Breathing Exercises You Can Start Today
COPD can cause the lungs to weaken, but there are numerous breathing exercises you can perform to keep your lungs in stronger shape.
Pursed Lip Breathing Exercise
This is where we breathe through our nose and out through our mouth. When we are breathing out, it's like we're blowing out a candle or whistling. We purse our lips and blow out.
- Breathing in through our nose for two seconds.
- Breathe out for four seconds.
- Repeat three times.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is about breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth, but at the same time, you're breathing from your belly. As you're breathing in, you will see your belly going out. And as you're breathing out, you will see your belly going in.
You don't want to see any movement up around the chest. Put your hands on your belly to feel exactly what's happening.
- Breathe in for two seconds through your nose. Your belly will go out.
- Breathe out for four seconds through your mouth.
- Repeat three times.
