Introduction
If your child suffers from asthma, breathing difficulties or anxiety, you will know how distressing it is when they can’t catch their breath. These symptoms have been linked to something known as “chronic hidden hyperventilation”. This is when we breathe a little bit too much all the time, for what our body requires. It might mean our breathing is constantly a little bit too fast or shallow or big breathing, which might not be that obvious – which is why it is known as “hidden”. It may mean we are breathing more than 12 breaths a minute at rest in the upper chest or mouth breathing due to a blocked nose. Our nose and airways can block just because our body is trying to slow the breathing down to regain balance in our body functioning.
The good news is that breathing is a behaviour and it is one of the easier behaviours to retrain. It takes 4 weeks to retrain your breathing habit and for you or your child to improve their breathing behaviour. Breathing Mastery is designed for age 8 plus and for adults who are young at heart!
Each level will take you one step closer to achieving breathing mastery.
You will be guided through a series of daily exercises designed to move you and your child away from mouth breathing and upper chest breathing associated with asthma and anxiety.
Through Billy’s quest into the dark forest, you will be guided to practice nose breathing and diaphragm breathing with short pauses at the end of the out-breath that are lengthened in each level and designed to enable you to become comfortable with and relax into the feeling of a little bit of air hunger. This is the feeling that causes an increased desire to breathe more.
With each level once you feel comfortable with the breath pause length you will gain a chakra stone as you work through all seven levels. Move onto the next level only when you are comfortable with the breath pause length in your current level.
Practice one or two levels at least 2 times a day.
For those age 7-9 you may prefer to practice the levels without the timing option. For those able to do nose holds and press the pause and play buttons your breath holds for each level can be timed and recorded.
For each days practice you can add a comment to record how you are feeling and whether you have needed your reliever inhaler/ how many times.
Disclaimer
This breathing training program is not designed to diagnose or treat asthma, but to enable better breathing habits that have been shown in studies based on the Buteyko method to reduce the need for asthma medication and reduce anxiety. Any change to your medication should be done in conjunction with a registered healthcare professional. If you have any of the health conditions listed on the contraindications list please seek further advice before using the Breathing Mastery for Kids and Teens.
Buteyko training recommends not making any changes to asthma medication until you can comfortably pause your breathing for 25 seconds or more at the end of the out-breath. Do not stop steroid medication suddenly as this can cause serious side effects.
There may be additional changes to diet and lifestyle required to enable a health improvement.
Chronic hidden hyperventilation has been well documented and associated with many chronic health conditions. For further guidance read Breathe with Ease by Alison Waring.
Adult Week 1 Instructions
Explanation Video
Before you begin each session, it is important to check whether your nose is clear and you can breathe easily in and out through your nose into your tummy. You can follow the nose-clearing exercises at the start of each level if it is blocked.
Once your nose is clear you can breathe into your tummy with Billy following the breathing exercise in each level. Every minute you will be asked to breathe in and out then hold your nose and pause your breathing as you pause the video. This will be repeated 5 times.
To complete Level 1, you must be able to comfortably pause your breathing at the end of the out-breath for at least 5 seconds. You can pause for longer, but you must be able to return to slow relaxed nose breathing immediately after – no gasping or big chest breathing!
To complete Level 2 you must be able to comfortably pause for 10 seconds at the end of your out-breath and return to slow relaxed nose breathing immediately after……….just remember to breathe in when you feel your body is asking you to.
The length of time you can pause will be recorded when you press the pause button on the video. Immediately follow what Billy is doing in the second video. Remember to press play as soon as you need to breathe in. The first video will then play and give you further instructions.
Complete both levels each day. You could do one level in the morning and one level in the evening. If you get a chance to do each level three times a day that would be even better. Your breathing should improve the more you practice.
- In your first week to help you practice nose breathing you can use tape to cover your mouth for 20 minutes after school, maybe whilst watching TV or doing quiet homework.
- If you get a chance to have a walk each day with nose breathing for 20 minutes that would be excellent. You can tick the box if you have completed this.
- You can write down in the comments box anything that you have found that was challenging or you found better each day or how many times you used your inhaler.
- You will gain a certificate for completing both levels at the end of each week.
Adult Week 2 Instructions
Nose clearing and slow breathing separate video instructions to be given before they start practice each day.
Dragon breathing instructional video to accompany level 3 (not uploaded or completed yet – last to be done)
Levels 3 and 4
Level 3 completion with 15 second breath pauses
Level 4 completion with 20 second breath pauses
Written instructions to tape mouth closed at night as long as no nausea or sickness and you can clear your nose before hand.
Did they do their 20 minutes walking with nose breathing and count how many steps they can take during one pause whilst returning to relaxed nose breathing within 2 breaths.
Adult Week 3 Instructions
Nose clearing and slow breathing instructional videos before they do their practice each day
Levels 5 and 6
Level 5 completion with 25 second breath pauses
Level 6 completion with 30 second breath pauses
Steps exercise – how many steps can they take in a pause whilst walking and return to nose breathing comforably within 2 breaths. Repeat this 5 times
Adult Week 4 Instructions
Nose clearing and slow breathing instructional videos before they do their practice each day
Level 7
Level 7 completion with 35 second breath pauses
Support materials visible to enrolled and non-enrolled users