Working with children means to care about future generations as they will become parents themselves in the future.
Unlike adults children are not very familiar with traditional medical views. They are more intuitive, their inborn reflexes are correct, and that explains why alternative medicine notions are more in tune with children's needs and wishes. Children do not want to cough phlegm out but they are forced to do that. Many of them do not want to drink after meals,and they do not like sandwiches. They prefer natural vegetables to salads but gradually get trained to eat them. I have never met children who dont cry at doctor's rooms or while some tests are taken. But they are very happy with non-medication treatment especially when some physical or water activities are included.
A doctor working with children has to be able to give them a clear and easy to understand explanation on the theory and practice of DVBM, or that which is causing the disease and how they can become free of it. Don't convert your teaching method into cliche and stereotypes. Make it different for each individual!
It's very important to help parents to understand that the process of sanitation and keeping children healthy will last their whole lifetime. Remind them children are individuals requiring respect and having their own desires.
The most serious damaging factors leading to uncontrollable growth of the depth of breathing are over- feeding of kids, over-heating and a lack of physical activity. Children's development depends greatly on their environment. The smaller they are, the bigger the dependency. That is why they often copy a character, views, habits of their parents, including their attitude to health. If mother and father do nothing to improve their health, any attempts to do something for children in this respect are taken by them as unjust and a constraint. The best encouraging motivation for kids is an example from parents, a competition with them. That means rehabilitation must be a family business.
During our sessions we tried to explain to both parents and children that health is a real treasure and to achieve it takes a great deal of effort. A child should comprehend what is a cause of his illness and how DVBM works. Otherwise, our teaching will become a set of cliches: sealing up a mouth at night, training is just 10 control pauses, attack cupping is 5 breathing cycles, etc. For better motivation and consolidation of the method you can offer a kid to share his knowledge with newcomers, encouraging him to use examples from his personal experience.
Both parents and children have to learn a fresh approach to life. And in case they forget about something like nasal breathing, walking, proper nutrition, then it is up to a doctor to remind them gently.
In accordance to the particular features we can divide children into three age groups: up to one year old, from one to three, older than three year old.
It is recommended to conduct DVBM sessions with children using some elements of games:
1. Sitting in front of the mirror we are breathing "like mice" - one can't see or hear us.
2. The "Rabbits - wolves" game. After running around for 2-3 minutes we stop and hold our breath.
Children are "rabbits" and a doctor or a parent or one of the kids is "a wolf". The wolf is walking around
and listening for rabbits' breathing. If he can hear this then he "eats" that rabbit.
3. To cover a distance between two balls on the floor keeping a control pause, to climb a gymnastic
ladder holding a breath, etc.
4. Sitting after a control pause we become "as soft as a cloth" and breathe "like mice" (a doctor checks
an ability to relax).
For kids at the age of 1 to 3 a leading role in adaptation to nasal breathing and a constant growth of CO2 belongs to physical loading. We have to remember that at that age the ability to copy and imitate especially their parents is developed utmost. Therefore, sessions should be conducted together with parents who can participate in measuring a control pause, running around breathing through the nose, dousing with cold water. It helps a lot if we seal child's mouth up with a plaster while running or doing physical exercises. Exercise complexes can vary but I prefer yoga as each exercise in yoga is accompanied with a breath holding, many of them are performed with a significant relaxation of muscles-retractors which produces some general relaxing effect.
In my view, at this age a control pause does not play a role of a health index as it does for adults and does not reflect the disease seriousness. The longer a control pause in a kid, the better he comprehended your requirements. Certainly, their control pause can fluctuate greatly - from 2 to 20 and even to 60 and back. Thus, at that age we have to rely more on keeping nasal breathing up and child's adaptability to a load. On that ground, I believe that to teach children DVBM without physical activities during the sessions, putting them in seated position as it is recommended by some practitioners, is a mistake.
We give children the following explanation. This is:
1 - the continuous (day and night);
2- decrease (holding still chest and stomach);
3 - of the depth of breathing (breath so quietly nobody can notice nothing);
4 - along with a relaxation (be soft "as a cloth");
5 - until slight shortness of breath is felt (desire to inhale deeper).
We always measure a control pause after physical activities (walking, jogging, marching, squatting, etc.). Parents are taking part in our training sessions where we teach children to be relaxed walking and jogging, to keep a beautiful posture with shoulders lowered, chest and stomach "soft", movements light and free. It's a good idea to organise competitions between children and parents: the bigger someone's control pause and a number of those pauses, the better marks one obtains. Some tests examining the knowledge related to DVBM and readiness to work independently on it also can be held in the middle and to the end of a session. In K. P. Buteyko recommendations there are specific questions for such exams. For parents special attention should be paid to role plays.
During sessions parents should control their children and vice versa. Children should observe their parents at training, correct their mistakes, explain to them why, for example, overholding of control pause is dangerous.
Duration of the course for kids is from two weeks to one month, better daily, 30-60 minutes each followed by water procedures.
2. Measure a control pause, then breathe only through the nose "like mice". Remember that a mouth is for eating and talking, eyes for seeing, ears for listening, and a nose for breathing. How shall we be breathing? Only through the nose and quietly.
3. Divide into groups of 2-3. Each group is measuring their control pauses. Children from other groups observe that and offer their comments. Then parents are measuring their control pauses and children are checking their breath after the pause.
4. Children with parents are walking in a circle slowly, watching their posture, breathing quietly through the nose. Gradually they are switching to sporting walking and jogging. 2-3 minutes-run keeping nasal breathing. Then all came to stop and start playing "rabbits and wolves".
5. Measure a control pause while walking, running, squatting, jumping up in . turn on right and left legs. During breaks breathe quietly and unnoticeably.
6. Several yoga exercises: "swing", "bow", "snake", "perfection", "fish", etc. Control your breath.
7. Exercises with dumb-bells. Control your breath.
8. Cold water sponging down.
9. Manual therapy or cups massage if required.
10. End of session: sit down and measure a control pause, pulse, respiratory rate
11. 10-15 minutes of theory.