The Buteyko people say that “deep breathing” is bad for us. What do you think of their arguments?
A year or so ago I [Dennis Lewis] visited a Buteyko oriented website and came across a rather unusual article and breathing test. We were to take several fast deep breaths and to see how we felt after doing so. We were then told that we would probably not feel very good after this effort and that this proves that deep breathing is bad for us. Of course, the article did not point out that many of us, because of our poor breathing habits, don’t have the slightest notion of what is involved is free and easy “deep breathing.” In any event, I sent the following letter to the owners of this site. I never did hear back from them. Your article entitled “Buteykos breathing test” is misleading and confusing. First of all, there is no one final way to breathe. Our breath is designed to support the physical, emotional, and mental demands of our lives. For our breathing to accomplish this in an optimal and efficient way, our diaphragm and other breathing muscles need to be strong enough and free en
