It’s been proven that performing home breathing exercises can energize, relax, and calm a person.
Are you aware that when performing breathing exercises almost anywhere well ventilated and quiet or at home on a regular basis, it can help strengthen your immunity, improve your sleep, and alleviate nervousness, anxiety, tiredness, tension, and stress? Those are just some of the positive effects of the relaxation techniques and breathing exercises described below.
Breathing out to increase intake of oxygen and discharge old air from your lungs is the first breathing exercise to help prepare you for the next exercise. The second exercise integrates deep and slow breathing with smooth movements of the arm to enhance oxygen intake, balance breathing, and circulate to relax and calm you.
First Breathing Exercise – Sitting
1. This exercise is performed in a sitting position but can also be performed lying down or standing.
Sit on the front edge of a comfortable but firm chair.
Your back should be kept straight and hands on the knees or thighs.
Look straight ahead and keep the shoulders relaxed.
2. To empty your lungs, vigorously breathe out through your MOUTH whilst simultaneously tightening or contracting your stomach muscles and bend forward. This helps to discharge the air.
When the lungs are completely empty, quickly relax your abdominals and as you sit back up inhale gently with your NOSE. Breathe out until your lungs are less than 50 percent full then, start breathing out again quickly through your mouth.
One round totals to a breathing out followed by a breathing in. To begin, try to perform 10 rounds. Perform up to three sets of 10 rounds, twice or thrice a day. To balance your breathing, take a couple of deep, slow breaths in between each round and at the end of the final round.
Benefits
Discharges impurities & old air from your blood & lungs
Boosts your nervous system
Balances & energizes you
Saturates your system with fresh oxygen
Clears your sinuses & nasal passages
Tips
Perform the technique whenever you feel anxious, stressed or tired
This exercise is highly recommended for all city dwellers & smokers
Stop and take a few deep slow breaths if you’re feeling dizzy
Perform this exercise before other sports or exercises or to help you wake up
Perform Breathing Exercises at Work or at Home for Better Health!
Second Breathing Exercise – Standing
1. All breathing is performed through your NOSE in a smooth and slow manner.
Stand with your feet a width apart and your shoulder and back straight.
Settle your weight on your legs.
Put your hands in front of your stomach and clasp your right hand in your left hand.
Observe the ground in front of you at a range of about six feet or two 2 meters.
2. Breathe in as you raise your arms up slowly and away from your body.
3. Stop breathing in, drop your wrists and start lowering your arms and stop when they’re parallel with the ground.
Start breathing out as you lower your arms.
Note: Just as if they are wings on a bird, lower and raise your arms fluidly and smoothly.
4. Continue breathing out until your hands are back in front of your stomach.
You’re not required to cup your hands though.
Just allow them to meet at the fingertips, in anticipation of the next stage.
Halt your breathing for two seconds.
5. Start breathing in again as you vertically raise your hands in close to and in front of your body,.
6. As your hands near your chest, turn them to face you.
Continue to smoothly and slowly breathe in.
7. As you complete your inhalation, lift up straight your arms up above your head.
For two seconds, hold your breath while stretching your arms up as high as you could without lifting your feet.
8. Bring your arms down in an arc away from your body as you slowly breathe out.
9. Go back to the starting position with your hands clasped, as in step one.
You have thus completed round one.
As you begin another round, briefly pause then start inhaling.
Begin by performing 10 to 12 rounds of these breathing exercises.
Perform the exercise for 10 to 15 minutes each day and then increase it to 25 to 30 rounds, two times a day.
The better the results become the longer you do it.
Benefits
Strengthens your nervous system
Balances your breathing
Enhances your intake of oxygen
Relaxes and calms you
Tips
Perform Breathing Exercise 1 first
This exercise is good after getting up & before you sleep
Concentrate not on external distractions but on your breathing
Prior to doing home breathing exercises, or anywhere else, press important acupoints on your body to help augment the benefits of the exercises.
Moreover, as you perform these home breathing exercises before you sleep, performing beforehand the following stretching exercise can help you sleep well:
Backward Forward Bend
In addition, when performing these home breathing exercises just after getting up, you need to stretch and loosen up first for a few minutes. Try these:
Forward Lunge
Back Arch
Back Twist
Stomach Lift
Keep in mind that in relieving anxiety, tension, or stress you can perform breathing exercises on the beach, at work, in park, or at home or anyplace that’s not too windy but well ventilated and fairly quiet. Deep slow breathing is certainly the best way to relax and calm yourself.