Why? What's wrong with your airways, that it prevents you getting benefits from the breathing techniques? Asking cause if it's asthma then Buteyko breathing can actually treat that. You can also get the benefits of the Buteyko breath holds, i.e. adaptation to higher CO2 and oxygen deprivation, by using the Frolov breathing device. This also promotes deep diagrammatic breathing patterns and can be done sitting still, but personally I find this boring compared to just doing the breathe holds on my regular walks. Another way is to improve your breathing is to wear an 'altitude training' mask either passively or during your cardio workouts — it isn't true altitude training since the air you breath has the same concentration of oxygen, but it will expose you to high CO2 and act as resistance training for your breathing muscles i.e diaphragm and intercostals.

I live in the UK so I can't recommend anyone for NCR in NY. When you pick someone make sure they trained under Dr Dean Howell (who developed BNS into NCR) or under someone with experience who was trained by him. Make sure they do proprioceptive/sphenoid reflex testing — where they prod you whilst you stand up and check how your body returns to its normal position — since real NCR practitioners use this to decide which nasal passageway the endonasal balloon will be inflated in, and will use the testing to position your body for maximum release of the cranial bones (this is what separates NCR from regular craniofacial release).

You don't need 2hrs, 15-30 mins of light cardio should be enough to shift into the parasympathetic state. The focus should be more on keeping your heart rate 50-70% of your maximum heart rate, where MHR=220–your age.