WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR BREATHING COORDINATION?
"Most of what is stress today is nothing more than an accumulation of carbon dioxide. People try to do all sorts of things to eliminate it, never realizing that it is because their chest is extended with air they cannot exhale." (Carl Stough)

Carl Stough's discoveries are revolutionary. They require whole medical books to be rewritten. They call on drug companies to cease development of costly respiratory medications that merely mask symptoms and never get at the root of the problem. They cry out to pediatric asthma facilities to teach children experiencing respiratory distress the simple act of silent counting, rather than dispensing inhalers and encouraging costly hospital stays. They call on institutions to educate practitioners in the principles of BREATHING COORDINATION.

" I told Carl in no uncertain words that he was mildly demented, if I may say so, to say that he could affect a rise in the diaphragm and a descent in the ribs, but then in one patient we got rather spectacular results, showing that he did do this….he is able to decrease the volume of the lungs more than any pulmonary man would say was possible….So with the inspiration-expiration films, the pneumographs, the cinefluorography and the Roentgeen kymographs and the vital capacity, which is a part of what is called spirometry, all showed the same results. Each test confirmed each of the others and demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that the severely damaged lungs of the emphysema patient can in fact exhale the air that the medical profession had been thoroughly convinced was stuck in the lungs and that the muscles of breathing, those high in the throat, the shoulders, the ribs, the diaphragm and the abdomen, all can be resynchronized" Robert G. Nims, M.D.

"Now, of course, the voice was the important thing all the way through. The whole way to redevelop the diaphragm was for the diaphragm to be able to produce enough pressure to make sound without tensing. This was actually what developed the diaphragm. But no one much paid attention to voice." (Carl Stough)

Remember - Your voice will tell you if your breathing needs improvement. If you are unable to sustain sound without tensing, especially in your abdomen, if you find it difficult to walk up steps without loosing your breath, if you are unable to talk while walking or jogging, if your voice is breathy, hesitant, hoarse and/or simply unexpressive, you know that the coordination with which you were born has been lost. It is time for you to slow down and begin a journey on a path filled with self acceptance. On this path you will learn to let go of the idea that your breath needs your conscious control and as you do, a door will open through which you will find your own natural voice and its incredible healing potential.

Karen Saillant Bygott has been a pioneer in therapeutic voice and breath work for almost 40 years. A dramatic soprano who has received standing ovations for her starring roles in international operatic performances, Karen holds a bachelors and masters degree in music. Karen began study with Carl Stough in 1972-brought to his New York office by her Alexander Teacher, Catherine Merrick Wieloposka, member of F.M. Alexander's original class. In 1975 Carl Stough chose Karen to represent the principles of BREATHING COORDINATION when The Stough Institute presented her in her New York City recital debut.

In March of 1998, using the principles of Breathing Coordination, Karen was able to permanently remove her comatose husband from his ventilator and guide his easy breathing, in their home, until his death, sixteen months later. .BREATHING COORDINATION continues to be at the heart of her work.

This article is based upon Karen's private study with Carl Stough up until right before his death in 2000. It is also based on his book, "Dr. Breath" and his two videos, "Breathing the Source of Life" and "Respiratory Science. The Preventative Medicine of the 21st Century".

If you would like to contact Karen, you may do so at ksbheartsinger@aol.com or at The Silverman Wellness Center in Philadelphia: 215-627-3782. Karen will visit San Diego in mid February 2003 to offer workshops in BREATHING COORDINATION at The Price Pottenger Foundation. Please contact the Foundation for further details.