How the Buteyko Method Helped Ease My Anxiety
I finally learned to breathe normally.
After 54 years of waking up each morning with a sense of dread, it all went away.
I used to open my eyes, stretch and take a deep breath in (one reason we stretch), then exhale in a long sigh. I was not breathing normally.
But last year I learned how to breathe — and I learned not to sigh.
So let me tell you the story of how I became a convert to Breathing Normalization, how I learned the secrets of a Russian doctor who fought in WWII and lived a full life until 2003, and why it matters.
Alone in a cold place
A brief background: I moved, sans husband, last winter. As I’d lived in Arizona for 20 years, the winter in Arkansas was cold and wet. I knew no one and had little work to do. Most of my time was spent walking my dogs and searching Upwork for freelance writing jobs.
It felt like I was out of breath frequently. Especially awakening, I felt like I was almost suffocating. I’d also just gotten over a mysterious case of bloating that lasted for two months.
One day I suddenly realized that the bloating and the lack of breath were connected. I was gulping air, especially when I was rushing around — particularly…
