run long distances barefoot.
Optional page: Training mask – if you want to maximize the effects of exercise (make exercise nearly twice more effective), consider using a Training Mask. The mask can be used when one has over 20 to 25 secs. CP. It is particularly beneficial for those who like sports, or have too little time for exercise, or do not use breathing devices (i.e., use only Buteyko reduced breathing exercises).

Module 17. Talking Skills

Proper public speaking techniques and talking skills – Talking while breathing incorrectly can reduce CP, induce health problems, and cause exhaustion. Correct talking requires reduced ventilation of the lungs for higher CO2 and O2 levels in body cells.

Module 18. Digestive Health Signs

Ideal or normal digestive health has numerous signs that indicate that the GI tract is working effectively. Most modern people have poor digestive health due to low O2 levels in body cells. This manifests as large amounts of soiling and the use of toilet paper. It may surprise you to know, proper digestion should produce no soiling!

How to improve digestion – I wrote this eBook in order to provide a practical program for people with GI problems, and even most ordinary people. My students have found the book’s recommendations very helpful for their CP growth.

Module 19. Buteyko Breathing Problems and Extra Tools

When a breathing student is stuck with less than 30 secs. CP, and is unable to get higher body O2, several things can be responsible. These causes are summarized in Buteyko breathing problems.

In order to solve these problems, our students use extra tools that help them to slow down their breathing and get higher CP results after using these extra tools. Here are some of these tools that sometimes allow having very large CP improvements (up to 10-20 s and sometimes even more):
Use free Rife frequencies
– IHHT (intermittent hypoxic and hyperoxic training) – see our YouTube Channel for videos on this topic.

Module 20. Emotional Trauma: Effects and Solutions

Over 90% of people today carry emotional traumas that poison their lives. For some people, this past emotional trauma (usually a childhood trauma) can play a decisive role in their poor health and low morning CP. Find out more about Emotional trauma: effects and solutions.

Module 21. Special Needs: Elderly and Children

There are certain specific factors that should be considered when elderly people begin the Buteyko Method and breathing retraining. Please read the following:
Elderly health and Buteyko breathing (Part 1).
Health Factors for Elderly Buteyko Breathing Students (Part 2).

Aspects involved in teaching and training children are considered here: Buteyko method and breathing retraining for children.

Module 99. Long-Term Success

Do you know? Most Buteyko students start at low CPs (less than ~20) and progress rapidly to better health in 1 to 3 months (>30 CP), due to enthusiastic practice of breathing and physical exercises.

But in one to three years, if enthusiasm wanes, CP results (and health too) can drop back down to only slightly better than initial levels. How can we prevent this? Sport and enjoyable physical exercise can be key. Find out more about the challenge of maintaining healthy breathing over many years and solutions to this here: Lifestyle for long-term success.

Future Success

Natural lifestyle choices before and after breathing retraining

Lifestyle factor: Body oxygen < 30 s Body oxygen > 50 s
Energy level Medium, low, or very low High
Desire to exercise Not strong, but possible Craving and joy of exercise
Intensive exercise with nose breathing Hard or impossible Easy and effortless
Typical mind states Confusion, anxiety, depression Focus, concentration, clarity
Craving for sugar and junk foods Present Absent
Addictions to smoking, alcohol, and drugs Possible Absent
Desire to eat raw foods Weak and rare Very common and natural
Correct posture Rare and requires efforts Natural and automatic
Sleep Often of poor quality; > 7 hours Excellent quality; < 5 hours naturally

In the Buteyko community, there are rumors that getting more than 40 or 60 secs morning CP is overly difficult. This is not the case. With the right program, it is relatively easy for younger people (in their 20s and 40s), and I’ve even had people who were over 60 or 70 years old able to get more than 60 secs MCP in about 6 to 10 weeks after starting a breathing course.

In the future, I will provide more information here about the required steps. At the moment, you can read my Buteyko Big Book, which is the most in-depth of all my books and provides a general overview of the required steps to achieve very high CPs.

In short, this transition to over 40 secs. for the morning CP requires several important factors:
– 33-35 secs. for the morning CP (if you have less, you need to review Sleep Modules and increase your morning CP)
– 50+ secs CP during the day, or after Buteyko breathing exercises. If you have over 30 secs for the morning CP, but cannot get this result (over 50 secs for the final CP), you’d do well to read my eBook Advanced Buteyko Breathing Exercises in either Kindle or PDF format.
– less than 6.5 hours of sleep naturally (without trying)
– no soiling (see my book How to Improve Digestion and achieve this effect).

*** Further modules and updates to how-to instructions for the Buteyko breathing technique and breathing retraining are in development and will be posted in the future. ***

Go to Homepage for breathing basics