Buteyko & Swimming

The Buteyko method is a breathing technique which focuses on improving breathing patterns to enhance oxygen delivery throughout the body.

The foundation of the method is nasal breathing and also breathing less.

The problem with swimming is that when we come out to breathe after every stroke or two, we can't breathe the way we're designed to, through the nose. Instead, we have to take breaths through the mouth…

When we breathe using the mouth, we bypass the many functions that the nose has for breathing, including filtering and regulating air temperature and the production of nitric oxide which is a gas that helps us to get more oxygen into our body. While nasal breathing is conducive to optimal breathing, slow and low (from the diaphragm), mouth breathing is conducive to faster and shallower breathing from the upper chest. When we use the mouth, we actually breathe too much air, too quickly.

While oxygen travels around the body in the hemoglobin of the red blood cells, it's carbon dioxide that dilates the walls of the blood vessels and releases the oxygen from the cells into the tissues. When we over-breathe, we blow off too much carbon dioxide. The reduction of CO2 causes the blood vessels to restrict and the blood cells to cling onto oxygen. The more we breathe, the less oxygen gets released into the tissues of the body including the brain.

Everyone knows that swimming can be great exercise- good cardio with low impact on the joints. But if you go to a pool and look at how people are swimming, you'll see that most people are straining, pulling their heads into their bodies and taking quick bites of air. This disturbs the integration of the head, neck and back and makes us breathe poorly. As we are land mammals, it’s easy to get things wrong in the water. This is why some people might come out of the pool feeling a bit frazzled and stiff. But it doesn’t have to be this way…

People can stay under the water a lot longer than they might think. When we slow down our breathing, long, soft exhalations tell the body we're safe, activating the parasympathetic nervous system, we get improved blood flow, circulation, and body oxygenation. Being underwater allows our exhalations to be even longer and softer, because of the water pressure. When we swim underwater, we can let go of unnecessary tension and allow the water to hold us so that our neck can be free and our back can lengthen and widen. We can move with a lot less tension. By rolling onto our back to breathe, we can take our time and allow our breathing to be through the nose.

When it comes to breathing it can be said that less is more. This statement can also be true for swimming. By slowing down and staying underwater, we can move with greater awareness and integration of our body. We can leave the pool feeling calm and energised.