Voluntary Control of Respiration Patterns

Abstract

Controlled respiration is one of the oldest and certainly the single, most efficient acute intervention for the mitigation and treatment of excessive stress. Any clinician treating patients who manifest excessive stress syndromes should consider controlled respiration as a potentially suitable intervention for virtually all patients. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the uses of voluntary control of respiration patterns in the treatment of excessive stress. As used in this text, this term refers to the process by which the patient exerts voluntary control over his or her breathing pattern—in effect, breath control. There are hundreds of diverse patterns of controlled respiration; we examine several that we feel have particular introductory utility for the clinician concerned with the treatment of the stress response. The exercises presented in this chapter are by no means inclusive. We have simply chosen several patterns that are simple to learn and effective. Again, the goal of voluntary, controlled respiration in the treatment of excessive stress is to have the patient voluntarily alter his or her rhythmic pattern of breathing to create a more relaxed state.