Buteyko’s First Hyperventilation Experiments

As a medical student Buteyko investigated the effects of deep and quick breathing. He tried this way of breathing (hyperventilation challenge) on himself, family, and friends.  The results were always unpleasant symptoms such as headache, tightness/pain in the chest, feeling breathless or dizzy, trembling, feeling faint, & more. 

After graduating as a Doctor, Buteyko made full scale, professional, investigations into hyperventilation.

Buteyko Identifies How Breathing Affects the Health

Buteyko found that how we breathe can affect our health.  Breathing more than the body’s need is called hyperventilation.  It is a problem because it disturbs the balance in our body.  This disturbance shows up in many ways. One example is feeling breathless. 

Too Much of a Good Thing…….

Strangely, you can feel breathless by  breathing too much. To complicate things, the brain’s breathing nerve centre gets used to the excess oxygen although the body itself “complains” about this with various symptoms. 

The Buteyko Method Solves Breathing Problems

Just as bad breathing can cause many health problems so good breathing can resolve them. Buteyko made it his life’s work to help people regain their health through good breathing. To do this he developed a scientific breath retraining system, “The Buteyko Method”. It has repeatedly, and reliably, improved people’s health.

Buteyko’s breathing method resets the brain’s nerve centre so the symptoms are tackled at the very source.   Also, it optimizes our  breathing so we can maximise the use of the airways and lungs.

From Russia to Australia

In 1990, the (Buteyko) Method was brought to Australia by the Russian practitioner, Alexander (Sasha) Stolmatski.  He became known as the “Asthma trouble shooter” as severely  asthmatic people tried his Buteyko courses. They found that their asthma and overall health  improved significantly.  The Method was so effective that the media became curious.  Soon, there was National TV coverage detailing how people had benefited from the Method.  

The Buteyko Method Grows in Australia

A number of people who themselves had got health benefits from the (Buteyko) Method went on to qualify in it and became practitioners.  Soon they had many success stories. Despite their practical evidence, there was no clinical proof that the Method worked.  So in 1994, they organised the first clinical trial at a Brisbane hospital. 

Huge Reductions in Asthma Reliever & Preventer Use

The Brisbane trial was a great success.  There was no change in physiological measures such as peak flow rate BUT people felt much better. So much better, in fact, that they reduced their reliever use by 96% and reduced their preventer use by 49%. 

The Buteyko Institute of Breathing and Health (BIBH), a professional, non-profit, organisation was formed after this by the official practitioners . The Buteyko Institute liaise with government bodies and medical experts in researching the Method and ensure strict standards and qualification of practitioners..

First Success in the UK

With Buteyko established in Australia and New Zealand, Sasha Stolmatski moved to London to bring Buteyko to the UK. The Method was a sensation. In 1998 the BBC even broadcast a documentary “QED Science Programme...Breathless” about it. 

First Clinical Trials in the UK and Beyond

Major clinical trials on Buteyko have now been made by asthma researchers and doctors in Nottingham and Glasgow, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, in addition to smaller case studies and trials.  

All results show that Buteyko reduces symptoms so that medication use drops significantly and the quality of life improves.  

Buteyko and You

Buteyko has attracted people who want to be healthier as well as doctors who want their patients to enjoy better health.

Buteyko reaches you successfully tried and tested. The Buteyko Institute Method isn’t just about teaching you breathing techniques. These are only part of the system. It is also about understanding why the symptoms develop and, particularly for people with asthma, correctly using the medication.  Thousands of people have empowered themselves with the Method and improved their well-being as well as their quality of life.  

Why not you?