wow never thought this would make the front page of HN. My great grandfather learned this method from Konstantin himself to help manage his debilitating asthma (back in the Soviet Union) and he kept it up daily into his 80s once we moved to the US. He did it daily for so long that he was able to hold his breath for almost 10 minutes if I remember correctly. He taught it to my grandma who then taught it to me when I was a kid but neither she nor I do it anymore unfortunately. Imagine an 11 year old sitting in a bedroom with his grandma doing breathing exercises. I honestly can't believe she got me to sit still longer than 5minutes to do it.
There are a few free apps that will teach it, I have used the “Advanced Buteyko” ios app.
If you demand extensive peer reviewed medical evidence of some specific quantified outcome before doing any activity in life you will miss quite a lot of valuable things that can’t be easily quantified or measured, or funded academically. There is however actually a lot of medical research on breathwork like this, they just will use the technical terms for what you are actually doing instead of a name like Buteyko.
I highly recommend the book Breath by James Nestor. The only health/pop sci book I'd recommend. Doing breathwork has increased my HRV by ~10ms and lowered my respiratory rate when I sleep. I no longer snore as a result.
I have a close friend who got her pretty hardcore asthma and nasal issues under control over last year. Her quality of life improved dramatically after doing this thing – I tried some basic first exercises and I felt there is some practical resemblance to breathing meditation. Anyway, I am planning to get more into it and would definitely recommend it if you upper respiratory issues have strong negative effects on your life.
I was taught this method as a child to help with constantly blocked nasal passages. I think it helped! I'm still doing it, although not religiously.
I think the major part of what makes it useful is just adding resistance for breathing. It helps to train the breathing muscles, just like any other resistance training.
wow never thought this would make the front page of HN. My great grandfather learned this method from Konstantin himself to help manage his debilitating asthma (back in the Soviet Union) and he kept it up daily into his 80s once we moved to the US. He did it daily for so long that he was able to hold his breath for almost 10 minutes if I remember correctly. He taught it to my grandma who then taught it to me when I was a kid but neither she nor I do it anymore unfortunately. Imagine an 11 year old sitting in a bedroom with his grandma doing breathing exercises. I honestly can't believe she got me to sit still longer than 5minutes to do it.
What a lovely story and a great connection to a post. Thanks for sharing.
I cannot tell, from the article, how to perform the Buteyko method.
From the "Medical Evidence" section, it seems I'm not missing much.
There are a few free apps that will teach it, I have used the “Advanced Buteyko” ios app.
If you demand extensive peer reviewed medical evidence of some specific quantified outcome before doing any activity in life you will miss quite a lot of valuable things that can’t be easily quantified or measured, or funded academically. There is however actually a lot of medical research on breathwork like this, they just will use the technical terms for what you are actually doing instead of a name like Buteyko.
> you will miss quite a lot of valuable things
Arguably, the lack of medical evidence tells us that this is in fact not a valuable thing.
I highly recommend the book Breath by James Nestor. The only health/pop sci book I'd recommend. Doing breathwork has increased my HRV by ~10ms and lowered my respiratory rate when I sleep. I no longer snore as a result.
What breath work do you do every week please?
Reason why I'm asking: the book contains many techniques, and I'm curious about what's working best for people.
I have a close friend who got her pretty hardcore asthma and nasal issues under control over last year. Her quality of life improved dramatically after doing this thing – I tried some basic first exercises and I felt there is some practical resemblance to breathing meditation. Anyway, I am planning to get more into it and would definitely recommend it if you upper respiratory issues have strong negative effects on your life.
I was taught this method as a child to help with constantly blocked nasal passages. I think it helped! I'm still doing it, although not religiously.
I think the major part of what makes it useful is just adding resistance for breathing. It helps to train the breathing muscles, just like any other resistance training.