Buteyko Breathing
Buteyko Breathing is a gentle, evidence-based method that retrains how you breathe — helping you restore calm and support long-term health. Developed by Dr. Konstantin Buteyko, this approach focuses on nasal breathing, relaxation, and healthy carbon dioxide balance to improve oxygen use and support the body’s natural healing systems.
At Breathe First, we use the Buteyko method to help adults and children overcome mouth breathing, snoring, and other breathing pattern disorders — safely and sustainably.
What Is Buteyko Breathing?
The Buteyko Method is a structured way of restoring natural nasal breathing and reducing chronic over-breathing.
When we breathe too much air — or too quickly through the mouth — it disrupts the balance of gases in the body. Buteyko retrains you to breathe less, slower, and more calmly through your nose.
This approach helps normalise carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, allowing oxygen to be delivered more efficiently to your cells — a principle known as the Bohr effect.
In simple terms:
Buteyko helps you breathe in a way that supports energy, focus, and calm — rather than triggering stress or fatigue.
Internal link: Read our in-depth article on the science and benefits of Buteyko
Buteyko Core Principles
The Buteyko method combines several simple yet powerful foundations:
Nasal Breathing: Keeps air warm, filtered, and rich in nitric oxide (a molecule that supports immunity and oxygen absorption).
Reduced Breathing: Retrains your respiratory centre to tolerate slightly higher CO₂ levels, improving oxygen efficiency.
Calm Diaphragmatic Breathing: Reduces tension and helps reset the nervous system.
Awareness & Posture: Encourages upright, relaxed alignment so the diaphragm can work naturally.
These principles work together to rebalance the chemistry of breathing — helping your body shift from a state of stress to one of balance and repair.
How It Compares to Other Breathing Methods
Focus: Reduced breathing & CO₂ tolerance
Intensity: Gentle
Typical use: Asthma, anxiety, sleep, airway health
Focus: Deep breathing & cold exposure
Intensity: Intense
Typical use: Stress resilience, energy boost
Focus: Belly expansion & relaxation
Intensity: Moderate
Typical use: Relaxation, posture, voice support
While each method supports breathing health, Buteyko stands out for retraining your automatic breathing pattern — not just moment-to-moment relaxation. It helps restore calm, efficient breathing and complements Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy for lasting airway stability and performance — especially powerful for singers and athletes.
Buteyko Breathing Benefits
✅ Respiratory Health
Reduces asthma symptoms and medication use
Helps unblock the nose naturally
Supports recovery from colds and allergies
💤 Sleep & Snoring
Encourages nasal breathing overnight
Reduces snoring and mild sleep apnoea
Promotes deeper, calmer rest
❤️ Stress & Mental Health
Lowers anxiety and panic symptoms by balancing breathing chemistry
Supports a calm, clear mind and emotional stability
💪 Energy, Focus & Performance
Enhances oxygen delivery to muscles and brain
Improves endurance, focus, and resilience under pressure
How to Practise Buteyko
Buteyko breathing isn’t about taking deep breaths — it’s about learning to breathe gently, quietly, and efficiently.
The goal is to restore calm nasal breathing and build awareness of how your body breathes throughout the day.
During therapy, you’ll learn to:
Notice your natural breathing rhythm and where it moves in your body.
Practise soft, nasal breathing at rest and during everyday activity.
Improve your Control Pause — a simple measure of your carbon dioxide (CO₂) tolerance.
Integrate calm breathing into sleep, speech, and movement.
Each session at Breathe First is personalised. We assess your breathing pattern, measure your BOLT score, and guide you through a structured programme tailored to your needs and pace.
Buteyko is best learned gradually — awareness first, technique second.
Cautions & Considerations
Buteyko breathing is generally safe when approached gently, but it may not be appropriate for everyone without guidance. Avoid pushing too hard with extended breath holds, and refrain from practice when feeling unwell. If you have chronic heart, lung, or other medical conditions, please consult your healthcare provider first.
With proper guidance, the practice should feel grounding—not stressful. Our sessions are adapted carefully to your pace and well-being.
Integrating Buteyko and OMT
At Breathe First, we often combine Buteyko Breathing with Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT) — which strengthens the tongue, lips, and facial muscles to support nasal breathing and airway stability.
Buteyko retrains how you breathe, while myofunctional therapy improves the structures that make healthy breathing possible.
Together, they help reduce mouth breathing, snoring, and sleep issues — creating lasting, natural breathing habits.
Your journey starts with a detailed assessment of your breathing pattern, posture, and daily habits. From there, we design a personalised programme that fits your lifestyle, blending guided exercises, video support, and optional one-to-one sessions.
Most people notice calmer breathing, better sleep, and improved energy within just a few weeks.
Learn more:
Who Can Benefit
Buteyko Breathing is suitable for:
- Adults with asthma, anxiety, or disrupted sleep
- Parents of mouth-breathing children
- Professionals seeking calm and focus under pressure
- Athletes wanting better endurance
- Anyone looking to build healthier breathing habits
Note: Buteyko complements — not replaces — medical treatment. Always consult your healthcare provider before changing medication or exercise routines.
Common Myths & Misconceptions
“It’s just deep breathing.”
Buteyko is the opposite — it trains gentle, controlled nasal breathing.“It’s only for asthma.”
It supports anyone with over-breathing or poor CO₂ tolerance.“Results take months.”
Small improvements are often felt within days to weeks.Does Buteyko cure asthma?
No—it doesn’t replace medical treatment, but can reduce symptom severity and improve control.- Isn’t it just holding your breath?
Breath holds are one part. The main focus is calm, gentle nasal breathing throughout daily life. - Can children learn Buteyko?
Yes—with supervision and age‑appropriate practice. It’s especially helpful when addressing early mouth breathing or sleep issues. See Mouth Breathing and Sleep in Children.
The Science Behind Buteyko & Who Created It
The Buteyko Method was developed in the early 1950s by Dr Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko (1923 – 2003), a Ukrainian-born physician and researcher. While studying medicine in Moscow, he observed that people with worsening illnesses often breathed more heavily and rapidly. Those who breathed more gently seemed to stabilise and recover faster.
Dr Buteyko proposed that chronic over-breathing — or hidden hyperventilation — disrupts the body’s balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide, contributing to many modern health issues.
Over several decades he refined breathing retraining techniques aimed at restoring this natural chemical balance and supporting the body’s own regulation systems.
His approach was formally recognised within Soviet medical circles in the 1980s and has since been taught worldwide.
(Source: Buteyko Breathing Association – buteykobreathing.org)
Evidence-Based Benefits
Over the past three decades, studies in journals such as Thorax, CHEST, and the Journal of Asthma have confirmed measurable benefits of Buteyko breathing for symptom reduction and improved quality of life.
Research highlights include:
- Reduced asthma medication use and symptom frequency (Bowler et al., 1998; Cowie et al., 2008)
- “A randomised controlled trial of the Buteyko technique as an adjunct to conventional management of asthma” (Respiratory Medicine, 200
- Improved sleep quality and nasal airflow (Courtney, 2011)
Lower anxiety and panic frequency (Courtney et al., 2014)
Why Choose Breathe First
At Breathe First, Buteyko isn’t taught as a one-size-fits-all programme — it’s delivered with precision, compassion, and clinical expertise.
Every session is led by Emily Kirkcaldy, a Certified Buteyko Breathing Practitioner, Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist, and Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist with over 20 years of clinical experience in airway and breathing disorders.
Her approach integrates the Buteyko Method with modern airway science, myofunctional therapy, and individual coaching — helping both adults and children achieve calmer breathing, deeper sleep, and better overall health.
We focus on practical, evidence-based steps that create lasting change — not quick fixes.
You’ll learn to understand your own breathing, build confidence in applying each technique, and feel the difference in just a few weeks.
“After just three months of therapy, I wake up rested, breathe more easily, and my voice and posture have transformed. Emily’s knowledge, care, and clinical precision have been life-changing — I feel like I’ve finally got my breath back.”
— Ben Hargreaves, Singer & Client at Breathe First
