Breathing Remedies - Page 3 of 4 - asthma anxiety sleep fatigue

How hyperventilation harms: part 2 hyperventilation can narrow the blood vessels and reduce blood and oxygen supply.

August 22, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk Leave a Comment

Chronic hyperventilation unbalances the blood gases; one of the important changes can be low body carbon dioxide (CO2) or hypocapnia. CO2 is not just a waste gas; you need a certain amount for healthy body function.
Part 1 focused on low CO2 and tightening of the airways and how hyperventilation, or over-breathing, can cause respiratory issues.

In part 2 we turn the spotlight on blood vessels and circulation: hyperventilation-induced hypocapnia can lead not only to the airways narrowing but also constricts certain blood vessels and affects the blood supply to many organs, leading to diverse symptoms from IBS to brain fog to cold hands and palpitations (fuller list of hyperventilation related symptoms). One example of reduced blood flow/low O2 supply is shown in the figure of a brain scanned before and after just one minute of voluntary hyperventilation. The reduction in cerebral blood flow can lead in turn to poor oxygen (O2) supply to the brain, and may contribute to brain fog, poor concentration and anxiety. Continue Reading

How hyperventilation harms: part 1 hyperventilation can narrow the airways.

August 10, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk 4 Comments

People who have asthma and other respiratory problems (blocked nose, sinusitis, cough etc) tend to breathe a lot more than normal (yes it is possible to breathe too much!)

Over breathing or hyperventilation is breathing more than the body’s requirement at any given time, so if you are seated quietly, but breathing as much as you would need for walking, that is hyperventilation. So you can breathe too many breaths per minute, or too much air per breath, or both. The blood gases can then get out of balance; one of the important changes can be low body carbon dioxide (CO2) or hypocapnia.Continue Reading

Five health benefits of breathing with your diaphragm

July 23, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk 5 Comments

The diaphragm is a large, thin sheet of muscle dividing the thoracic (chest) cavity from the abdominal cavity (belly), and is the major muscle of breathing. As the diaphragm contracts, the lungs move downwards, expand and fill with air. Diaphragmatic breathing, along with breathing through the nose (not the mouth) is essential for healthy breathing. However, as a breathing educator I see many clients –especially those with ME/CFS/fibromyalgia or anxiety who make little or no use of this important muscle! Instead, they often breathe though the mouth, the breathing is obvious in the upper chest, accessory muscles in the upper chest and neck and shoulders do the donkey work of lifting the ribcage, and posture is often slumped.Continue Reading

Three more good reasons to breathe through your nose and not your mouth.

July 7, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk 8 Comments

And some showy pink.

One of my earlier blog posts focused on the importance of nasal breathing (rather than mouth breathing) for good health. I gave you seven reasons, and I think it is about time for a few more – here are three good ones:

1) Nasal breathing is good for head and neck stability and strength.

I know how to breathe or I would be dead wouldn’t I? –5 Interesting responses I have had when I tell people that I am a breathing educator!

June 14, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk Leave a Comment

People are often rather amused when I tell them what I do – 5 Interesting responses I have had:

1) “I know how to breathe or I would be dead wouldn’t I?” (this person was overweight and had diabetes but most certainly did not associate breathing with health) or another “I’m fantastic at it. I do it every day. I’m that good at it I do it in my sleep!” Ha ha…Continue Reading

My Blog Tour – meet Viviann, Gillian and Nicola – all three have inspired me

May 27, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk Leave a Comment

This blog is a bit different from earlier ones. I was invited by life coach Amanda Cullen (Coaching with Amanda) to take part in Kim Gregory’s (The Strengths Consultancy) Blog Tour.

The idea is to tell you a bit more about how and why I blog, and to introduce you to some great bloggers I know who cover widely divergent topics. On this blog tour we answer the 4 questions below, find other blogs we like to share, and pass on the baton! Here’s my contribution and please scroll down to meet Viviann Napp, Gillian Gingell Wormley and Nicola Warwick.

The disease of deep breathing? Three dysfunctional breathing patterns; have you got one?

May 15, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk 2 Comments

A client asked me recently “Why not write a topic about what deep breathing actually means in the Buteyko context?” So here goes, I am preparing to open a can of worms… But before I do that I will just recap that as a breathing educator I identify and help to correct (using the Buteyko method), disordered or dysfunctional breathing and that: The aim of breathing education is to restore a healthy breathing pattern, to allow the natural, normal, nasal, soft, gentle, smooth, quiet, invisible, efficient, underlying breathing pattern to emerge, so breathing is easier and with the diaphragm free. The most effective way of doing this is by relaxation; by removal of layers of tension caused by bad breathing habits and stress. As the breathing softens and reduces, symptoms decrease too. Dr Buteyko called his method “reduced breathing by relaxation”. And when I teach I avoid the word DEEP like the plague! That is because it is so utterly confusing as it means two (at least) completely different things to different people:Continue Reading

ME/CFS/fibromyalgia? You are not broken: Never give up hope, I recovered, so can you.

May 3, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk Leave a Comment

I consider myself incredibly lucky, not only have I recovered from the debilitating disease (pit/hell) of ME/CFS, but also I now help others recover, by retraining their breathing.

(Plus I live in the beautiful Peak District and can go on lovely walks from my front door. And it is spring!)

Why I became a breathing educator

Breathing education has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done, and nothing I had ever imagined or expected to do. Poles apart from my previous role in health care where I had been a bench scientist, doing preclinical research into new painkillers for a drug company, and rarely even seeing a patient! I loved the research but the job was high pressure.

My ME/CFS story

Then I was a sick person; at one time I wondered if I would ever be able to do anything useful again.Continue Reading

Unhealthy breathing patterns and low oxygen: link with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia?

April 21, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk Leave a Comment

I was invited to give a presentation on better breathing last week by FibroMacc, Macclesfield’s fibromyalgia (FM) support group.
I read out a long list of symptoms, which the audience recognised as very typical of FM. However they were surprised when I revealed that I was not reading from a review of FM or ME/CFS symptoms, but a review of the symptoms of chronic hyperventilation.

Symptoms of hyperventilation

Five ways that chronic cough can damage your health; and how better breathing helps

March 30, 2014 by info@breathingremedies.co.uk 12 Comments

chronic cough bad for health Buteyko breathing helps

chronic cough can bad for health

Do you have a persistent cough or an irritating tickle causing you to continually clear your throat? Coughing is one of the body’s important natural protection mechanisms so you may not think it is much of a problem.

Well it can be – the coughing itself can be exhausting; using all your primary breathing muscles and accessory muscles in your neck and shoulders to lift your rib cage is a lot of effort in itself. Moreover, chronic cough can damage your health by depriving systems throughout the body of their vital oxygen. Fortunately, once you understand the problem, better breathing can help.