The Buteyko Manual For Asthma

Available from: Instep International
144 Queens Road
Hermit Park, QLD 4812.
Australia
Phone: 61-77-25-5160
FAX: 61-77-25-5578

Reviewed by Peter Kolb

The Kit comes in two parts. The first is a neatly presented 62 page, A4 format, spiral bound manual. I understand that the new American version has a hard cover and is improved, although I have not seen it. The second part is an audio tape in which James explains it all by talking to you.

Let's have a look at the manual first.

There are ten chapters and three appendices:

1. The Cause of Asthma
2. How to estimate your breathing level
3. Your nose is for breathing
4. Stopping Asthma - The simple answer
5. Shallow breathing to tune your body
6. Exercise induced asthma
7. The secret of night asthma
8. The effect of diet on your breathing
9. The link between Asthma/allergy attacks and Trigger Factors
10. Clearing reactions - Coming back to normal

• A1. Summary of results of the Buteyko clinical trials
• A2. The importance of Carbon Dioxide - Buteyko's theory
• A3. Steroid deficit in Asthma

This is concluded with a brief description of the author.

This manual is full of useful and practical hints on how to implement Buteyko therapy. Many people who try picking it up from our WEB site seem to feel a little lost, not knowing if they're doing it correctly. With a wealth of Buteyko teaching experience behind him, James knows exactly what you need to know to help you along. This manual will tell you how to check that you're doing it correctly. It holds your hand through some of the difficult processes. It tells you what to expect at every step and what you should'nt expect. In short, this manual gives you the technical detail and the confidence to see you through your Buteyko program.

What I like most about this manual is that it is full of explanations. Buteyko therapy is in itself essentially a rational approach to dealing with asthma, based on sound physiological principles. James exploits this very effectively in his manual.

I also want to add that the book is pitched at everyone. You don't need education in Biology, because James gives you the bare essentials. There are no technical words in this manual just technical explanations in lay-man's terms.

James has also tried to use language in the spoken form on an audio cassette to get some of these ideas across. Sometimes we do have difficulties taking information in through the written medium. For this reason he talks to you as he would to his class. I must say, I found the manual easier to follow, but that is partly because I prefer the written medium.