“The internist’s herb and the surgeon’s knife heal from without, the breath heals from within.” (Paracelsus). Breathing happens unconsciously, and that is precisely why many people breathe incompletely and cramped. Breathing correctly means allowing the breath to flow completely into the abdomen and pelvis without effort. In this way, the breath flows through the entire body, and mental and physical tensions can be released. For asthmatics, proper breathing is vital.
Simple breathing exercise
You breathe in slowly through your nose. Exhale just as slowly through your nose. As you do this, slowly think a two-syllable word like “calm.” Repeat this exercise, noticing where your breath flows, whether more into your belly or higher up into your chest.
Respiratory therapists recommend abdominal breathing: as you inhale, your diaphragm should contract and move downward. The abdominal wall should bulge forward in the process. This creates suction in the chest cavity. This causes the lungs to expand, and you breathe in. In chest breathing, the ribs are pulled up and away from each other. This enlarges the chest cavity and again creates negative pressure, which leads to inhalation.
As we exhale, the diaphragm relaxes. This forces stale air out of the lungs. A contraction of the ribs supports this process. But whether due to lack of exercise or incorrect posture, many people breathe too much into the chest. Chest breathing expands the chest, but the diaphragm barely moves.
500 liters of oxygen daily
The bloodstream supplies the organism with everything needed to live. Breathing brings oxygen into the blood: 500 liters per day, which are carried with the blood to the cells. Calm breathing prevents blockages caused by strong emotions and increased tension.
But under stress, however, a person automatically breathes more shallowly and compressed. Thus, only about 7 to 10 liters of air reach the organs through the bloodstream. With targeted abdominal breathing, one can take in up to 75 liters of air and thus have a positive influence on the body and psyche through the conscious control of breathing.
Respiratory therapy for diseases
Increasingly, respiratory therapy is gaining importance in medicine. It mainly alleviates chronic diseases such as bronchitis or emphysema, digestive disorders, cardiovascular diseases, depression and anxiety. It has been proven that proper breathing improves blood circulation and thus optimizes oxygen supply to the entire organism.
Asthmatics in particular practice breathing in a specific posture – the coachman’s seat. Here, the legs are slightly apart, the feet are completely on the floor, the upper body is slightly bent forward, and the forearms are supported on the thighs. In this way, the chest is relieved of the weight of the shoulder girdle and one can breathe in more deeply.
The bronchial tubes are decompressed using the so-called lip brake, a special breathing technique. One inhales normally through the nose and slowly exhales through the mouth. When exhaling, the lips are slightly pressed together as if one were exhaling against a resistance. This prolongs the exhalation phase and the bronchi decompress.
Finding the rhythm of breathing
Finding the breathing rhythm is trained by breathing in through the nose into the abdomen and exhaling for about twice as long. Exhaling brings the actual relaxation. Do not hold your breath after inhaling, but exhale calmly right away. Only then take a short break from breathing until the body asks for air again. Now automatically take a deep breath. Observe your breathing.
Like most people, you will probably slump a bit when you exhale, but this is how the flow of energy is inhibited. Therefore, exhaling should, on the contrary, lift you up. Inhaling helps you to gather yourself. Because when you inhale, you receive something: you allow something to happen. The exhale is active: you are doing something.
Breath Breathing
Try breath breathing. This will give you a deep and calm breathing rhythm. Breathe slowly into the palm of your hand as if to moisten it. Now breathe in through your nose again. Repeat this exercise until your hand is completely warm.
