Asthma is a chronic airway disease that affects all ages but is widely misunderstood as a problem that only afflicts the younger generation. For some individuals, it may be a continuing issue from childhood. In addition to enhancing lung function, breathing exercises can also reduce the risk of an asthma attack. They cannot replace your rescue inhalers but can provide greater comfort for one’s respiratory health.
Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises for Asthma
This exercise is supposed to strengthen your diaphragm, which is an important dome-shaped muscle partition that enables you to breathe. Diaphragmatic breathing is the basis for almost all meditation or relaxation techniques and is designed to maximize the distribution of air in your lungs. This can reduce your blood pressure, lower stress levels, and regulate other critical bodily processes. It may be easiest to practice this while laying on the floor when you’re just starting out.
Method:
- Sit or lay comfortably on a flat surface with your knees slightly bent.
- Shift your shoulders down away from the ears.
- Place your hand over your chest flat and the other over your stomach.
- Next, inhale through your nose fully with your chest remaining still and feel the air move into your abdomen while expanding the sides of your waist.
- Lastly, purse your lips and exhale while feeling your stomach contracting gently.
Buteyko Breathing Exercises for Asthma
Rapid breathing can lead to asthma attacks. This therapeutic technique that has been in practice since the 1950s is ideal for those who may breathe faster than others or hyperventilate, helping you to control the speed and volume of your breath and feel less stressed out wherever you are. It is even used to manage sleep concerns, reduce snoring, as well as anxiety.
Method:
- Sit in a relaxed, upright position and breathe normally for a few minutes.
- Exhale through the nose and hold your breath.
- Retain your breath until you’ve reached the point of moderate discomfort, and then inhale.
- Remember to breathe normally for the next 10 seconds.
- Repeat several times.
The Papworth Method for Asthma
Used by professional physiotherapists since the 1960s to correct and control breathing, this breathing exercise for asthma patients promotes more relaxed and gentler breathing using one’s abdomen as opposed to the chest. It teaches about stress management, which muscles to engage during the process, and how to avoid breathing too fast or too deeply and may even reduce your reliance on medications as well as reduce anxiety. For individuals living with more severe asthma, triggered by allergies or cold, this may not necessarily be beneficial.
Method:
- Slowly inhale through the nose.
- Exhale through the lips twice as long as though you’re blowing out a candle.
- Repeat the cycle.
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