NCNM to Host Public Lecture about Promising Treatment Option for Chronic Illnesses
PORTLAND, Ore. (Sep. 29, 2010) — Most people never give breathing a thought. But for people with respiratory illnesses, compromised breathing quickly can become a matter of life or death. Christine Bauman has firsthand knowledge of what it’s like to live with life-threatening asthma. In 1997, searching for help to control her severe asthma, Bauman discovered a technique of breathing known as the Buteyko Method, a physical therapy that clinical trials have shown safely reduces asthma symptoms and other respiratory illnesses without the use of medications. Bauman’s experience with Buteyko was so life-changing that she became a Buteyko educator, dedicated to teaching the Buteyko method of breathing and its dramatic health benefits. Bauman and her associate, Sussanna Czeranko, ND, will present a free public lecture on the Buteyko method of breathing at the National College of Natural Medicine on Fri., Oct. 8 from 6—8 p.m.
The breathing technique, developed in Russia more than 50 years ago by Dr. Konstantin Buteyko, consists of a series of breathing exercises to restore normal breathing patterns. “I’ve seen miraculous outcomes in patients suffering from a variety of chronic conditions, including sleep apnea, seasonal allergies, snoring and asthma,” said Czeranko, who practices medicine at Salmon Creek Clinic in Vancouver, Wash. Czeranko claims that while breathing hasn’t yet found a home in medicine, chronic hyperventilation can be found to be at the heart of respiratory disorders. “Many people hyperventilate without being aware of it; too much air can be harmful to health. The respiratory system affects every part of our bodies and healthy breathing is something that can be re-learned to the benefit of the digestive, circulatory and endocrine systems, oxygenating our brains, improving our lives on every level.”
Czeranko said that the core Buteyko exercises involve breath control by consciously reducing breath rate or breath volume. “The healing journey for most people is not a straight line. Many of us have found Buteyko almost by accident. What we’ve experienced is a revelation that we’re determined to make accessible to as many people and doctors as possible. For physicians interested in learning more, we believe the Buteyko method offers them a powerful healing tool for their patients. For patients, we offer a simple and remarkably effective health regimen that has been proven effective in respiratory distress and disorders.”
The Buteyko Method lecture is free and open to the public. It will be held in Room 107, of NCNM’s main campus building, 049 SW Porter Street in Portland, on Fri., Oct. 8, from 6-8 p.m. For more information about the event, contact Dr. Sussanna Czeranko at (360) 283.8121.
ABOUT NCNM: Founded in 1956, NCNM is the oldest accredited naturopathic medical school in North America. A nonprofit college of natural medicine, NCNM offers four-year graduate medical degree programs in Naturopathic Medicine and Classical Chinese Medicine. Its community clinics offer free and low-cost medical care throughout the Portland metropolitan area, and along with the campus-based NCNM Clinic, practitioners attend to approximately 40,000 patient visits per year. NCNM’s Helfgott Research Institute is a nonprofit research institute that conducts rigorous independent research to advance the science of natural medicine and improve clinical practice. Until July 2006, NCNM was known as the National College of Naturopathic Medicine.
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