Alexander Stalmatski

The man who brought Buteyko’s Method to the West.

by Christopher Drake

My teacher Alexander Sergeevich Stalmatski, was appointed by Professor Buteyko to be his first official representative to the Western world.

“Sasha”, as he was mostly known, was much more than a deliverer of mere information – instead a powerful teacher imbued with vast experience and a gift to transmit deep insights.

In retrospect, it is easy to understand why Professor Buteyko chose Sasha to be his official representative. Apart from working alongside Professor Buteyko for some fourteen years – Sasha embodied the method with a burning intensity. As far as the integrity of Buteyko’s Method and the esteem in which its founder was held, there would be no compromise. In letters of endorsement, Dr. Buteyko called Sasha “the practitioner of highest qualification”.

Sasha built the bedrock of extraordinary results for thousands of chronically ill people in Australia and the U.K – demonstrating the potency of Buteyko’s Method. He made teaching the method look deceptively simple.

In a world that places information above understanding – Sasha was unusual. On the one hand there was piercing logic – and on the other hand finely tuned instinct, built upon experience.

For some ten years, he patiently instructed and guided me through the complications, paradoxes and the nuances of teaching Buteyko’s Method. It was not until I had taught several thousand students, did I begin to apprehend the depth of my ignorance and appreciate his knowledge and relentless compassion.

Some aspiring practitioners found Sasha difficult, abrasive and even intimidating – but these characteristics served to bring gravitas and a sense of reality, to what was required to achieve optimal results. Only a handful of the dozens of practitiners he taught attained his approval – according to him, they did not personally practice the method with sufficient diligence and therefore could not progress beyond teaching it for simple conditions.

I shall remain in deep gratitude for the privilege to have Alexander Sergeevich Stalmatski as my friend and teacher.

Christopher P. Drake