Tania Clifton-Smith
Tania is a New Zealand physiotherapist with over four decades of clinical and teaching experience, specialising in breathing pattern disorders, hyperventilation syndrome, chronic pain, stress physiology and mindbody medicine.
After graduating from AUT in 1987, she worked across public hospital, musculoskeletal, neurological and private practice settings in New Zealand and the UK. From 1992–1994, she contributed to multidisciplinary stress, pain and respiratory programmes at Middlemore Hospital, where she established the first hyperventilation syndrome/breathing pattern disorder outpatient service.
In 1998, she co-founded BREATHING WORKS and the BradCliff® Method, the first dedicated breathing pattern disorder clinic in Australasia. The BradCliff® Method provides a structured, research-based physiotherapy assessment and treatment programme used internationally by health professionals.
Tania is widely published, teaches nationally and internationally, and is recognised as a leading contributor to the field of breathing retraining.
Published works on breathing pattern disorders & breathing dysfunction include:
Books:
- Breathe to Succeed (Penguin NZ, 1999)
- Breathe Stretch & Move (Random House NZ, 2002) – co-authored with Dinah Bradley
- Breathing Matters (Random House NZ, 2006) – co-authored with Dr Jim Bartley
- Dynamic Breathing – managing your asthma (Random House NZ, 2008) – co-authored with Dinah Bradley
- How to take a breath (Penguin NZ, 2021)
- Chaitow’s Breathing Pattern Disorders, 3rd Edition (Evolve, April 2026) – co-authored
Paper:
- Clifton-Smith T, Rowley, J. (2011). “Breathing pattern disorders and physiotherapy: inspiration for our profession”, Physical Therapy Reviews, 16 (1) p75-86
Chapter:
- Recognizing and Treating Breathing Disorders A Multidisciplinary Approach by Leon Chaitow, Christopher Gilbert, Dinah Morrison United Kingdom, 2013 Chapter 7.6 Breathing Pattern Disorders and the Athlete
- Guidelines: Severe Asthma Toolkit Australia 2018 co-authored the Dysfunctional Breathing section
Previous positions:
- NZ Asthma and Allergy Educational Board
- NZ Physiotherapy Business Development Advisory Group
Presentations:
Extensive since 1991 to both medical and non-medical audiences.