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Slow Breathing and Breathing Meditations for Health

| Modified on Aug 29, 2023
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Continuum Movement Techniques

There are literally hundreds of different breathing methods that one can employ to cure an ailment. All of them are quite useful. We hope however, that you will look into the work of Emile Conrad at Continuum Movement. Emile has taken breath work to a fascinating new level over the past 40 plus years. You've probably'never seen anything like it (trust us). This intense breathing and slow movement work is one of the most potent forms of healing we have encountered in our own 20 years of research and application.

If you have taken classes with Emile or one of her colleagues and worked with Continuum Movement techniques, please let us know what ailments the techniques have cured you of!

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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Breathing for Life

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Posted by Robert Henry (Ten Mile, Tn) on 11/18/2018
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HI U OLE PATOOTS DOIN......... life is 'bout as interesting as I can stand. I don't feel well and don't know why. 'Course being 82 has nothing to do with the situation. If I get up in the morning and do an ozone sauna and breath ozone bubbled through olive oil, then I feel chipper. Think that's a word the Brits would use. But, I feel good.

Here's what I'm trying to say........ when you get old and worn out then you have to get oxygen into your body. You see all these people with oxygen bottles hanging on them. The are not trying to feel good, they are trying to survive.

As a result of my status, I am reading and watching everything I can about how to breathe. They tell me that babies know how to breathe, but old folks don't. Babies breathe with their bellies, but us old smart folks breathe from our chest. Why....... well the military told us to stick our chests out and breath.

I am working on this and no one on EC is. I think people are missing the boat. When was the last time some bright dude on EC talked about breathing? I have never seen any post on EC about breathing. Are we dumb or what?

====ORH====

Replied by Frances
(Cabarlah, Qld.)
11/23/2018

G'Day, Some years ago I took a Buteyko breathing course mostly to attend with partner who couldn't adjust to CPAP machine. It was quite expensive for the 2 of us. The techniques learned are the opposite of what one learns esp. in Yoga classes. There is a lot of info on the Web esp. by the founder. I get a newsletter now and then from Patrick McKeown in Ireland who teaches around the world.

Breathing Techniques

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Posted by Michael (New Zealand) on 09/14/2020
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Hi There,

Here's the Bad News!! Sorry!! Ready??

Turns out that most of us are breathing all wrongly and I have just finished listening to an American chap who says he can fix this for us, if we will but take on board his sage advice for Self Improvement. (No, his initials are not D.T.).

On our national treasure: "Radio New Zealand-National Radio" to-day, he was interviewed on this gripping topic and sounded extremely plausible (unlike D.T.)

I was particularly intrigued, as for years I was a "mouth breather" due to the fact that I experienced an accident when I was a small ankle biter and my nose got smashed up and blocked from there on in. You could say that years later, after the ops, I had to learn to do what most people don't have to think about (but nevertheless do wrongly anyway).

After two operations to open up the airways, I studied Ayurvedic breathing practices and benefited immensely at the time: even the constant headaches began to recede.

James Nestor in his recently published book: "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art" claims that the nose is a sophisticated air-conditioning system that, if allowed to do its job properly, becomes our body's first line of defence against a myriad of nasties that seek to enter our bodies via our ventilation system! (Cheeky blighters).

It might be fun to listen to him being interviewed on our N Z National Radio (I tried to copy the link but failed) and you could hear a Kiwi accent at the same time - hey two for the price of one, education and entertainment together!

Or possibly actually read the book.

Maybe there's a Podcast lurking about somewhere? Over to you health enthusiasts.

If you're quick, it will still be on RNZ's site for you to listen to.

Cheers and Happy Breathing

Michael from Down Under

P.S. Said to help with Stress also.

Replied by Michael
(New Zealand)
09/15/2020
★★★★★

Good day Y'All!

The link you need for that Breathing Interview with Mr James Nestor on our Radio New Zealand National Programme, is to go to the Site and key in Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan & enter with the word Breathing - that should get you going.

Cheers,

M

EC: Hi Michael!

Here is the link that you weren't able to post yesterday:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018764100/you-re-breathing-all-wrong-james-nestor

Buteyko Breathing

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Posted by medicineman9 (vienna) on 08/29/2023
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It seems that the breathing normalization explained at https://normalbreathing.com is a discovery of epic proportions, this is based on the discoveries of Dr. Buteyko, but interestingly enough, it seems that the above mentioned link is not mentioned anywhere on the earthclinic site yet.

The method might be the CURE for diabetes (diabetes type 1 and type 2!) and a lot of other ailments, like almost all grave bowel diseases like IBS, IBD, Reflux (GERD), Colitis ulcerosa, Crohns disease (Morbus Crohn) and so on, see the books by Dr. Artour Rakhimov. It also helps regarding high blood pressure (hypertension), anxiety and so on.

There is a breathing trainer called "Samozdrav Comfort" which is built very well as far as I can see and which is an optimized frolov device.

Buteyko Breathing
Posted by Tricia (Elmont, New York) on 11/13/2008
 ★★★★★

I just found this wonderful way to breath easier called The Buteyko breathing. Simply breath through the nose at all times without opening the mouth. By keeping the mouth closed you are reducing inflamation and keeping the nasal passage open. At night I tape my mouth shut with sticky tape and sleep that way all evening. When I wake up I have no fatigue and absolutely no phlegm. During the day I am completely awake and energetic without drinking coffee or other stimulants. I conserved all my energy at night. Another thing to remember to sleep on the left side and never on your back. Sleeping on your back the organs are compressed resulting in the mouth being thrown open and loosing all you carbon dioxide. Like all remedies one has to try it to realize the benefits. I am so pleased to have found this.

Replied by Mary Louise
(Nevada City, Ca, Usa)
12/27/2010

I have also found the tape on the mouth at night to be VERY helpful. I also need to sleep on an empty stomach - this helps control night time asthma. I often don't eat after 2 Pm (I just have breakfast and lunch)- I am also looking into the possibility of coconut oil curing asthma - because colds always make mine more serious.

Replied by Tom
(Regina, Sk)
12/28/2010

It will cost only perhaps $5-$7 to try this idea. Perhaps it's been known for years in small circles, and the old from generations ago is once again new, but because of the inet this got out finally just last spring:


http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sc-health-0512-pharm-20100512-11, 0, 4146905.story

Q A caller on your radio show said that using Crest desensitizing toothpaste instead of the usual brand had abolished his lifelong asthma symptoms. I went right out and bought some. This toothpaste contains potassium nitrate, an ingredient in asthma relievers in the days when the pharmacist used to compound medicines. I hope this toothpaste will work for me as well.

Or this example:
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2010/08/09/toothpaste-lets-her-cuddle-kitty/
I've been treating symptoms such as wheezing and itchy eyes with prescription medicines (including an inhaler, eye drops and Flonase). I started brushing my teeth with Crest toothpaste for sensitive teeth after hearing a caller on your radio show say it helped his asthma. Now my allergy symptoms have almost completely disappeared. I'm only using the Flonase because I KNOW I have a cat allergy! Why is this working?

But note that just because a toothpaste tube says "Sensitive" or some variant of the word, doesn't mean it's potassium nitrate inside! http://www.mynewsmile.com/dental/toothpaste_sensitive_teeth.htm
There are two formulations of toothpastes that treat sensitive teeth. Sensodyne was the original toothpaste for treating sensitive teeth, and its active ingredient was strontium chloride.

Replied by Gaurav
(Melbourne , Australia)
01/06/2011

Try this for breathing- an avg human being takes 15 inhalations per minute try to cut this down to 10 and slowly to 8 and then 4.... It will calm your mind and make u live longer... Ancient yogic way of breathing.. :)

Replied by Sandyskorner
(Graford, Texas Usa)
01/16/2011
★★★★★

Regarding asthma, we as a family got rid of all respiratory ailments and migraines by eliminating all dairy products from our diet. Your body will stop producing mucus to protect itself and alot of your problems will be a bad memory. We also reduced our intake of sugar in any form which helped reduce the production of mucus also. Our health definitely improved in many areas. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose so give it a try. Your choice to make; hope it helps you!

Replied by Rxbach
(Youngstown, Ny)
01/16/2011

Eliminating all dairy products may not be necessary, and in fact may be unhelpful for a lot of people. It depends on whether a person who reacts to milk products is reacting to the milk sugar (lactose) or milk protein (casein). Far more people are lactose intolerant than casein intolerant.

However, there are good ways to get rid of lactose and still get the benefit of the protein and fat that milk/cream provides. One is: make your own yogurt; and DON'T use skim milk -- use at least whole milk and better yet, that mixed with 1/2 and 1/2 or straight 1/2 and 1/2. (That kind of fat content is NOT bad for you, despite what the conventional wisdom says. For really good, intensely researched information about fats, sugars and their effects on the body, read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. And "Life Without Bread" is another good one. ) Make sure you start with plain, whole milk yogurt as the starter that has no additives, including no added probiotics like bifidus. If you have a gastrointestinal illness bifidus can and usually will colonize your gut, which it doesn't do in "normal" people, so you want to avoid it. Ferment your yogurt for a full 24 hours and all the lactose from the milk/cream will get consumed by the fermentation process. You're left with basically lactose-free natural yogurt that tastes phenomenal.

Secondly, you don't have to eliminate aged cheeses if you're lactose intolerant, as aged cheese (sharp cheddar, among quite a few others) also consumes the milk's lactose in the aging process. Thirdly, butter contains no lactose as it's pretty much entirely fat -- and a healthy fat, again contrary what you often hear from a lot of sources about fats. If you're very sensitive and think it might bother you, clarify it (melt and skim off any residue) and turn it into ghee.

I wholly agree with eliminating sugars from the diet in order to be healthy and to fight disease -- many diseases, actually, not just gastrointestinal ones. I would eliminate starches too (that means grains, including corn and rice). That sounds draconian, but if you have digestive problems that's a must. And you can still eat very, VERY well and very healthily on a diet of meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, yogurt and aged cheese.

If you have Crohn's or colitis (I've had Crohn's for 30 years), the best thing going is the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (which implements the kind of stuff I've been saying), supplemented with LDN (a no-side-effects generic drug -- low-dose naltrexone -- that will help your body regulate its immune system). It works! I've been on the SCD and LDN for two years, as have many hundreds of people I'm on an Internet list with, and most of us have never felt better. Ever. I might also add that the diet and LDN virtually eliminated my asthma, allergies and joint pain.

Tom
(Los Angeles, California)
03/24/2016

Hi Rxbach,

My daugther has been diagnosed with Crohns and we have eliminated all grains (except Rice), milk, cheese (except SCD yougrt) and sugar from her diet and she is already feeling better. I want to know more about LND and how it helped you. Are there any doctors who can prescribe LDN?

Please let me know . Appreciate and thank you for your reply.

Tom.

Buteyku Breathing

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Posted by Cindy (Illinois, Usa) on 12/04/2016 524 posts
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I'd like to see Buteyku breathing exercises added to the list of remedies as there are very few ailments that would not be improved by re-establishing or normalizing the flow of oxygen to the cells. Below, you'll find an essay I've just written on the subject titled Of Carbs and Carnivores:

This is about the OTHER carb - carbon dioxide.

Carbohydrates have a place in the diet of carnivores which is as a stop-gap in times of famine - I.e. the absence or unavailability of prey.

In a famine, carbs provide strength and energy for a short period of time. Not the carbs themselves, but the adrenaline production they trigger.

This is good for providing energy in an otherwise weakened animal so that it can hunt food, but what it does is not good as a way of life.

Adrenaline creates a state of hyperventilation which floods the muscles with oxygen-loaded blood. Which is good in famine conditions, but what that does, is not good as a way of life.

Hyperventilation interferes with the production and processing of carbon dioxide which is also good, but not as a way of life.

Depleted carbon dioxide enriches the blood with oxygen which is good, but not as a way of life.

Without carbon dioxide, the blood can't release its oxygen to the cells, which isn't good as much as it is a handy thing to be able to do when one is weakened by hunger to facilitate the strength and energy to hunt for a short period of time.

When the cells' flow of oxygen is reduced to that degree, pathogens go in and the oxygen in the cells is spent destroying them. Then the cell is oxygen depleted which means the next pathogens to come along can move right in.

Oxygen and pathogens can't coexist which is why dead bodies decompose - no oxygen=pathogen party.

Carbon dioxide is not waste. It is absolutely necessary to get the blood to release oxygen to the cells and it is provided in the pause between breaths. Hyperventilation eliminates the pause, thereby interrupting the carbon dioxide supply and inviting pathogens into the cells.

Proper, healthy, calm breathing is a light breath in, a light breath out and a pause. One can test one's overall state of health by relaxing, breathing normally/lightly through the nose with the mouth closed, holding one's nose after exhaling and counting the seconds that elapse before you feel a need to take a breath. Not to measure how long you can hold your breath, but to measure how long before you feel the need for another breath. 40 seconds and above is considered good - 60+ seconds is considered optimal and there aren't a lot of people who are in the "good" range of 40 and above.

Do as One Website

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Posted by PJ (detroit, mich) on 01/21/2008
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You might want to check out a site called http://doasone.com it has different breathing techniques that you can follow along with.

EC: Interesting concept!

Nose Breathing

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Posted by Matt (Millbrook, Ny) on 02/24/2010
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I can certainly testify to the benefits of nasal breathing. There are MANY reported benefits, I urge everyone to try it if they don't already. search "nose breathing" on Google, Yahoo!, etc... Even wikipedia's page seems to agree.

Nose Breathing
Posted by Victoria Shepard (Santa Barbara, CA) on 09/29/2007
 ★★★★★

Nose breathing reduced my asthma-like symptoms considerably. About 8 years ago I was diagnosed with allergy related asthma. I ignored the symptoms for about 6 years as they were mild. They worsened, and I had to use an inhaler every day to control the coughing. This year, I noticed that when I laughed, sang, yelled or became stressed, talked too much (I am a teacher), I would cough. I knew my doctor would just give me more asthma drugs, so I began to research alternative treatments on the internet. I came up with the Buyteko program which requires an hour a day of breathing exercises and changing to nose breathing from mouth breathing. As I do not have an hour a day to practice specialized breathing exercises, I utilized what I could: In June of this year (2007), I became a nose breather. It was tricky at first. I had to learn to shorten my sentences and inhale only through my nose. I naturally exhale through my mouth slowly as I speak. This is okay. No deep breathes in or out through the mouth. No deep breathes in through the nose either. To prevent mouth breathing at night, in accordance with the Buyteko program, I tape my mouth with cheap masking tape. It took 3 months, but I have no asthma-like symptoms. I can laugh, shout, get excited or stresed and sing.

It has been over a months since I have used an inhaler.

Slow Breathing

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Posted by David (Estepona, Spain) on 05/06/2007
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Slow breathing is not quite a remedy but it is definitely a natural method and I'm surprised it's not yet on your site. It has completely solved my hypertension problem and it's also ideal for relaxation, stress and anxiety relief and much more. You can even use it for panic attacks. I use a method of slow breathing combined with music that is so relaxing and enjoyable.

Replied by Dan
(Makham, Canada)
07/18/2008

Most people do not breath more than 16 breaths per minute. Now the oxygen was 20percent 50 years ago, it was 60 percent now is now 16 percent.so you should learn how to breathe properly. When you exhale deeply contracting your belly slowly as you expand the abdomen, continue inhaling as you expand the chest,continue inhaling as you raise you shoulders up towards your ears. Exhale in the reverse pattern slowly. Release shoulders, relax chest, contract the belly repeat. Beginners should only do it 2or 3 times. Cancer cannot survive in the presence of oxygen and it relieves stress and is a healthy thing to do.

Yoga Breath to Lower High Blood Pressure

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Posted by Bill (Gilmanton, NH) on 03/28/2008
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I read about a machine that you can pay a lot if money for, which helps lower your blood pressure by a breathing technique. I learned this Yoga breathing technique which does the same thing. Breath in, (through nose) half way..12345, hold...12345, breath in rest of way...12345, hold..1-5, Breath out half way through lips, 1-5, hold...1-5, finish emptying lungs as slowly as possible through pursed lips. Do 8 rounds of this. 8 is the Chinese lucky number. It is also the symbol for infinity when turned sideways. The object is to take longer on the exhale than on the inhale. I find that I can lower my BP quite a bit with this method.

Replied by Steven
(Redwood City, CA)
08/01/2008

I am using this breathing technique (thank you for sharing!) and find it to be relaxing. My question is: how much is "quite a bit" when you say you lowered your blood pressure using this technique?

Thank you,
Steven



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