Buteyko Konstantin Pavlovich (1923-2003) was a Russian scientist and Professor of Medicine, who discovered a leading role of hyperventilation in the development of many chronic diseases including bronchial asthma. Doctor Buteyko received his medical degree from the First Medical Institute in Moscow, where he studied from 1946 and graduated with honors in 1952.
During last years of his studies he observed a lot of patients with hypertension, heart disease, asthma and other serious health conditions. He noticed that with symptoms aggravation and health deterioration their respiration got heavier. It helped Buteyko to realize the connection between the respiration and overall health. He then devoted his life to studying that connection.
He joined the Department of Clinical Therapy at the First Medical Institute in Moscow as the manager of the Laboratory of Functional Diagnostics. In 1960 Dr Buteyko became the manager of another Laboratory of Functional Diagnostics organized at the Institute of Experimental Biology and Medicine in Novosibirsk, where he created a unique diagnostic complex.
K.P. Buteyko, his students and the doctors he trained in Soviet Russia were working in many clinics and hospitals across the USSR and collected valuable research and practical application data on the effectiveness of the Method. They had dozens of publications in Soviet medical literature in 1960s.
Despite slow acceptance from conventional medical world, The Buteyko Breathing Method continued to gain popularity and to spread not only in the Soviet Union but around the world. In 1990s Buteyko’s students and followers eventually brought the Method to Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many other European countries.
In 1983 the Buteyko Breathing Method was recognized by the Russian government, and in April of 1985 the Soviet Union Ministry of Health released a regulation to recommend teaching The Buteyko Breathing Method to asthma patients.
From 1995 to 2006 a number of medical trials confirmed the effectiveness of The Buteyko Breathing Method.
In June, 2002 there were Debates in the British House of Commons about the Buteyko Breathing Method.
In 2007 Mayo Clinic listed The Buteyko Breathing Technique among the most promising alternative therapies for asthma.
In 2008 one of the major medical insurance companies in Ireland, VIVAS Health offered Buteyko workshops coverage as members benefit.
In 2008, The British Thoracic Society in their Guideline on the Management of Asthma upgraded Buteyko Breathing technique to category B, meaning that there are high quality clinical trials supporting the effectiveness of the method in reducing asthma symptoms and bronchodilator use.
In April of 2009 Coventry University in the UK offered a course to train nurses how to teach the Buteyko Breathing Method to patients with asthma.
The cornerstone of the Buteyko theory is that chronic hyperventilation (prolonged breathing of larger volumes of air that our body needs) causes a loss of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the lungs and in the blood. A deficit of CO2 disturbs body's acid alkaline balance, causes smooth muscle to constrict and leads to poor oxygen absorption by body's tissues.
Overbreathing signs and symptoms
Many of conditions we now call "diseases of civilization", are merely body's physiological response to overbreathing. Which condition your body acquires depends on you genetic predisposition. Factors that contribute to hyperventilation are mostly related to modern lifestyle and beliefs that breathing more leads to increased body's oxygenation.
To quote K.P. Buteyko - "there isn't such thing as asthma disease, hypertension disease or heart disease, but there is one Disease of Deep Breathing..." To follow Buteyko's main postulate: in order to reverse chronic illness, a patient must recondition his or her breathing to eventually reach healthy level. K. P. Buteyko spent over 40 years expanding his theory through clinical experience with hundreds of patients and his method. Thanks to his great legacy, today we are equipped with powerful drug free healing technique which continues proving to be effective for hundreds of asthma sufferers worldwide.
Buteyko Breathing Educators Association (BBEA)
The Buteyko Breathing Educators Association (BBEA) presents a high standard professional organization for the teaching and certification of Buteyko Educators in North America and worldwide.
Patent of Buteyko Breathing Method
The Buteyko Breathing Method is not patented in North America nor the Western World. There are also no patents related to the Buteyko method anywhere in the world. The Buteyko Breathing Method, as it has been practiced in the USSR-Russia and other countries by recognised breathing practitioners, is freely available and does not require a license. It has been in general use and existence in the Western world for well over twenty years.
For any person or entity to declare that the Buteyko Breathing Method is patented is simply untrue and misleading to the general public.
What Is BBEA?
The BBEA is in the process of formation and will be a non-profit professional association for Buteyko Breathing Educators. The members of BBEA will have access to, and be required to comply with, rigorous teaching and certification standards. This will ensure that anyone who seeks help from a BBEA certified Buteyko Educator receives Buteyko Breathing education of the highest standard.
Who Can Be a BBEA Educator?
To become a BBEA educator you will be required to undergo training in the Buteyko Breathing method from a certified BBEA Buteyko Trainer. There will be more information available about this process once the BBEA has been officially formed. The (interim) BBEA is currently taking expressions of interests from certified Buteyko educators who have previously been trained by a recognized body and who are interested in becoming members of the BBEA.
About the Buteyko Breathing Educators Association
The Buteyko Breathing Educators Association at this point consists of about forty five dedicated and fully trained Buteyko Educators in the United States and Canada who provide courses and assistance for people learning the Buteyko Breathing Method. Members of BBEA have a rich and varied experience and deep understanding of the Buteyko Breathing Method that provides an amazing resource for people to learn Buteyko and to live without their symptoms.
Buteyko Origins In United States & Canada
Buteyko was first brought from Russia to the western world by Russian practitioner Alexander Stalmatski. Stalmatski arrived to Sydney, Australia in 1990 and began teaching friends the Buteyo Breathing Method from his small apartment. Dr Buteyko and Alexander kept closely in touch with each other during the early dissemination of the Buteyko method throughout the western world. In addition to working in Sydney, Stalmatski made a number of trips to the UK and USA in the early 1990's to train groups of patients and educators. Stalmatski also wrote the first books on the Buteyko Method in the western world including "Freedom from Asthma" and "Freedom from Insomnia".
Buteyko Pioneers in North America
The initial Buteyko Pioneers in North America were Susan Neves, Bud Weiss and Liv Browning.
Susan Neves
She first began teaching the Buteyko Breathing Method in 1998 after she trained as a educator through the BIBH, an Australian Buteyko Organization. In December of 2000, Susan underwent further training under the tutelage of the founder of the method, the Late Dr Buteyko. Susan now teaches classes in the United States and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Bud Weiss
He retired from the New York City Board of Education in 2008 having served there as a social worker for 25 years. He worked with many children and parents teaching the Buteyko method he had learned from Alexander Stalmatski. His first exposure to the method and beginning training was in 1995 in New York City, initially promoting the work of Chris Drake who was a protégé of Stalmatski's. He has presented many workshops about the method to teachers and clinicians since that time.
In 1999, He assisted in the organizing and training of Buteyko Practitioners by Alexander Stalmatski at the Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington Massachusetts. In addition to training with him, he also organized and assisted Stalmatski in several Buteyko workshops in New York City from 1998-99 including the first one sponsored by Teresa Hale prior to the publication of her book on Buteyko called "Breathing Free".
He additionally trained in the BIBH method of Buteyko with Jennifer and Russell Stark beginning in November of 2007. He sponsored and assisted in the presentation of the first 2 week long phase of the BIBH practitioner training in New York City. It was led by Jennifer Stark in July of 2008 during which the method was taught to over 30 participants for the remediation of their various breathing issues.
Liv Browning
She originally learned the Buteyko Method as a solution for her own chronic asthma, from Alexander Stalmatski at the Hale Clinic in London in 1997. She has been asthma free since that time and no longer uses medication. In December 2000, she trained with and earned additional certification from the founder of the method, Dr. Konstantin Buteyko.
In May 2000, she opened the doors of Northwest Buteyko Center for Asthma Control and introduced the Buteyko Method to Seattle, Washington and the Western United States. For the first two years, Browning taught her courses at Bovenkamp Chiropractic located in West Seattle. In the spring of 2002, she moved to a new office on First Hill across from Swedish Hospital and shortly after, changed the company name to "Kick Asthma LLC" Center for Asthma Control.
First Clinical Trials Of Buteyko In North America
The Buteyko Method has produced tremendous results for a variety of conditions most notably Asthma and Rhinitis. In early 2000, a child from New York made an excellent recovery from life-long Asthma after he was taught the Buteyko Method. The results were such that his father made a donation of a million dollars to further research of the Buteyko Method. This donation allowed for the first clinical trial in North America that took place in Calgary, Canada at the Foothills Hospital. Chris Bauman was the Buteyko practitioner involved with these trials in Calgary. Results at six months follow up were a 41% reduction in the need for inhaled steroids with Asthma control improving from 40% to 79%. "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Buteyko Technique works," said Doctor Bob Cowie MD, resident Respirologist at the Foothills Hospital and Manager of Calgary Buteyko Clinical Trial. "The results of this study shows it is a wonderful adjunct to conventional treatment of Asthma. We had super results that no one else has been able to match even with the best medication." Typical clinical trial results is 50% reduction in Asthma Symptoms in two weeks. And a 95 -98% reduction in Asthma Symptoms, 100% reduction in short term Asthma inhaler use, and 50% decrease in long term acting Asthma medications within 8 - 10 weeks or sooner.
NOTE: The British Medical Thoracic Society has approved the Buteyko Breathing Method as a complementary treatment option for Doctors to use on people with Asthma in England. It has been proven to be highly effective treatment for Asthma.
Publications By Members Of BBEA
Members of the BBEA have produced some of the most detailed and popular publications on the Buteyko Breathing Method.
Dr Artour Rakhimov He has written two books including "Normal Breathing; the key to vital health". This book is without doubt the most detailed and best researched publication of the Buteyko Method. His other works include a translation of Dr Buteyko's lectures to Moscow state university, and "Oxygenate yourself: Breathe less" as well as DVD lectures titled "Breathing Patterns and Tissue Oxygenation".
Patrick McKeown He has written a number of books including the best seller "Asthma Free Naturally", (Conari Press 2008) "Close Your Mouth", "Anxiety Free: Stop worrying and quieten the mind" and "ABC To Be Asthma Free". Other works include his extensive instructional materials that includes "ButeykoDVD".
Buteyko Educator Training In North America
Each year, there are a number of Buteyko Educator training courses held throughout the USA and Canada. Educator trainers include Chris Bauman and Patrick McKeown. Chris trained in New Zealand during 2000 under Jennifer Stark who was taught by Dr. Buteyko directly. Patrick trained in Moscow during 2002 and is accredited by the late Dr Buteyko. Chris and Patrick have been teaching practitioners since 2005 and have trained educators in over eleven different countries.
Related Blog links
What is the Buteyko Breathing Method?
Are you suffering from Chronic Hyperventilation Syndrome (CHVS)?
Does Buteyko work for everyone?
Does Buteyko work for everyone? (continued)
Natural asthma treatment provides safer relief
Classification of the diseases and correct diagnosis
The Age of Respiratory Obesity
Buteyko Therapy - the time is NOW?
Modern Medicine - Conventional vs. Alternative. Why Buteyko stands alone.