Breathing retraining isn't just about the possibility of improving poor health. It's also possible for athletes and musicians who study these techniques to experience an improvement in performance.
In fact, people with these seemingly divergent interests often cross.
As an example, the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team hired a voice coach as its breathing-retraining expert in 1968 when they were headed to the Games in Mexico City -- a polluted environment at high altitude where oxygen was 30 percent less accessible than at sea level. Carl Stough, later named Dr. Breath, worked with 14 athletes, 11 of whom took Gold Medals -- a record in itself! Those athletes were also among the few who did not need bottled oxygen that year.
A colleague did an informal study and found in his sample that athletes suffer from snoring, allergies, asthma and anxiousness in the same proportions as the general population. Our breathing-educator community wasn't surprised as we've notice that most athletes do not warm-up and cool-down their respiratory system before and after exercise. That means they can be seriously over-breathing near an exercise pace long after the exercise stops, even back at their desks at the office.
What's Your Solution?
We teach students to identify signs of poor breathing habits and healthy breathing habits, and how to start breathing more efficiently.
How To Address Chronic Over-Breathing
At Breathing Retraining Center we advise the following strategy:
- Learn about breathing, particularly the difference between poor breathing habits and healthy breathing habits. Check out our Signs and Symptoms of Poor Breathing Habits -- A Resource Guide.