Buteyko Breathing Technique, Tango and Me

               Recently, tango led me to an interesting breathing technique developed by an Ukrainian scientist to treat asthma and I thought my readers, many of them Russian, would be interested. This alternative physical therapy was suggested to me by a Durango tanguera who noticed I had difficulty breathing. I suffer from mild asthma and have resisted traditional medications in order to avoid a permanent reliance on drugs.

               I’ve written extensively on my amazement at what a partner is able to discern from the tango embrace and was surprised that my asthma was revealed. I had nearly forgotten about it, so accustomed had I grown to adjusting my breathing to facilitate it.

               Breathing while dancing has always been a problem for me, especially when I find a woman particularly attractive. My ballroom dance instructor used to look at me, stunned, because she couldn’t believe a man could hold his breath so long. Hey, I was a whitewater kayaker, periods of oxygen deprivation were normal occurrences in my life until I canoed more and kayaked less.   

               I remember a tanguera at Asada Milonga, when it was in Brookside, NJ, who shook me by the shoulders after the song finished, imploring me with these words: “Breathe, Perri, Breathe!”

               I can’t say that I’ve ever gotten over this problem but it rarely affects my performance lately, as far as I can tell.  My tanguera friend hinted there may be a solution to my dilemma, I prodded her to elaborate. She suggested I research the works of a Russian doctor named Konstantin Buteyko before she would say more.

               I did as she asked and the next time we met she delivered on her promise. Here is what I believe I’ve learned but you can find out more for yourself by looking up Buteyko Breathing Technique online. According to Buteyko, asthma is misdiagnosed hyperventilation. Instead of not having enough oxygen in our blood, he says, asthmatics don’t have enough carbon dioxide which affects the ph-balance of their blood. The off-kilter ph-balance causes problems with the blood cells carrying oxygen to our muscles.

               From what I’ve read and what was related to me by my friend, this can be corrected with simple breathing exercises. I’m all for that! Anything that doesn’t require medication is worth a try. I’ve worked out a plan to conduct the breathing exercises on my drive to Durango for tango. Stay tuned for more on this. Supposedly I’ll start seeing results in a few weeks so I’ll let you know what I find.