Buteyko-Course-Manual

6. Breathing Health Zones
In Buteyko Breathing, the Easy Breath-Hold (EBH) is the main indicator of
your breathing and general health. If your EBH is 60 seconds, you’re in a state of
optimal health according to Professor Buteyko. But if your EBH is lower than 60,
your health is in a state of weakness and chronic disease.
The extent to which chronic disease actually manifests depends on the
duration of your EBH. With an EBH of about 40 to 50 seconds , you likely won’t
really notice serious symptoms of chronic diseases. But as the EBH goes down to
5 or 10 you will surely notice various chronic disease symptoms arising and
getting stronger, simply due to having a low EBH which implies worsening
oxygen distribution and low blood CO2 values.
The table below describes how specific EBH values relate to your breathing
pattern, the CO2 content of the air deep in your lungs and your general health
status. For example: the breathing of a person with an EBH of 20 seconds (in the
grey column) can be described as hyperventilation. This person breathes
approximately 10.5 liters air per minute while this would optimally be 3.5 liters
air per minute (with an EBH of 60). With an EBH of 20 seconds you are breathing
an amount of air equal to what 3 people with an EBH of 60 seconds breathe: It’s
simply way too much.
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