I'm writing today to express my gratitude for Buteyko and perhaps inspire anyone just starting out who may be struggling. I just went back and read my first post to his group which was April 12, 2001. I had been practicing Buteyko from a book for 2 weeks prior to finding this group and was blown away by how well it worked.
Five years later, I am free of asthma and haven't used any medication for almost all of that time (I think I used an inhaler a few times during that first year). The other amazing thing is that my allergies are pretty much gone. I used to be extremely allergic to dogs and cats (and many, many other things) and now my cat sleeps on the bed with me, and dogs (which used to be my worst allergy second only to horses) don't bother me at all. A couple of years into practicing Buteyko, I visited my sister and her family in Colorado -- they have two dogs. In the past I would be miserable as soon as I walked in the house and would definitely be using an inhaler and unable to stay very long. During the whole 5 days I was there, I petted and played with the dogs without so much as a sniffle or wheeze. My family was pretty amazed. I have since visited twice more with the same experience. Prior to this I had asthma for about 30 years (from age 17 to 47) and at the time I found Buteyko, I was taking inhaled steriods and using a rescue inhaler more than a couple of times each day. Activities like running were out of the question, bringing on a serious bout of wheezing. The first time I was able to actually run on the treadmill a few years ago, I was ecstatic! All this to say that I'm forever incredibly grateful for finding Buteyko.
While I no longer do "sets" of breathing or measure my CP (except occasionally), low volume breathing has become my natural way and I always sleep with tape on my mouth (I have a feeling a couple of nights without tape and I would start having some trouble). I'm also aware of slight changes in breathing or a feeling in my chest if I talk too much, too fast or eat certain foods. Then, I just stop and Buteyko-breathe for a few minutes and I'm fine. I've never had anything in almost 5 years that resembles an "asthma attack." I've told many, many people about Buteyko and am happy to see that there are now quite a few more practitioners in the U.S.
So, thanks for listening, and the very best of everything to all of you on your healing journeys!
With appreciation,
Lisa