A breathing therapy developed
in Russia which offers help to the growing number of asthma sufferers
is now available in Stoke Newington. Buteyko, which is
named after the Russian professor who developed the breathing technique,
helps adults and children with asthma, sinusitis, anxiety, persistent
cough and other breathing-related conditions. The therapy is based
on the theory that over-breathing aggravates certain conditions.
The Buteyko method retrains breathing patterns with the ultimate
aim of encouraging you to breathe less.
The technique has spread from Russia to the west over the last
decade particularly to Australia and New Zealand and it is gradually
becoming more popular in the UK.
Studies in Australia and in Scotland show that people who learn
Buteyko breathing techniques find that their asthma symptoms improve,
so that they can significantly reduce their medication and, in many
cases, stop using it all together.
Kathryn Godfrey, a long-term Stoke Newington resident, first learnt
the method as her asthma was getting out of control. She said: ‘I
was using more and more inhalers to keep my asthma under control.
There were inhalers scattered everywhere, in the house, always one
in my bag, and in the car’.
 Since
learning the technique, Kathryn has stopped using any inhalers and
controls any symptoms that do occur with breathing exercises. This
experience spurred Kathryn, who used to be a nurse, to train as
a Buteyko practitioner and she is now able to offer the technique
locally. Asthma rates in the UK have been increasing steadily. Since
the 1970s the number of children with asthma has quadrupled. And
one in six adults have asthma symptoms, with more people in the
UK having severe asthma than anywhere else in the world.
Kathryn says that the method is very successful with children,
as their breathing patterns are not so firmly established, but most
adults see an improvement very quickly. Changing the way you breath
is perfectly safe, and she stresses that people that learn the method
should decrease their asthma medication in consultation with their
doctor. Those learning the Buteyko breathing technique have to commit
to carrying out the prescribed breathing exercises regularly in
order to gain benefit. Once the symptoms have been brought under
control, the exercises are only needed occasionally to manage symptoms.
For more information, look at Kathryn’s website at www.breathewell.co.uk.
Kathryn Godfrey is a member of the Buteyko Breathing Association
- www.buteykobreathing.org - and can be seen at Shine Holistic,
52 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 on 020 7241 5033 or 020 7249
9671. As a special Shine Holistic promotion, Buteyko breathing therapy
sessions are being offered at a reduced rate in March and April. |
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