Kudos to the naturopathic doctor Ted Cedik for his book "Air
passages".

See http://www.airpassages.com/ where the 1800 word introduction can be
downloaded with a few mouse clicks and also
http://www.inner-strength.com/Products.htm for an ad. for his asthma
video.  I'd stay clear of Paypal if you don't what a deluge of
pfishing emails.

Even it is a flop and physiological nonsense, the Buteyko asthma method
did show that strenuous  breathing exercises - at least for those
feeling attracted to them - may be safe and not cause more asthma
deaths.  It seemed to be sort of fail-safe in a way, if there was no
other pathology.

As for the book's  mentioning the dangers of albuterol and
prednisone, this seems quite plausible because medication for
constipation, acid stomach, blocked nose and headaches are known to
often make the conditions worse because some automatic regulation in
the body is thrown out of gear.  For instance with dyspepsia,
medication may boost the production of acid in the stomach. Nose
clearing medication causes so much trouble that there is technical term
for it, Rhinitis medicamentosa.. Why doctors are not more cautious
about this effect with albuterol is a mystery.  Maybe they think the
aim sanctifies the means. The prednisone is given to suppress the
effects of inappropriate medication.  Don't understand why this
should not be said outright.

The advantages of qigong if practised strenuously to slow down the
respiration rate and not purely for esthetic reasons are:

1    The mild hypoxia (lack of oxygen) in the exercises provides a smart,
gentle way of getting rid of mucus.
2    One learns to understand getting a maximum deep breath as a mind body
experience. Breathing with the mouth wide open makes the exercise
impossible, but doctors would not understand why this is so. The taboo
on sex was done away with, but the taboo on details of breathing still
remains.
3    Breathing is not only slowed down but also disciplined and the
patient is kept clear of the vicious circle of hyperventilation, for
example at night.
4    Air trapping and the faulty distribution of air and blood in the
lungs, typical of asthma, is corrected.

For those who have read this far, let me add that reverse (Taoist or
Daoist) breathing is needed and this takes at least a month to learn.
The more intense the inward retraction of the upper abdomen while
opening up the rib cage and producing suction by nose breathing or
breathing through the gap between the lips, the more effective the
opening of the bronchi and a sort of supercharger feeling.  Regards,
Richard Friedel