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How to Increase Lung Capacity: Breathing Exercises
Diaphragmatic breathing
This is also known as belly breathing:
- Relax your shoulders and sit back or lie down.
- Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest.
- Inhale through your nose for 2 seconds, feeling the air move into your abdomen and feeling your stomach move out. Your stomach should move more than your chest does.
- Breathe out for 2 seconds through pursed lips while pressing on your abdomen.
- Repeat.
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Our lung capacity
It's the total amount of air that your lungs can hold.
Over time, our lung capacity and lung function typically decrease slowly as we age after our mid-20s. Also, some medical conditions contribute to the reduction of our lung functioning. These lead to difficulty in breathing and shortness of breath.
Diaphragmatic breathing
This is also known as belly breathing:
- Relax your shoulders and sit back or lie down.
- Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest.
- Inhale through your nose for 2 seconds, feeling the air move into your abdomen and feeling your stomach move out. Your stomach should move more than your chest does.
- Breathe out for 2 seconds through pursed lips while pressing on your abdomen.
- Repeat.
Pursed-lips breathing
It slows down your breathing, making it easier for the lungs to function and improves the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide:
- Inhale slowly through your nostrils.
- Purse your lips, as if pouting or about to blow on something.
- Breathe out as slowly as possible through pursed lips. This should take at least twice as long as it did to breathe in.
- Repeat.
Keeping your lungs healthy
Prevention is the best medicine:
- Stop smoking, and avoid secondhand smoke.
- Eat foods rich in antioxidants.
- Get vaccinations like the flu vaccine and the pneumonia vaccine.
- Exercise frequently.
- Improve indoor air quality. Use tools like indoor air filters and reduce pollutants like artificial fragrances, mold, and dust.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
A health condition that affects an individual’s ability to breathe well, often associated with other conditions such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Symptoms include: wheezing, c...
Pursed lip breathing
- While keeping your mouth closed, take a deep breath in through your nose, counting to 2. The breath does not have to be deep.
- Put your lips together as if you are starting to whistle or blow out candles on a birthday cake. This is known as “pursing” your lips.
- While continuing to keep your lips pursed, slowly breathe out by counting to 4. Don’t try to force the air out, but instead breathe out slowly through your mouth.
Pursed lip breathing benefits:
- It’s been shown to reduce how hard a person has to work to breathe.
- It helps release air trapped in the lungs.
- It promotes relaxation.
- It reduces shortness of breath.
Practice it 4 to 5 times per day, daily.
Pursed lip breathing is best for performing strenuous activities, such as climbing stairs.
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Breathing Techniques for Muscle Tension Relief
- Stand up straight and bend forward at the waist. Bend knees slightly, letting your arms hang limply, close to the floor.
- Inhale slowly and deeply, and return to a stan...
Breathing Techniques for Side Pain
Practicing deep “belly breathing” can reduce the stress on the supporting ligaments of the diaphragm and can help relieve side stitches.
Belly breath: Lie down on the floor and place a hand on your belly. Breathe deeply. If you feel your hand rise and fall slightly with your breathing, you’re belly breathing. If your chest is moving instead of your stomach, you’re not breathing deeply enough, and need to adjust.
Breathing Techniques for Increased Energy
- Sit up tall, and relax your shoulders.
- Keep your mouth closed and inhale rapidly through your nose with quick, short breaths (exhale quickly as well).
- Try doing that for about 10 seconds.
- Take a 15-30 second break and breathe normally. Repeat several times.
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Sama Vritti or “Equal Breathing”
How it’s done: Inhale for a count of 4, then exhale for a count of 4, all through the nose, which adds a natural resistance to the breath. Once you manage it, you can go up to a c...
Abdominal Breathing Technique
When it works best: Before an exam, or any stressful event.
Nadi Shodhana or “Alternate Nostril Breathing”
How it’s done: Starting in a comfortable meditative pose, hold the right thumb over the right nostril and inhale deeply through the left nostril. At the peak of inhalation, close off the left nostril with the ring finger, then exhale through the right nostril. Continue the pattern, inhaling through the right nostril, closing it off with the right thumb and exhaling through the left nostril.
When it works best: Crunch time, or whenever it’s time to focus or energize.
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