Janet Brindley - Breathe Well and Live Well with COPD: A 28-Day Breathing Exercise Plan

Acknowledgements

My first debt is to all the people who have been in my breathing classes: patients, students, teachers and men, women and children with breathing problems who have helped me to modify my teaching to meet their needs.

I am particularly grateful to Kathryn Godfrey, Dr James Oliver and Gillian Austin for their support over many years, giving me the opportunity to pass these breathing techniques on to many more people than I would have been able to do alone.

My thanks are due to my willing models Lorraine Jeapes and Joan Coare, and my brother Robert Arcus. Finally, I must thank Alan, my husband, who read each chapter as it was written and rewritten and managed to keep me calm during the process.

First published in 2014

by Singing Dragon

an imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publishers

73 Collier Street

London N1 9BE, UK

and

400 Market Street, Suite 400

Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

www.singingdragon.com

Copyright Janet Brindley 2014

Foreword copyright Linda Shampan 2014

Photographs copyright Janet Brindley 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owners written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84819 164 8

eISBN 978 0 85701 132 9

Foreword

A personal experience of using breathing techniques

In my younger days Id trained as a nurse, so I thought I already understood the basics of lungs and breathing. What a life-changing surprise it was, many years later at the age of 50, to find a breathing teacher who showed me the essentials of how to really breathe efficiently and to improve my quality of life; I had long-standing asthma and a recent diagnosis of moderate Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

The three key breathing elements which transformed my health were changing to nose-breathing, learning how to keep breaths gentle and controlled, and breathing into my lower chest. All of these are covered in this book.

Now, aged 63, I appreciate that having the benefit of these breathing exercises has enabled me to live well with COPD, to continue working, to engage in physical activities such as yoga, and to enjoy a varied social life.

Breathing and emotions are closely connected, and feeling short of breath can trigger a range of feelings, such as anxiety, fear or frustration; for me the hardest one is feeling irritable. I find it helps to acknowledge to myself whatever the feeling is, give it time to settle and sometimes I explain to other people that I just need some time, on my own, to sort the breathing out.

I am lucky to have a supportive doctor who has shown interest and encouraged me in these self-help methods, alongside using conventional medication on an ongoing basis. What else helped me? Singing in groups and workshops!

Linda Shampan
UKCP Registered Psychotherapist
and qualified Buteyko teacher

Breathe Well
and Live Well
with COPD

Information for medical professionals

Many respiratory physicians and therapists now believe that a significant number of their COPD patients breathe in a dysfunctional way; and that this complicates their underlying respiratory disease. These patients need direction to correct their breathing, and this book has been written to help them to improve their day-to-day breathing.

Suitability of exercises

For the majority of people with COPD the breathing techniques in this book are completely safe to use. The exercises focus on calming breathing, awareness, nose-breathing and controlling coughing. The primary aims are to reduce hyperventilation, limit hyperinflation and increase fitness.

However, patients with severe and very severe COPD (including those who regularly use oxygen or those who have lost their normal respiratory drive) should approach the exercises with caution and only use what is helpful to them. The knee bends exercise (page 79) probably should be avoided by patients with severe COPD as it involves breath holding, which may not be helpful or pleasant for them.

Contraindications

It is recommended that the breathing exercises are not used by COPD patients who also have the following conditions:

Severe emphysema with heart failure

Kidney failure (especially if on dialysis)

Current organ transplant (e.g. kidney, lung, liver, etc.)

Previous brain haemorrhage or brain tumour

Known arterial aneurysm

Recent heart attack or stroke (three months)

Lung cancer or any cancer requiring current treatment

Active duodenal or stomach ulcer

Uncontrolled high blood pressure

Cardiac pacemaker device

Sickle cell anaemia

Schizophrenia

The medical conditions quoted here are for illustration only and do not represent an exclusive list.

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Breathe Well
and Live Well
with COPD

A 28-Day Breathing
Exercise Plan

Janet Brindley

Foreword by Linda Shampan

LONDON AND PHILADELPHIA

Will breathing techniques help my COPD?

COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; it is an umbrella term used to describe a number of conditions, including chronic bronchitis, smokers lung and emphysema. COPD leads to permanently damaged airways in the lungs, causing them to become narrower and making it harder to breathe.

When you have COPD your airways are not as healthy as they once were. But there is more to good breathing than just the width and condition of your airways the way you breathe can make a real difference. For example, if you are climbing some stairs and deliberately breathe more quickly, perhaps thinking youll get more oxygen in that way, you can inflate your lungs. Lungs that are full of air havent got room to work properly and so, despite the extra effort, youll still feel short of breath. In fact, your brain and body were giving you the wrong message its better to do the opposite and calm your breathing down.