Breathing exercises at home can provide relaxation, alertness and better technique.
How you breathe can affect your mood, mental alertness, oxygen capacity and overall health. You may lose up to 20 percent of your oxygen availability with normal aging, and improper breathing affects your health. A lifetime of shallow breathing might even lead to postural discomfort or possibly disease. There are many breathing exercises you can do to promote relaxation, improve breathing capacity and stimulate your senses. These can all be done in the comfort of your own home.
Belly Breath
The belly breath is a natural form of breathing that babies do instinctively, but it often gets forgotten as other breathing habits take over. To perform belly breaths, sit comfortably with a straight back or lay down on your back. The key is to be comfortable. Gently place your hands palms down on your belly below the ribs with fingers almost touching. Slowly inhale and expand the belly gently into your hands like a balloon. When you exhale, let the belly deflate back toward the spine. Make the inhale and exhale slow and equally long. Repeat the process for three to five minutes.
Three Part Breathing
Three part breathing is a yogic breathing for meditation and grounding. You can do it either seated or lying down on your back. Start with an inhale that makes your belly expand as the first part. Next continue the inhale and bring air into your rib cage for the second part. Finally, continue the inhale and bring breath into your chest as the third part. After inhaling from belly to rib cage to chest, slowly exhale deflating all three areas.
Bellows Breath
This type of breathing is for increasing energy and alertness. Sit down comfortably. Focus on inhaling and exhaling rapidly through your nose. The pace is fast and both parts of the breath should be equal in duration. Do several rounds of bellows breath and then go back to normal breathing. Dr. Andrew Weil, an alternative medicine expert, recommends doing this breathing for 15 seconds or less until you are experienced at it. Then you can add more time in small increments (five seconds).
Straw Breathing
Straw breathing is recommended by Authentic Breathing Resources LLC to improve breathing technique and capacity. You will need a small straw for this exercise with an opening that is not too wide. Gently hold the straw with one hand and take a normal inhale through your nose. Put the straw to your mouth and be sure that it is protrudes straight out from your lips and does not point up or down. Start to exhale through the straw but then take the straw away and finish exhaling through your nose with your mouth closed. Do several breaths without the straw. Then try straw breathing again. Complete several rounds alternating straw and normal breathing.
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