Science of Buteyko
Science of Buteyko
Konstantin Buteyko realised that people with the above conditions breathed more than was necessary. This does not mean that they were panting or breathing heavily, just that they were breathing more than the normal amount of air.
Normal breathing, for an adult at rest, is to breathe between 4 and 6 litres of air per minute. Many people with the above problems are breathing three times that amount. Most people believe that the more they breathe, the more oxygen they will get.
This is not the case. Discovered by Christian Bohr over 100 years ago, The Bohr Effect states that the more someone breathes, the LESS oxygen they get to the tissues. Oxygen is carried round teh blood vessels on haemoglobin in the red blood cells. As the blood passes through the lungs, haemoglobin binds oxygen, but cannot "let go" when the blood flows through the tissues if the breathing is abnormally high. this is due to loss of too much carbon dioxide, a gas that is toxic at high concentrations, but a certain amount is needed to release oxygen from the blood stream so it is available to the tissues. Hyperventilation syndrome is sometimes referred to as the "carbon dioxide syndome".
A certain level of carbon dioxide is also required to keep the "tubes" of the body open. For example the airways and blood vessels constrict if the carbon dioxide levels drop too low, further reducing oxygen supply to tissues.
The Buteyko method teaches people how to get their breathing back to normal. Cardon dioxide levels are restored to more normal levels, and tissues receive more oxygen. The subsequent improvement in their health can sometimes be remarkable. After all, breathing affects every single cell in the body.
Artour Rakhimov has an excellent website with very good descriptions and illustrations of the science behind the success of the Buteyko Method, plus access to comprehensive information for Buteyko practitioners or advanced students or medical professionals.