Can asthma be cured or is it incurable? Read about Ludmila Buteyko who had severe asthma
She had asthma. And everyone said: Asthma is incurable.
His mother died. Three times.
Every time, the doctors brought her back.
He hated to see her suffocating. The worst thing was that it could have happened any time. One moment, she was reading him a book, the next – she was writhing in convulsions. Could anyone help? He ran around their apartment building ringing every doorbell. “Please help! Help my mother!”
No one was able to help. Not even the doctors. They continued giving her medication, which made her look awfully fat; a mustache appeared on her face and her voice sounded like an old gramophone. He still remembered how stunningly beautiful she used to be.
Ludmila was 29. She had asthma. And everyone said: Asthma is incurable.
They had heard about a physician who lived far away – in Siberia. Rumor had it that he could cure anyone, especially asthmatics. They wrote him a letter.
It Felt Like a Flash Of Light; There Was Hope!
One afternoon in 1969, the bell to their Moscow apartment rang. It was Konstantin!
The physician went to Ludmila’s room. Andrey heard him asking her questions. She wasn’t saying much: just breathing heavily, so heavily that Andrey could hear her from the next room.
“Who else is here?” Konstantin asked.
“Only my son, he is nine years old,” Ludmila replied.
“Call him, please!”
Andrey entered the room and looked at the physician: it felt like a flash of light. There was hope!
Her Life Is In Your Hands Now
“Andrey,” Konstantin said, “I will teach you my method and you will help your mother. Her life is in your hands now.” Konstantin spent several hours with Andrey and left.
Two weeks passed; Andrey had been spending a lot of time with his mother, listening to her gasping for air. She never had enough of it.
“Breathe less, please,” he would tell her.
His mother was applying this natural asthma treatment and the results were remarkable. She lost weight, started walking, laughing, and had not had a severe asthma attack for a while!
Andrey would tell his mother, “Breathe less. You are ill because you breathe too much. Your body is smart: it makes you suffocate when you over-breathe. Take in less air, and you’ll be fine.”
For a long time, Ludmila’s asthma kept her imprisoned in her home. As she became healthier, she was able to leave her apartment and decided to see her oncologist. Yes, in addition to asthma, she also had breast cancer, which was progressing quickly. Too quickly to live, – Ludmila used to think, which is why she did not tell Konstantin about it. Now, when her asthma was retreating, she decided to check on her tumor thinking that she had a chance at survival.
Your Tumor Has Completely Disappeared!
The oncologist took her x-ray and all the necessary tests. When he saw Ludmila to tell her the results, he looked astounded:
What did you do? He almost attacked her. Your tumor has completely disappeared!
I’ve been practicing a breathing technique, Ludmila explained.
Whatever it is, it has cured your cancer, The doctor responded sincerely.
Amazed by her swift healing process, the oncologist requested Ludmila share the miraculous technique with his patients. She agreed; however, when medical officials found out about this plan, it was canceled. Come to your senses, the oncologist was told, Ludmila is a patient, not a doctor; besides cancer is incurable!
Several days later, a group of emergency doctors appeared at her apartment. These local doctors had not received any emergency calls from Ludmila for several weeks. They were so accustomed to her frequent calls for help that they became concerned when they hadn’t heard from her. Assuming the worst, they decided to stop by and check the situation. They were amazed! Not only was Ludmila alive: she was happy and energetic.
She told them about the natural asthma treatment, the Buteyko Breathing Method, which saved her life. The shift in her state of well-being was so obvious that doctors were left with no choice but to believe her. Eventually, they started referring their severely ill asthma patients to her. There is nothing we can do for them, they said, but there is a chance that this breathing technique could work. One by one, asthmatics started calling Ludmila and visiting her at home. One woman even stayed there for a week. Ludmila tried to help everyone by sharing her story and everything she knew about the method. She did it free of charge, mostly on weekends and evenings after work.
Able To Heal Herself And Others With This Natural Asthma Treatment
Within a short period of time, her life had changed tremendously: she did not feel hopeless anymore but instead empowered and thrilled that she was able to heal not only herself but others as well. She was immensely grateful to Dr. Buteyko and wanted to see him again.
About six months after his first visit, she found out that he was going to be in Moscow again, giving a lecture to students. She decided to wait for him outside of the college where he was going to speak.
From far away, she recognized his stately and fit figure. Her heart started beating rapidly.
Apparently, Konstantin also noticed her. He glanced at her… And then, looked at her again… Oh my God, Ludmila realized, He isn’t looking at my face… he is checking me out!
Nevertheless, she stepped forward: Hello!
Dr. Buteyko looked into her eyes. It took him a while to recall who she was.
“You?” he was flabbergasted. “I thought you would die… What are you doing here?” “I am helping people. I am teaching your method,” Ludmila said. “And I am here to ask you questions.”
“Okay… I am about to start a lecture. You are welcome to join in.”
Ludmila did. In fact, for the next thirty-four years, she never missed any of his lectures. Moreover, she spent these years at his side, always learning from him, always admiring him.
Being greatly influenced by Konstantin’s work, her son Andrey grew up to become a nurse and then a medical student. In 1989, he graduated from the First Moscow Medical Academy and began his work as a general practitioner.
He Spent Long Evenings Discussing Medicine With Andrey, Who Became The Heir Apparent
Legally, Konstantin, Ludmila and Andrey never were a family. Ludmila and Konstantin did not get married even though later in life Ludmila changed her last name to Buteyko. Tying an official knot to such a persona-non-grata as Konstantin could have negatively affected her son’s future. For the rest of his life, Konstantin remained officially married to his second wife, with whom he had separated years before he has met Ludmila. Konstantin also had biological children, including his son from his first, very brief, marriage. As fate decreed, he never had a chance to meet with his son, Vladimir, until he was in his thirties, and even though his son was interested in his method, Konstantin never managed to teach him since they were living in different cities. Instead, he spent long evenings at home discussing medicine with Andrey, who became the heir apparent of his medical knowledge. Ludmila, on the other hand, became the successor for the spiritual and esoteric parts of Buteyko’s healing art and health philosophy. Together, Ludmila and Andrey became Konstantin’s real family – not by certificate or blood but by spirit.
By choosing to teach Buteyko’s method, which wasn’t widely accepted in the Soviet Union, Ludmila and Andrey willingly invited financial and social hardships into their lives. They continued preserving the method and because of their life-long dedication, were able to create lasting protection around Konstantin’s ground-breaking work. The knowledge about breathing normalization survived because of them, as well as the endless efforts of his patients and journalists, who never gave up on Dr. Buteyko and continued informing the public about his revolutionary discovery.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, life became easier for the Buteyko family. In 1988, Andrey, Ludmila and Konstantin established Clinica Buteyko, a private medical clinic. With a team of doctors trained by Konstantin, they were finally permitted to treat patients – not only asthmatics but also those suffering from many other diseases.
Many Regained Health By Applying This Natural Adenoid And Asthma Treatment
When Konstantin passed away, Andrey and Ludmila continued running the clinic and working to further develop his method. They created new programs addressed to specific ailments, such as Adenoids Without Surgery. Andrey wrote a book called Asthma Cure Manual for people suffering from breathing difficulties and medical professionals. As a result of their work, many people have regained their health by applying Buteyko Breathing Method as a natural asthma treatment as well as a holistic adenoid treatment.
Once, I asked Dr. Andrey Novozhilov if his mother truly cured her asthma.
My mother has not had asthma attacks and has been medication-free for more than 40 years now,” Andrey was choosing his words carefully. It was clear that he was trying not to offend any doctors who are still, more than half a century after Buteyko’s discovery, declaring that asthma is incurable.
So, can we say that she cured her asthma? Andrey continued. Medical doctors would disagree since there is no proof that her asthma cannot come back…
Could it come back? I was curious.
Of course. If she starts over-breathing again, her body will start creating compensatory mechanisms, which doctors call asthma.
Living Proof That Buteyko Breathing Method Works
When Thomas and I visited Clinica Buteyko, Ludmila was in her seventies. We saw her teach every day, work with children, and manage various administrative tasks. To us, she seemed inexhaustible: she hardly ever took breaks, ate very little, and was always charged with positive energy. When people reduce their breathing, their bodies start functioning more efficiently. Certainly, Ludmila is living proof that the Buteyko method works in all aspects of it.
Before Konstantin passed away, he bequeathed his scientific and medical work to Ludmila in hope that one day she would find a way to make it more available to humanity. In 2003, Ludmila and Andrey became patent holders of the Buteyko method and the owners of all intellectual properties associated with it.