discovery,” he said of the article that changed his health and career. He quit his corporate
job, studied the Buteyko breathing technique — developed in the 1950s by Dr. Konstantin Buteyko — and used his personal experience to help people improve both their physical and mental health. “This is the
thing about education,” he said. “It teaches us how to think, but it doesn’t teach us how to stop thinking. “It doesn’t
teach us how to direct our attention to where we want to direct it to. It doesn’t teach us how to self-regulate, how to dampen the stress response and increase relaxation, and it doesn’t give us the tools to be able to cope with challenging situations.” His methods are not just focused on opening
BUTEYKO
The original yoga breathing is not about taking full, big breaths. It’s not about
hyperventilation. It’s about conservation of breath. It’s about breathing subtlety, breathing less air.” — Robin Rothenberg, a Seattle-based yoga instructor
the airways. Ultimately, the techniques lead to both better respiratory health and mental health. Breathing
and posture are also closely connected. When
breathing is dysfunctional, it can lead to poor movement patterns and increased risk of injury. By
improving breathing, you support better alignment and enhance overall movement efficiency. Using theory and
practical application, McKeown charted a path that involved authoring nearly a dozen books, treating countless clients at his Ireland-based Buteyko Clinic International, and training thousands of
tolerate higher levels of CO2. When you train the body in this
way, your breathing becomes slower and softer. It takes longer to reach your CO2 threshold. During yoga practice and
other physical exercise, this delays the point at which you become breathless. It improves your capacity
for physical exercise and your fitness. Ultimately, a higher tolerance for CO2 is the secret to the
steadiness of breath, which is every yogi’s goal. Another notable benefit of hypercapnic exercises is that the
increase in carbon dioxide improves blood flow in the brain. This is because CO2 causes blood vessels to dilate, improving blood flow and oxygen delivery.
instructors worldwide to spread this breathing technique: Oxygen Advantage. His latest project is
The Breathing Cure for Yoga: Apply Science Behind Ancient Wisdom for Health and Well-Being, a book that challenges the breathing that many yogis are accustomed to practicing. The inspiration for the
book came after Robin Rothenberg, a Seattle-based yoga instructor, visited his clinic and explained how she discovered that the deep breathing widely practiced in yoga studies today is not what was originally intended by the yoga masters. McKeown knew he
wanted to dive deeper into what Rothenberg explored in her book Restoring Prana, the idea that the yoga breathing taught
hundreds of years ago is much different than what is in practice today. “The original yoga
breathing is not about taking full, big breaths,” he said. “It’s not about hyperventilation. It’s about conservation of breath. It’s about breathing subtlety, breathing less air.” Thinking of a typical
yoga class, he said instructors encourage participants to “fill their lungs with air.” “You can hear everybody
breathing inside the class,” he said. If you are deliberately
taking more air into the lungs, he contends it is not increasing oxygenation throughout the body. Rather, the practice is reducing oxygen delivery. He argues that ancient
yogis believed breath should be inaudible — a contrast to
This effect is so powerful that blood supply to the brain
increases by 3%-4% per every mmHg increase of PaCO2 (partial pressure of carbon dioxide) in the blood. The “Breathe Light” exercise has an expected increase of PaCO2
by 3 mmHg, resulting in improved blood supply to the brain by 9%- 12%. During a long breath hold following an exhalation, PaCO2 can increase by 10 mmHg, resulting in as much as a 30%-40% increase in blood supply to the brain. Over time, the practice of slow, light, and soft breathing has
ORDER YOUR BOOK You can claim a FREE copy of The Breathing Cure for Yoga: Apply Science Behind Ancient Wisdom for Health and Well-Being with our special offer. Save $29.99 when you go online or call today!
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JUNE 2025 | NEWSMAX MAXLIFE 77
NOSE ILLUSTRATION/BORIS ZHITKOV/GETTY IMAGES
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