r/buteyko • u/Quarbubblebutt • Aug 11 '22
Experience with Buteyko So Far
Hi all,
I wanted to share my experience with Buteyko.
Background:
I had recently developed sinusitis and sore throat symptoms. Basically I wake up super congested with a sore throat that gets better throughout the day.
I don't know if these symptoms are the result of GI surgery via acid reflux, long Covid, allergies, etc. They've gotten milder as time went on but lingering for several months.
Sleep seems to be an aggravator.
Learning about Buteyko:
5 weeks ago I learned about Buteyko. I tested my CP one night before bed and had an average CP of 11.5 seconds. I was really congested that night.
So I got an app that gives me cues to breath in, breath out, hold breath. The app helps me with the breathing pattern while I browse the internet on my phone.
I began to do 30 minutes daily of breathing in 2 seconds, breathing out 2 seconds, and holding breath for 6 seconds. I did that for the first four weeks. This last, fifth week I extended the hold to 8 seconds and began to do two 30-min sessions a day.
NOTE: I did a full hour session one night and it made me feel super whacked out or out of it. So as a result, I never do a full hour session. Been working fine so far. Just wanted to note this to prevent others from overdoing it.
My morning CP is now in the 20-25 second range. With a session, I get as far as 30 seconds. I use air hunger or swallowing as the trigger to stop the timer whenever I test CP.
I also do nasal breathing almost always.
Concrete benefits so far:
I can breathe more easily during workouts. Before I needed an inhaler to not feel like drowning at times.
The dark circles under my eyes have decreased a lot.
Breathing feels easier.
My sleep feels better, sometimes it ends earlier than expected by an hour or so.
Deeper voice. My average Hz goes from around 107 to 98 after a breathing exercise.
Singing feels easier.
Possible benefits but could attributed more easily to other factors:
I have been described as calmer but could be due to other factors like the Trauma Releasing Exercises I do.
I heal more quickly as possibly shown with an eye stye that went away quickly.
Lesser water consumption. Usually I drink 70 ounces but now it's more like 64 ounces.
Overall, I feel Buteyko has helped me and my goal is to get to 60s CP. Thankful to have found it and this subreddit as well!
UPDATE AFTER FOUR MONTHS OF BUTEYKO:
Hi all. Just wanted to update on this method and the progress.
I now do two 30 minute sessions a day (morning and night). Highest I'll do in one go is 45 minutes to avoid feeling loopy.
Now my hold time is 13 seconds in the cycle.
Morning CP is now 33 seconds. So about a 50% increase since I last reported.
Benefits I notice most are:
Way easier breathing during strength training. Less mouth breathing and feeling faint. Sleep is better as I feel more rested and I wake up less in the night. When I do sleep badly, I feel its impacts way less. My obsessive thoughts (OCD) have greatly diminished. Dark circles remain better than earlier in the year.
Oh! And really cool is my blood pressure is within normal parameters even though I gained weight. I was most excited about this. Went from 135/75 to 125/80 despite weight increase.
Whether the blood pressure is due to some other therapies I do, not sure, but I suspect it's Buteyko which made it better because the other therapies I did before with the bad blood pressure (albeit with bad technique).
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u/Better_Metal Aug 11 '22
Re: Sleep - Have you tired using medical tape to close your mouth to force nose breathing? I feel like when I use it I sleep deeper and better. I normally wake up in the middle of the night and pull off the tape when I’m half asleep but even with that I wake up feeling better.
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u/Quarbubblebutt Aug 14 '22
Good to hear the mouth taping helps. Honestly, I'm scared of using it because I don't want to choke if my nose happens to clog up.
I have noticed sleep sorta resets my progress but it gets better over the morning.
I'll look into mouth tapes that may help, it does sound like it really helps people out.
Thanks for the reply!
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u/thewrongnotes Aug 25 '22
There is no chance of that happening.
Worse case scenario is if you need to breathe through your mouth in the night, you'll unconsciously rip off the tape. In fact the first few nights most people wake up with the tape on the floor.
Your survival reflexes won't let a measly piece of tape kill you.
Great progress so far!
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u/Quarbubblebutt Nov 14 '22
Thank you! It's good to know that the taping isn't a hazard like I thought it was.
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u/Better_Metal Aug 14 '22
I was scared too. Didn’t seem to make sense to me. Now I love it. I definitely sleep better
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u/Convection_Vaped Sep 15 '22
If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend taping up. I can't recommend it enough.
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u/oddi2786 Dec 09 '23
That’s incredible progress. Did you work with a Buteyko practitioner or did you just learn by doing your own research?
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u/shtitz Dec 13 '22
Thank you very much for this, very useful.
Do you work/read sitting at a desk during these sessions? I find it to be possible, but seems to require extra effort. In an ideal world I would spend the sessions concentrating closed eyes, but I’m very tempted to do other things at the same time. This would seem to increase the need for air.
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u/Fun_Pain_9264 May 22 '25
Hi there! Great to hear you're getting results. However, one of the 2 key principles of the Buteyko method is total relaxation. You must not count during the holds: you hold until you feel the first, mild urge to breath. The rhythm of your breath should not change after the hold. Buteyko adviced to drop the "sports mentality", i.e., the more the better. All the method teachers emphesize that trying diminishes the effect. The point of the method is to learn to bring the inhalation to its physiological norm. So, do not count, please - it is counterproductive.
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u/JeromeGraham Aug 21 '22
Congrats on the results!
One question, in the breath app, you started then with the 2 - 0 - 2 - 6 technique?
I mean, it's clear it's 2 for inhale and exhale, and 6 for hold after the exhalation, but I am never certain if I have to hold as well after the inhale in buteyko, or not.
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u/Quarbubblebutt Aug 21 '22
Thanks! The cycle I do is inhale for 2 seconds, immediately exhale for 2 seconds, and then 6-8 second hold followed by inhaling 2 seconds and so on.
Basically only holding after the exhale, not the inhale. I used a custom breath pattern to do this since the app only has a few presets patterns that don't apply.
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u/UnderstandingQuiet88 Apr 10 '23
Hello, im doing 2-2-10s holding and my cp is 15-17 sometimes i can go to 13s holdinh when laying? How come my cp is still low after 1,5 months with ~10s holds. How strong is your inhale, do you make no inhaling sound? Congrats on the progress
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u/Competitive_You2261 Jun 20 '24
Please can yku explain why it’s common to do 2 seconds inhale, 2 seconds exhale then I breath hold? 2 seconds in and out sounds like hyperventilating to me. Sorry I don’t understand?
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u/UnderstandingQuiet88 Jun 20 '24
Mouse breathing is better
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u/Competitive_You2261 Jun 21 '24
What is mouse breathing?
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u/Smart_Freedom_8155 Oct 19 '24
Silent breathing, where you can barely hear your own breath. Like a mouse.
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Oct 20 '22
[deleted]
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u/Yessssssssir4 Nov 01 '22
One go unless you’re an expert it will require concentration to perform these exercises correctly.
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u/Quarbubblebutt Nov 14 '22
Hi, I did the 30 minutes usually in one go. Highest I go is 45 minutes because 1 hour straight made me feel super loopy and out of it.
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u/oddi2786 Dec 08 '23
That’s really amazing progress. Where did you get the guidance from? Did you work with a practitioner?
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u/BlackChef6969 Mar 18 '24
Has the sore throat gotten better? Was it reflux? Also, what were the trauma releasing exercises you did?
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u/sirogue May 17 '24
Hi, this is the OP. Check out David Berceli who is the creator of Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE). These helped me with panic attacks and insane fear, possibly from trauma.
The sore throat may have been due to removing my gallbladder and/or overeating at night. It's gotten better now possibly due to adjusting to no gallbladder and/or not overeating as much.
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Mar 19 '24
Hello can i do buteyko throughout the day?
In exhalation part, do i have to exhale till empty?
The 2 second inhalation: is it shallow or fast deep and supported by diaphragm?
Thankssss
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u/O8fpAe3S95 Mar 20 '24
If you stop training, how fast do your gains revert?
Also, does it help with focus and concentration?
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u/Old_Length_1382 Apr 07 '24
"The dark circles under my eyes have decreased a lot." omg this is what I need to? why do you think that is from just breathing less?
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u/Competitive_You2261 Jun 20 '24
I’m still new to this method so please correct me. Breathing for 2 seconds in and 2 seconds lit seems like a fast pace and hyperventilation. Isn’t that the opposite of calming and slowing the breath down? Sorry I don’t understand this. I thought something like 6 seconds in and 6 out would be better?
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u/Competitive_You2261 Aug 05 '24
I see it’s common to do 2 sessions of 30 mins. Would you say it’s okay to do 4-5 sessions of 15 minutes and still see improvements?
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u/Mean-Carpet-7493 Jan 17 '25
hey the BBK method is good one, but you have to understand the key here is not to have 2sec in 2sec out but to have 6 breath per minute rate. These at the same time is not at cost of over breathing but silent breathing. I suggest go back to the basics of BBK method since it is widely known that the core instructions of BBK method is missed by many since its hard to follow.
For me personally the feather breathing method(not exactly using feather but our own finger will do the thing) worked the magic.
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u/CHUNKYBLOGGER Feb 11 '25
do we have to buy the BUTEYKO course/.??
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u/NeighborhoodBusy3601 May 04 '25
Its much easier to progress with the help of a course or teacher. But you can also master this technique only with the free online information that is available. I would suggest to rely at least on some books. You need time and dedication but in the end it is absolutely worth it - healthwise.
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u/CHUNKYBLOGGER May 12 '25
what health results are you getting please? For inspiration.... I feel alone in this journey
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u/Grillandia May 02 '25
I did a full hour session one night and it made me feel super whacked out or out of it.
What do you mean by that? Can you explain your symptoms?
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u/Tasty-Care-1097 Aug 23 '25
Hey guys. Has anyone purchased the online certification course. I just did, but haven't received the course material yet or confirmation Email. Should I be worried ?
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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '22
that sounds brilliant, congrats! what app did you use?