https://www.reddit.

com/r/buteyko

r/Buteyko Beginner’s Guide to

Buteyko
We are a community mainly based on the research and work of dr. Konstantin
Pavlovich Buteyko. Our goal is to enhance the quality of our lives by treating
different chronic illnesses and generally improving health and energy through
normalizing breathing.

Dr. Buteyko was a leading soviet physiologist who discovered the connection
between breathing and health, particularly how important it is to normalize
breathing in order to better oxygenate the body and the brain. Through extensive
medical research it has been concluded that healthy oxygenation is crucial for
treatment of many chronic diseases and improving health and energy to optimal
levels.
Contrary to the popular belief, breathing more doesn't equal better oxygenation of
the body. On the contrary, over-breathing (what most modern humans do) is
damaging for health.

With normal breathing, a healthy person's blood is already 97-99% saturated with
oxygen. The release of oxygen from the blood to different organs and cells
throughout the body is done in a bodily environment with higher carbon dioxide.
Hence, for healthy body oxygenation, instead of breathing more and releasing
precious carbon dioxide, healthy individuals naturally breathe less, which leads to
higher carbon dioxide accumulation and better body oxygenation.

“A perfect man breathes as if he is not breathing.” - Lao Tsu

The modern society with its abundance of comfort, digital entertainment,

processed food, lack of movement and stress has created an environment where
chronic diseases are rampant and optimally healthy individuals are rare. The
Buteyko method has helped alleviate and cure many diseases in the nervous
system such as fatigue, hearing and vision loss, tinnitus and migraines; the
endocrinal system; breathing system such as asthma, different allergies;
cardiovascular system; digestion system; kidney and urinary system;
osteomuscular apparatus; skin; metabolic dysfunctions.
Some example of benefits when reaching ideal health include naturally sleeping
less than 4 hours, rarely feeling fatigue, having natural motivation for physical
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exercise and healthy diet, having a calm and focused mind, being rid of all chronic
diseases, superb digestion, enhanced discipline etc.
This community aims to provide a place for resources and learning material, as
well as a place where people interested in the Buteyko Breathing method can
share their experiences and tips to help each other along the journey for optimizing
health and well-being.

How do I normalize breathing?

In a nutshell, to progress in the Buteyko method and normalize breathing, you have
to do a combination of reduced breathing exercises, do regular physical exercises
whatever they might be, and introduce better lifestyle habits such as improving
your diet, your sleep, fixing the sedentary lifestyle, breathing through your nose
24/7 etc. As you see, this is not just one simple technique to improve health. The
goal is to improve your automatic breathing pattern 24/7, which will help better
oxygenate your body and as a result, the body will take care of illnesses by itself
and enhance health and well-being. The main measurement of your state of health
is your control pause, you can learn more about it below.

Where do I start?
- Read sidebar and all-time top posts in our subreddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/buteyko/ Such as Lifestyle changes; Breaking 40MCP in 2.5
months experience AMA
- Read through pinned messages in #general #newb-questions #breathing-progress
- Check #buteyko-resources and read Buteyko's lecture, Artour's Advanced Breathing
Book (OBLIGATORY)

Also:
- Normal breathing pattern: https://www.normalbreathing.com/patterns-
normal.php
- Respiration norms: https://www.normalbreathing.com/index-nb.php
- Importance of CO2 in body: https://www.normalbreathing.com/CO2.php
- Mouth breathing vs. nose breathing benefits:
https://www.normalbreathing.com/index-nasal.php
- Ideal breathing pattern: https://www.normalbreathing.com/patterns-ideal-
breathing.php
- Breath myths: https://www.normalbreathing.com/index-myths.php
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- Control Pause to measure your health: https://tiredbutwhy.com/the-buteyko-

control-pause-mesure-your-health-instantly/
- More than 90% of modern people hyperventilate:
https://www.normalbreathing.com/i-hyperventilation.php
- Buteyko table of health zones, levels of health (most modern people are sick but
it has become the new normal because it is the average):
https://www.normalbreathing.com/index-buteyko-table-of-health-zones.php
- List of diseases that can be cured by the Buteyko Method:
https://buteykodvd.com/list-of-diseases-of-deep-breathing/
- Learning Buteyko Method through modules (Not necessary if you read the
Advanced book): https://www.normalbreathing.com/learn.php
Join our discord server for more extensive resources. (https://discord.gg/VSN7dkE)
It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to educate yourself as much as possible to speed up
progress and also avoid problems that might damage your health. It is a rare case
for health problems to arise if you follow instructions from moderators and
educate yourself properly. With that said, the moderators and other members will
not be responsible for any problems that might arise. If you have a serious critical
condition talk with a doctor or get consultations with a certified Buteyko
practitioner.

What is CP?
CP is short for Control Pause. It's the core parameter through which we measure
health progress. The higher the CP, the better your body oxygenation and hence
your health. Most people are around 10-25CP which is the average health of
current planet (If you sleep 7-9 hours, you're within this range). Reaching 40+CP will
drastically improve your health, cut your sleep to 5-6 hours naturally, and rid you of
most basic health issues such as headaches, fatigue, indigestion, insomnia, and
many health conditions. After reaching 60+CP you will get even better health
improvements, cut your sleep to 3-4 hours naturally and will be able to cure even
more serious medical conditions.
All of these are actual results of tens of thousands actual cases of people who
have practiced the Buteyko method, by themselves, under Dr. Buteyko or under
other Buteyko practitioners and in medical institutions that practice the method.
The progress results of the users in this community also align with these benefits.
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How to measure CP?

1. Sit and be relaxed for 3-8 minutes until your breath is completely normalized
and relaxed.
2. Do a small inhale and small exhale.
3. Pinch your nose and start the timer.
4. Wait until the first signs that you need to breathe. Stop the timer when you
feel it.
The number in seconds is your CP. After taking the CP, you shouldn't feel even
slightly out of breath, but instead be able to breathe very easy and normally as
before when you were relaxed.

What is MCP?
MCP stands for Morning Control Pause. It's a more accurate way of checking your
weekly progress because the measurement isn't affected by different variables
compared to CP you take during the day (for example, being stressed, being in the
digestive process, tired from work etc.) You take MCP right after waking up, in the
lying down position as you awoke.

Why do breathing exercises?

The essence of a breathing session be it the traditional buteyko sessions or frolov
sessions is to get your body accustomed to higher CO2 levels.
During the sessions you maintain slight or medium air hunger in combination with a
relaxed body. The combination of these two activate a biological switch in your
brain to accept the new higher level of CO2. The more you activate this switch the
faster you will progress. When your body gets used to higher CO2 levels, it means
you will breathe less.
The reason is CO2 levels signal your body to breathe instead of lack of oxygen. (if
you breathe less it means you exhale less and hence you deplete less of precious
CO2). And as a result your body will be better oxygenated as more CO2 = better
cell/tissue oxygenation.
(Why is more CO2 = better cell/tissue oxygenation? Even with very low breathing,
your blood is already 97-99% saturated with oxygen. But to actually transfer that
oxygen from blood to cells and tissues you need higher CO2 levels. Higher CO2
levels create a lower pH environment which is the Bohr's effect, and the lower pH
environment allows for easier transfer of oxygen from blood to cells and tissues.)
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How can I speed up my progress?

Besides introducing better lifestyle habits, you can use the Frolov Breathing
Device, Training mask for physical exercise (if your CP is over 25), and try other
lifestyle changes that are beneficial for either physical or mental health such as
nofap, meditation, intermittent fasting, earthing etc.

How many reduced breathing exercises should I do?

The more reduced breathing exercises you do, the faster you will get better health
results. Dr. Buteyko had requirement of 2-3 hours of BR (breath retraining—
different term for reduced breathing exercise) exercise in a day for his patients. Dr.
Arthur (normalbreathing.com) says 1 hour per day is fine for those who aren’t
critically ill. Each session is 10 to 30 minutes. Short sessions of 10-15 minutes you
can do every hour. Longer sessions of 25-30 minutes you can do every two hours.
Think for yourself taking your needs and motivation level as variables. Aim for at
least two per day.

I’m not sure whether my reduced breathing exercises are effective?

Follow these tips before starting your BR session:
1. Empty stomach (water is fine).
2. Drink water if thirsty before exercise.
3. Less distractions, don't communicate or do other things, need to focus and
concentrate.
4. Clean and fresh air, keep moderately cool temperature.
5. Open window/take off some clothes if you feel too warm, or do a cold shower or
preferably cold air bath if shower is too stressful.
6. Sit on edge or middle of chair with erect spine, or meditative sitting position.
7. No deep or quick breaths.
8. Keep relaxed body (especially breathing muscles: jaw, neck, chest, shoulder).
9. During exercise breathe in and out only with nose, and with diaphragm/stomach.
Breathe out semi-passively (by relaxing breathing muscles)
To check the effectiveness of your reduced breathing exercise, measure your
pulse and CP right before and 5 minutes after the exercise. Your pulse should be at
least 2 points lower and your CP should be at least 4 seconds higher after a
successful exercise. Try to have at least 70% of successful exercises, if you can’t,
then you need to fix some issues and try modifying the intensity of the exercise.
Checking pulse is optional, as long as your CP is increased by at least 2-10 points,
it’s good.
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My nose is blocked?
Try to do a CP or maximum pause (maximum breath hold) while moving your head
up and down, it helps unblock the nose oftentimes. After you reach a certain
progress in CP your nose will unblock and stay unblocked. Your nose is getting
blocked because your body is trying to slow down your breathing (because you're
exhaling too much of precious CO2), but it isn't effective obviously because you're
breathing through your mouth. Try to maintain nosebreathing whenever it is
unblocked and implement the exercises and other healthy lifestyle changes. If you
can’t breathe through your nose because it is always blocked then breathe through
your mouth but as little as possible.

When and how many sessions should I do?

1. One in the morning before breakfast
2. One during late evening or before sleep
3. Optional before lunch and before dinner (do this for faster progress)
4. If you're doing frolov, do frolov only morning and evening and the optional
during the day do traditional buteyko sessions instead of frolov.

So how to do the breathing exercises?

I intentionally didn't explain how to actually do the breathing exercises because it
is recommended to learn the theory first before practicing. It's not a simple
breathing exercise that you learn in 5 minutes and do it (it's very complex). As I've
said in the introduction, you need to also apply proper lifestyle changes and
account for possible limiting factors during progress. Doing only breathing
exercises without apply proper lifestyle changes won't make you progress and
vice-versa. Doing breathing exercises incorrectly will make you uncomfortable, for
example if you do breathing exercises with food in your stomach will give you
digestion problems and maybe also headache.
With that said, if you have done some reading and you want to start practicing but
have difficulties starting, feel free post questions and we'll (experienced users)
help you out. Some of the experienced users in this community have higher
understanding of the method and higher CP than many of the Western Buteyko
teachers.

You can also join our discord server where more people are active.
(https://discord.gg/VSN7dkE)