Oxygen Advantage (McKeown)

Domain X · Body, movement, breath & physical · Patrick McKeown · 2015

What it is

Oxygen Advantage is a commercial breathing-retraining programme developed by Patrick McKeown, a former asthma sufferer who previously worked as a Buteyko coach; the method is described by OA as built on the Buteyko Method developed by Konstantin Buteyko in the 1950s, extended towards sport,…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• OA does not publish a fixed session-by-session protocol for clients; instructors are taught to programme exercises "based on the BOLT score, age, and state of health". The sequence below reflects the order OA's curricula and technique pages give; session counts are.
• Phase A: Intake and assessment. Goal: establish the client's breathing pattern, symptoms, health status and suitability. OA instructors use a client intake form, the BOLT (Body Oxygen Level Test, OA's comfortable breath-hold measure of how soon the first clear urge to breathe appears after a relaxed exhale) and breathing-pattern-disorder screening. OA states BOLT is not a diagnosis. Move on when medical red flags…
• Phase D: Applications (Mind and Sport; Level 2 material). Mind: protocols that OA names for anxiety, insomnia, focus ("Get in the zone") and heart rate variability. Sport: nasal breathing during training, respiratory-muscle conditioning, pre-competition preparation, exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, and the programme OA calls "high-altitude simulation" or intermittent hypoxic hypercapnic training (IHHT). These…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• practice becoming a chore or a test; dropping practice after improvement (normal; agree a light-touch habit).
• role confusion (therapist becoming coach), clients substituting OA for medical care. Working: clear scope, documented referrals.
• self-consciousness (therapist hums too); light-headedness from big in-breaths. Working: a longer, steady exhale and a felt sense of calm.
• athletes pushing breath holds during training (refer back to the instructor; never in water); performance anxiety masked as a breathing problem.
• tightness, discomfort, reliance on equipment; snoring that may be sleep apnoea (medical referral). Working: client notices lower-rib movement without the belt.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.