In an earlier episode titled ‘Breathing’ we had the privilege to explore heathy breathing patterns and the Bohr effect which governs oxygen delivery to tissues with physiotherapist and breathing expert Allan Abbott, if you haven’t had an opportunity to listen to that podcast, I recommend it as an introduction to the subject we are covering today.

In an earlier episode titled ‘Breathing’ we had the privilege to explore heathy breathing patterns and the Bohr effect which governs oxygen delivery to tissues with physiotherapist and breathing expert Allan Abbott, if you haven’t had an opportunity to listen to that podcast, I recommend it as an introduction to the subject we are covering today.

Over the past decade there has been an emergence of literature pointing to potential clinical benefits for a range of disease states through the adoption of slow breathing techniques. The popularity worldwide of the Wim Hof method adopted from eastern techniques has done much to pique interest.

Australia has one of the highest rates of asthma in the world affecting about 11% of the population and in 2017/18 was responsible for 38,792 hospital admissions and 389 deaths, many of which may have been preventable. Asthma occurs when there is reversible expiratory constriction of the airways, especially the bronchioles and smaller bronchi, in response to various stimuli associated with a chronic inflammatory process. Today we are joined by Dr Michael Ho, an experienced respiratory physician who discusses: