Breathing Retraining

Breathing patterns can alter during viral infections or other life events and may not revert to baseline. This is very common with people with long-COVID.

Do you have any of these symptoms that are associated with inefficient breathing?

Breathing through the mouth (whilst awake or sleeping)
Air hunger (feeling of suffocation or not getting enough air)
Excessive breathlessness for the level of movement
Snoring, noisy breathing, stopping breathing during sleep
Noisy breathing at rest
Frequent sighing, sniffing or yawning
Noticeable breathing at rest – fast, upper chest, irregular
Unconsciously holding the breath (e.g. e-mail apnoea)
Large breaths prior to talking
Snoring, noisy breathing, stopping breathing during sleep

If so you may benefit from one of our breathing retraining programmes.

How Could Breathing Re-education Support Your Recovery?

The body has been designed for survival therefore it will make adjustments within the systems of the body to cope with inefficient breathing. This may lead to a myriad of symptoms which may resolve with breathing re-education.

Sleep and fatigue – Mouth breathing, noisy breathing or stopping breathing whilst sleeping (sleep disordered breathing) triggers the fight, flight, freeze (sympathetic) response which negatively impacts sleep and energy levels.
Oxygen delivery & post-exertional malaise – By improving tolerance to our waste product (carbon dioxide) more oxygen is released to the cells which can improve lactic acid threshold making movement easier and reducing air hunger.
Brain fog & cognition – Sleep is where the magic of repairing the body happens. Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) reduces the ability of the body to repair whilst sleeping.
Nasal congestion – The nose is a ‘use it or lose it’ organ which results in nasal congestion when it isn’t used to breathe.
Hydration – Switching from mouth to nose breathing decreases water loss by 42% therefore improving hydration.
Feel calmer – Breathing with the nose, quietly, slowly and using the diaphragm stimulates the relaxation (parasympathetic) response so the individual feels calmer.
Musculoskeletal pain – Mouth breathing often impacts posture which uses muscles not designed for continuous use which can lead to muscle tension and discomfort.
Smell – Using the mouth to breathe and intolerance to our waste product, carbon dioxide, can interfere with the ability to smell.

Breathing retraining with Robin McNelis (specialist physiotherapist)

Robin McNelis is a specialist cardio-respiratory physiotherapist who has been working with breathing pattern disorders since 1999, from intensive care patients all the way up to professional athletes. Since the summer of 2020 he has been focused on assisting the recovery of Long Covid patients in a variety of settings (private hospital, NHS Long Covid Service and private practice) and has treated over 1000 patients so far. He specialises in breathing re-training techniques, alongside ‘micro-pacing‘, fatigue management and other lifestyle modifications related to long-COVID recovery. Robin draws on his own personal experience of recovering from Long COVID. If you require a detailed assessment of breathing as well as advice and guidance on POTS management, pacing and micro-pacing, a consultation with Robin is for you.

Robin talks about his personal journey with Long COVID and the science behind some of the breathing exercises used in Long COVID recovery in the above Podcast.

Breathing Re-education with Dr Louise Oliver

Louise Oliver works as an NHS GP, and as a Functional Breathing Practitioner. She offers a dedicated 5-month breathing retraining programme, combining webinars on the science behind breathing retraining with bespoke guidance in 1:1 sessions on how to improve breathing efficiency. Her programme is rooted in Buteyko technique and taught in a gentle, holistic manner.

Louise Oliver’s breathing re-education programme

The aim of working with Louise is to reprogramme your unconscious breathing pattern to use the nose, be quiet, slow and driven by the diaphragm whilst resting and sleeping. Dr Oliver is passionate you understand the science and your mind, body, breath connection therefore the programme is divided into five treatment sessions which will be paced according to your needs. It takes at least 3-4 months for breathing to become unconsciously efficient however benefits are experienced beforehand. You are encouraged to watch the pre-recorded webinar prior to your consultation with Louise to help you gain the most from each treatment session. If you are interested in the science behind breathing retraining and ready to commit to a comprehensive programme, working with Dr Oliver is for you.

Treatment Session	Pre-recorded Webinar (1 month access)	Individual Virtual Consultation with Louise	Breathing Audios (1 month access)
1	77 minutes	1 hour	Included
2	85 minutes	40 minutes	Included
3	66 minutes	40 minutes	Included
4	70 minutes	40 minutes	Included
5	82 minutes	40 minutes	Included

Recovery Focussed Therapy

Nadyne McKie is a Recovery Focussed Psychotherapist and Clinical Mind Body Therapist. Drawing on her background in trauma therapy, nervous system regulation, and over five years experience in NHS mental health services, she weaves gentle breathing techniques into her sessions as a nervous system-friendly way to support recovery.

Her approach views the breath as a portal to the nervous system, offering a route back to safety and calm when the body feels overwhelmed, or stuck in survival mode.

For those living with Long Covid, the breath becomes a quiet but powerful ally helping the body feel supported and resourced, laying the foundations for recovery from the inside out. To learn more about Nadyne’s approach please follow this link.