Breathing Free: The Revolutionary 5-Day Program to Heal Asthma, Emphysema, Bronchitis, and Other Respiratory Ailments

by Teresa Hale

Book Overview

Introduces a five-day program designed to help sufferers of asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, and other chronic respiratory ailments reduce their symptoms by retraining breathing patterns to prevent and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609806343
• ISBN13: 9780609806340
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

all asthma sufferers need to read Breathing Free

I have had asthma for a few years. I thought it was caused by pollen. I thought it was caused by dairy and wheat. These things certainly exacerbate breathing, but the leading cause is how asthmatics breathe. And the asthma gets worse with time because we are breathing to deal with the asthma. Within the first few chapters of this book, I was not willing to believe what I was reading. I have been taught the opposite of what Breathing Free says. But because I have found that studying for myself has given me better info than mainstream medicine reports to us, I had to try this out. All that was said could have been done in a couple of chapters. The "exercise" is all very easy. It is the knowledge of how my breathing affects asthma that has given me freedom from inhalers, great sleep and freedom in physical activity. Even non asthmatics should read this to improve on their health. It's great to be free of medication. Health comes from knowledge. Get knowledge. If you are tired of not breathing freely and your sleep being disturbed, read this book. If your doctor keeps filling your prescription and the results don't change, read this book. If you are tired of inhalers that turn you into a zombie, read the book. You will not be disappointed.

This book can change your life

I've written a book about asthma; thought I knew everything. And then I bought this book. Started the five day program with great cynicism. Let me say I've not had a day free from symptoms from a case diagnosed as "moderately severe" asthma for five years. After doing the program, stringently, and following the guidelines (except for the diet -- I only cut out milk products) -- I have no post-nasal drip; don't feel as if I'm drowning; sleep magnificently; have no shortness of breath, or tightness in my chest, and have more energy. I started to experience positive results the first day. Frankly, I don't feel I "have" asthma anymore, though I do take inhaled corticosteroids, at a very reduced rate. If you are disciplined, and if you're willing to invest time, read this book. It's the better of the two books available on this method. I listened to music or read in the intervals between doing the controlled pause -- a technique that's taught. The best investment in a self-help book I've ever made.

Recommended by a leading CFS MD (Cheney)

Based on a recommendation by Dr. Cheney, I read the book and found it a bit self-promotional but it contained clear scientific explanation for what was happening. It has significiantly improved my CFS and my husband's CFS. In fact, we both suffered "herx" (die-off) effects from doing it. It is NOT the easiest technique to learn, but it is effective and cleared up a persistant sinus infection that I have had for years, and corrected my husband's chronic snoring....You will not be "cured" in a 5 days, it is 5 days to learn the techniques that may eventually lead to a cure... PS>> The diet is VERY important...

Maybe a Miracle

I doubt there is anything out there which will work for everyone. This universe does not accept such sweeping absolutes. However, the results I have gleaned from this book are far and away above anything I have ever experienced. Having had asthma since I was 2, over 45 years, I have been through the gamut of alternatives, medical and otherwise. I've had allergy shots, was on prednisone for over 40 years, have been on various bronchial dialator medications, have had lung surgery, chest tubes, been on respirators at least 6 times over the past 15 years and tried a host of homeopathic, chiropractic, nutritonal and general supplement programs, as well as my chosen spritual path. Everything helped some. I began this program on November 5th. It is not a 5 day program, and the exercises for a severe asthmatic take a good 45 min a pop, not 20-30. I saw results almost instantly and have been off my inhaler since that time, with a couple puffs around Thanksgiving when I over-ate (note here that the longest I have gone without an inhaler is about 12 hours). I have been able to fully go off Theophylline and Brethine as well. As for exercise, I was exercising for over an hour a day and am now even less winded afterwards. A visit to the snow, about 6000 feet altitude, caused no discomfort, though over the summer, prior to the program, a trip to Sequoia was accompanied by a constant shortness of breath. Currently, the only medication I am using is Pulmicort (newer inhaled steroid). I am off all my oral meds. This has never happened. What does the future hold? This is all so unprecedented, I do not know. The program takes diligence and a willingness to do it. If you are really in communication with your body and/or have a good health practioner, you could do quite well. I showed the book to my pulminary specialist as well as my chiropractor/homeopath. Both were impressed, but the MD a bit more conservative in his interest. This book is not perfect, dietary guidelines I took with a grain of salt. For more info you may want to check out the Buteyko method. This text is written for the layman and does a good job. Read it more than once, as there is a lot of data.

*The* premier introduction to the Buteyko method!

If you have or ever have had any kind of respiratory problem in your life, or you know of someone who's had any kind of respiratory problem in their lives, BUY THIS BOOK! The Buteyko method of breath retraining promises to be the medical breakthrough of the next century, and this book is as good an introduction to the method as it gets. I began the book with a Control Pause of 8 and finished the book a week later with a CP of 30 and am looking forward to getting to 50 or 60. You'll have to read the book to understand about the Control Pause, but I'm willing to make the prediction that, in the years to come, the CP will be regarded as almost more valuable than the pulse in determining a person's overall state of health. The book's thesis--that carbon dioxide is not the waste gas we've all been taught it is, and that low-grade hyperventilation is at the root of an amazing number of health disorders--is one of those counterintuitive ideas that suddenly makes a lot of sense once its implications are thoroughly spelled out. That the book does. My only constructive criticism of the book is that it tends to be a little wordy in some parts, and occasionally repititious, but not so much that it becomes disagreeable. For us Yanks on the western side of the puddle, a bit more brevity would have been welcome. Nonetheless, this book is too important to let a few literary bumps stand in the way. Buy the book, read it, and begin practicing the exercises. Give yourself a week to try it on for size. You won't be disappointed. I most certainly was not. I'm feeling much better already.