What are breathing exercises?
Since breathing is involuntary in everyday life, you can learn to breathe correctly with consciously performed breathing exercises. Various breathing exercises are used for this purpose in breathing therapy or breathing gymnastics. They strengthen the respiratory muscles and promote the mobility of the lungs. The aim of breathing exercises is to maintain, improve or restore the best possible respiratory function.
This benefits not only patients with respiratory diseases, but also athletes or people who have forgotten how to breathe properly due to tension or poor posture.
When should breathing exercises be performed?
Breathing exercises have proven to be especially useful for patients with shortness of breath or respiratory dysfunction. They promote quality of life, loosen mucus and prevent other diseases such as pneumonia. Breathing exercises are therefore particularly useful in the following cases:
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and chronic obstructive bronchitis.
- Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Cystic fibrosis (cystic fibrosis)
- after operations or injuries in the thoracic region
- Paralytic diseases
In principle, however, breathing exercises can be good for everyone because they increase and improve lung volume, respiratory muscles and thus breathing performance. In addition, stressed people in particular can benefit from the calming, relaxing effect of some breathing exercises.
How do you breathe correctly?
In order for our body to use the air we breathe, the oxygen it contains must be brought through deep breathing to the outer areas of the lungs, where gas exchange takes place. This is best accomplished through a combination of abdominal breathing and thoracic breathing.
- Abdominal Breathing: In abdominal breathing, the diaphragm contracts and moves downward, creating suction in the chest cavity and allowing the lungs to expand. Air flows in.
Breathing exercises: Counting and sniffing
Counting breaths is a simple exercise to become aware of your own breathing. For example, take a controlled breath in for four seconds and out for four seconds. Then slowly increase the amount of time without straining too much. Pay attention to the contraction and relaxation of the diaphragm and muscles and the expansion of the lungs.
Another useful breathing exercise is to sniff several times during the inhalation phase.
Breathing exercises for relaxation
Breathing exercises from yoga not only improve the perception of the breathing process, but also have other effects depending on the technique.
Sit upright but relaxed. Now close the right nostril with the thumb (press on the right side of the nose) and breathe in through the left nostril. Then close the left nostril with the ring finger, take the thumb away from the right one and exhale through it. Then inhale again over this one, close it with the thumb, open the left nostril (remove the ring finger) and exhale over it. Continue in this way with alternate inhaling and exhaling.
You can also combine the whole thing with two short pauses to hold your breath: for example, as soon as you have inhaled on the right, close the nostril in question (so that both nostrils are now closed), pause for a few seconds and only then open the left nostril to exhale. The same after the completed exhalation – as soon as you have exhaled on the left, close this nostril as well, pause briefly and then open it again to inhale.
Moon breathing” (Chandra Bedhana) – another breathing exercise from yoga – also has a calming and relaxing effect, which can help with problems falling asleep, for example. This is done by repeatedly breathing in on the left and out on the right. How to do it:
Sit comfortably and upright and close your eyes. Hold your right hand in Vishnu Mudra (i.e. with your index and middle fingers curled up and your thumb, ring finger and little finger stretched out) to your nose and close the right nostril with your thumb. Now inhale gently and evenly through the left nostril – for four seconds (counting internally to four).
Now, with the ring finger, additionally close the left nostril as well for a short breathing pause of eight seconds (counting internally to eight). Then open the right nostril by releasing the thumb, and exhale over it for eight seconds (counting internally to eight). Repeat from the front (7 to 14 times).
Breathing exercises for shortness of breath
Two helpful breathing therapy exercises for shortness of breath are the lip brake and the carriage seat.
Lip Brake: To keep the lungs dilated during exhalation despite the decrease in negative pressure, the lips are pressed together slightly as if exhaling against resistance. The exhaled air builds up in the lungs and keeps the bronchi open.
Coachman’s Seat: Sit in a chair, bend your upper body forward and support yourself with your hands or elbows on your knees. This allows areas of the chest muscles to better mobilize and help with breathing.
Breathing exercises to strengthen the respiratory muscles
In addition to regular endurance exercise and strength exercises to strengthen the abdominal and chest muscles, breathing techniques from yoga can also strengthen the respiratory muscles. One example is fire breathing (bastrika), in which you breathe like a bellows:
A gentler variation of fire breathing is the “skull light” (kapalabhati): Here, the air is forcefully expelled only when exhaling – the inhalation occurs naturally. The effect is the same as with fire breathing.
Caution: Caution is required in the performance of both breathing exercises. The number of breathing cycles should be increased only slowly and carefully, with pauses if necessary. This forced breathing is heat-generating and exhausting for the body. It is unsuitable, for example, in cases of high blood pressure as well as pain in the abdomen).
Holotropic Breathing
You can read more about this sometimes controversial method of transpersonal psychology in the article Holotropic Breathing.
What are the risks of breathing exercises?
Breathing exercises, when done correctly, carry virtually no risks. If you are unsure about how to perform them, have a therapist show you the breathing exercises.
If breathing is too superficial or too slow, not enough oxygen reaches the body – carbon dioxide accumulates, which can be potentially life-threatening.
What do I need to keep in mind when doing breathing exercises?
Perform breathing exercises at regular intervals and be sure to take adequate breaks, especially at the beginning.
If you notice pain, dizziness or discomfort during breathing exercises, stop them immediately and seek medical attention.
