Breathing Exercises For Your Health

Many people live with breathing problems like asthma and COPD. In order to function they are dependent on taking medications. All medications have side effects but they are used to maintain health. Medicine should be taken at the lowest clinical dose. Meaning the dose that gives the benefit that is needed should be what is taken. It is not a matter of if a little is good more is better. We can sometimes help with keeping dosages low by doing non medical things. We can eat better, keep our weight down, exercise get plenty of rest among other things. But we must also remember that asthma is a serious disease and the reason there is medication for asthma is because it is needed and saves lives. 

What now is called Qigong started in the stone age shamanistic time in China. It was dancing and breathing methods that imitated animals that was used for healing and spiritual means. The written history goes back to the Book of Internal Medicine that claimed to be written by the legendary Yellow Emperor. The Book of Changes was written about 1122BC which talks of the concept of qi or chi. Qigong has many schools that are influences by Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

Pranayama is one of the branches of yoga. The other ones are meditation and stretching exercises. The word prana is interpreted to mean life or energy and the word ayama is both control and extend. Yoga was developed many years ago in India and predates written language. It was passed down by priests via oral traditions as hymns and approximately 2000 years ago was compiled and written down. Like many ancient traditions no one knows exactly when it began.

Buteyko is a breathing method that is used to help people with certain breathing problems notably asthma. By using this method it is hoped that the difficulty in breathing can be better managed. Which means there should be a reduction on the dependence of rescue medications and steroids. As we know asthma is a inflammatory disease, and it is the inflammation that has to be dealt with. Care of course must be taken because death can be the end result of a poorly controlled asthma attack. This breathing exercise is not a cure, studies do not show any changes in lung function or inflammation, but shows there can be a decrease in the amount of medication taken by the asthma sufferer. Buteyko should be used with allergic trigger avoidance, medications, diet, exercise and healthy life style to help with the management.

There is anecdotal evidence of this breathing exercise helping other ailments other than asthma but no clinical trials as of yet or peer review journal articles. The founder of the system Konstantin Buteyko was said to have suffered from hypertension. He practiced shallow breathing on himself and stated that his hypertension went away. He believed that the change in breathing would help people with other diseases. It is stated that in 1987 he opened a clinic and treated patience with many diseases and found that the breathing method was helpful.

Papworth Breathing Method was developed in the 1960's at Papworth hospital in Cambridgeshire, England. This method was developed by physiotherapists to deal with rapid, shallow breathing in patients. It focuses on diaphragmatic breathing instead of the less effective chest and accessory muscle breathing. Patients are trained to relax their shoulders and stomach while breathing through their nose instead of their mouth. This is supposed to be a part of their life style to breath according to the activity that they are engaged in at the time.

Breathing techniques are used as clinical treatments for many situations. Women who are going through labor use them to help with the pain. Anyone having an anxiety attack might be instructed to do breathing exercises to help them calm down. When shortness of breath occurs in people with lung problems they do breathing methods in order to help in effectively breathing.