Manila, Philippines - Looking for an alternative treatment for asthma, R. Gaff, a teacher from Quezon City, took the Buteyko workshop in 2009. However, he not only found immediate and permanent relief from asthma, he also addressed an equally debilitating and life-threatening health condition — sleep apnea.
Gaff began suffering from asthma and acid reflux for the first time after he started using a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine to manage his sleep apnea. Other side effects from using the machine also manifested over the years.
Diagnosed after an “expensive testing” when he was already in his late 40s, Gaff said, “With heavy snoring and daily fatigue, I had no idea at the time of the presence or seriousness of my condition.”
Out of more than 100 identified sleep disorders, sleep apnea is considered one of the most dangerous, as a person literally stops breathing during sleep to compensate for excessive breathing (and therefore low carbon dioxide levels), thus increasing the risk for heart attack, the possibility of coronary heart disease, and having a stroke. “Practicing Buteyko breathing helped me realize that the CPAP machine caused me to breathe far too much air,” Gaff said.
A dysfunctional breathing pattern is mostly overlooked when treating sleep apnea, yet that is the root cause of the problem, according to Jac Vidgen, an Australian senior Buteyko practitioner with 18 years of experience in teaching the method here and abroad.
“Buteyko is a clinically acknowledged program that brings a person’s breathing pattern to normal levels by reducing chronic hyperventilation syndrome or CHVS,” said Vidgen.
Over the years, Vidgen has helped thousands of Filipinos find relief from so-called lifestyle diseases (more than 200 identified) such as allergies (either rhinitis or having excess mucus), anxiety disorders, hay fever, coughing, and stress.
He has also enhanced people’s need to control weight, treat skin disorders, or improve their sports performance, yoga, and other forms of meditative practice.
Learn more about the Buteyko Method as Vidgen holds free introductory lectures starting on Wednesday, August 1, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., and Sunday, August 5, 5 p.m.-7 p.m., at Living Life Well, 5th level, Mega Atrium, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.
He will also speak on Thursday, August 2, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. and 7 p.m.-9 p.m. at In Touch Community Services, 48-A McKinley Road, Forbes Park (2/F Holy Trinity Church compound across San Antonio Plaza), Makati City and Saturday, August 4, 4 p.m.-6 p.m. at PhilDHRRA Partnership Center, 59 C. Salvador St. (left off B. Gonzales, Katipunan Avenue), Loyola Heights, Quezon City.
Vidgen will conduct the Buteyko workshops in Metro Manila (five two-hour sessions for adults and children over four years old) during the whole month of August.
He is also available for private workshops, consultations, and online coaching via Skype.
Credited with introducing Buteyko in Southeast Asia, Vidgen also regularly teaches the method in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Indonesia and occasionally in the Middle East and other countries.
Call Vidgen at 09196356060 or 897-1804, e-mail jacvid@gmail.com, log on to www.buteykoasia.com and www.learnbuteyko.info, and like buteykoasia on Facebook.