Reduce stress and improve lung capacity
When you’re relaxed, your body is naturally able to breathe more easily.
§ Pushing Out: With your feet flat on the ground and with an upright posture, keep your knees relaxed and bend over from the waist. Push the air out of your lungs, and then slowly return to an upright position. Inhale slowly and allow your lungs to comfortably fill with as much air as possible. Hold your breath for 20 seconds. However, if 20 seconds is too long, pick a timing that you can manage. While counting, lift your arms over your head. Relax and then lower your arms as you exhale slowly. Repeat.
§ Rib Stretch: Stand upright and exhale all the air from your lungs. Slowly breathe in, and expand your lungs to the maximum capacity. Hold the air for about 20 seconds or what is comfortable for you. While counting, place both hands on your hips with your thumbs facing front with pinkies touching the small of your back. Exhale the air slowly, relax and repeat three more times.
§ Abdominal Breathing: Lay in a comfortable position on your back, and rest one hand on top of your abdomen. Rest the other hand on your chest. Breathe in deeply and slowly from your mid-section. The hand on your stomach will rise higher than the one on your chest. Exhale slowly from the mouth and inhale slowly from the nose, holding your breath for seven seconds if possible. Then, when you exhale, breathe out for eight seconds. Make sure to squeeze your abdominal muscles near the end, so you exhale all the air. Breathe this way for five cycles or more.
§ Pursed lip breathing:
Sit up straight. Practicing good posture can help promote better lung movement. Breathe in deeply through your nose in a slowly. Purse your lips, which is much like making a “kissing” face where your lips are almost, but not quite, touching. Breathe out through your pursed lips, making a goal of breathing out twice as long as breathing in. Some people may find it beneficial to set a timer, such as focusing on breathing in for 5 seconds and exhaling for 10 seconds.
This exercise can be helpful for someone who is not as physically active as some others and may not be using their breathing muscles as frequently. Those with COPD can also benefit from performing this exercise
§Start Today to Increase Lung Capacity
-For people who have problems with breathlessness and shortness of breath while exercising, interval training may be a better solution than steady-state exercise.
-Interval training involves alternating a more challenging exercise with a slower recovery period. This is why HIIT classes have become so popular.
-Examples include walking at a very fast pace for 1 minute, then walking more slowly for 2 minutes.
-Similarly, a person may perform a weightlifting activity for 1 minute, such as bicep curls or lunges, then step to the side or walk at a gentle pace for 2 to 3 minutes.
-Interval training allows the lungs time to recover before challenging them again.
-Whenever a person is exercising and becomes short of breath, slowing down for a few minutes and performing pursed lip breathing can help. They can continue pursed lip breathing until feelings of breathlessness subside.
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