But what is Buteyko exercise after all? Well, this exercise has been developed in the 1950s by a Russian medical scientist called Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko (from whom the name of this technique comes). It is a breathing exercise that allows asthmatics to control their breathing and reduce the need for medication. By constantly evaluating the quality of their breathing, the asthmatics begin to normalize their breath rate, which is the first step towards a normal life, without any medicine or inhaler around.

The Buteyko breathing exercise is made up of three main stages: the control pause, which means that you have to exhale all the air from the lungs and then keep your breath up to one minute. The more you can keep your breath, the better your health is. Yet, it is important not to push yourself or try to hang on more than one minute. Another important step in performing this exercise is shallow breathing. This type of breathing involves deep breathing through the nose with your diaphragm. A normal shallow breathing should last 2 or 3 second for the inhale and equally as much time for the exhale. Last, but not least, it is important to have a diary in which to put down the results of your exercises.