Breath Therapy in Berlin – Buteyko and Other Methods

First we look at how you breathe – at rest and under load, for example when climbing stairs: how long can you keep breathing through your nose? We add simple measurements such as your breath-hold time. From this I create an exercise programme of breathing techniques, body awareness and relaxation that you practise at home and that we adjust from session to session.

No, my breath therapy is a self-pay service for health promotion. In Germany, breath therapy on prescription is provided by physiotherapists as a medical remedy – that’s a different service. Some private supplementary insurances partially reimburse health services; it’s best to ask your insurer directly.

The term breath therapy (Atemtherapie) is not protected in Germany. Physiotherapists offer breath therapy on prescription; there are also breath therapists with their own trainings who work preventively and to promote health. I’m one of them: trained in the Buteyko Method and Oxygen Advantage with Patrick McKeown, with a 400-hour breathwork training and more than 200 hours of breath therapy in clinical settings. I don’t make diagnoses and I don’t replace medical treatment.

The Buteyko Method trains calm, light nasal breathing. Many people constantly breathe more than their body needs. This lowers the CO₂ level in the blood, which can keep the airways and the nervous system on alert. With gentle exercises – reducing the breath, short pauses, nasal breathing at night too – CO₂ tolerance increases and the breath becomes calmer. The method was developed in the 1950s by the physician Konstantin Buteyko.

When it’s guided well, the method is gentle. At the beginning you may notice slight air hunger, short-lived headaches or temporarily changed symptoms – this is because the gas levels in your body, especially CO₂, are readjusting. Intensive breath-hold exercises are not suitable, or only in adapted form, during pregnancy and with cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, epilepsy, kidney disease, type 1 diabetes or panic disorder – we clarify this beforehand. Please never stop taking medication, for example for asthma, on your own.

Short, regular sessions work best: usually two to three times a day for 10 to 15 minutes, plus small reminders in everyday life such as nasal breathing while walking. We decide together what’s right for you.

That depends on what you’re coming with. In the clinic I worked with most people for three to eight sessions. Four sessions over a few weeks are often enough to build a new breathing habit. For long-standing symptoms, support over several months is worthwhile. You’ll find the packages on my prices page.

Breath therapy can be an effective complement for these issues: studies show, for example, that breathing exercises can improve asthma symptoms and quality of life, and calmer breathing helps many people regulate anxiety and tension and sleep better. It doesn’t replace medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, and I make no promises of healing – together we’ll look at what’s possible for you.