The Breath Lab was founded in 2021, amongst the carnage of COVID-19. Seeing more people than ever struggling with stress, anxiety and general wellbeing was the push that I needed to get it up and running.
On top of that, more research was being done into the importance of nasal breathing in lowering the risk of catching the virus and proper diaphragmatic breathing in the recovery from it, as well as how nitric oxide showed promise as an antiviral treatment.
All Breath Lab teaching is based around the Buteyko method of breathwork. Developed in the 1950s by Dr. Konstantin Buteyko, a Russian doctor, the founding idea
Due to changes in our lifestyles and environments over the years, we have developed unhealthy breathing habits. Essentially, we are breathing too much, and overbreathing is as detrimental to us as overeating.
Chronic hyperventilation (aka sustained overbreathing) causes changes in our blood chemistry and metabolism that can lead to unpleasant symptoms and illnesses. Dr Buteyko realised that implementing a specific programme of breathing exercises, with a handful of quick and easy lifestyle changes, could restore functional breathing, boost CO2 tolerance and improve health.
My introduction to Buteyko breathing was originally in New Zealand, but I was trained by Patrick Mckeown and Mim Beim in Sydney on an intensive in-person course, passing my exam and case study work soon after.
As well as being an approved practitioner, I am also a member of Buteyko Clinic International Instructors and Buteyko Practitioners Australia New Zealand.
But what brought me to discover breathwork in the first place?
My story
For 28 years I was a mouth breather. Google that term - images or general search - and you’ll realise it’s not something to be proud of.
Mouth breathing plays a role in so many parts of our development and adult life. It can change the way your face develops as a kid, it leads to overcrowding of teeth, it ups your chances of developing asthma and/or allergies, can lead to concentration problems, reduces your athletic ability, can increase your stress/anxiety levels, and the list goes on.
The tipping point was a trip to India/Sri Lanka. If you’ve ever been to either of these places, you’ll know that there are plenty of spots where you want to avoid smelling the local scents. As such I spent six weeks pretty much sealing off my nose and deep breathing through my mouth. Pair this with a terrible fortnight of gastro and my system was just completely overwhelmed.
As a result I constantly felt on edge, spaced out and like I was not part of the planet. (Note: unreality is a common side effect of hyperventilation.) On returning to New Zealand I had a handful of panic attacks and felt tight-chested 80% of the time.
I tried everything. I altered my diet. I saw a therapist. I was given medication. I attended a six-week yoga course - but the deep breathing had me feeling spaced out and panicky. Each night when I read out a short newspaper quiz to my family I found myself panting my way through sentences.
Eventually, I said to my therapist “my main issue is I simply can’t catch my breath” and they asked if I had ever considered looking up a breathing clinic. So that’s what I did.
One week later, I’d been diagnosed as a severe overbreather. I was taking in almost twice as much air as necessary by gulping huge lungfuls in through my mouth. Right there and then I signed up to my first course and have never looked back.
Breathwork is a journey and I’m still making progress - after all, you can’t undo a lifetime of dysfunctional breathing overnight. However, Buteyko breathing was a light at the end of the tunnel. It offered (and continues to do so) a natural solution to a fundamentally basic (yet symptomatically complex) issue.