Pursed Lip Breathing has been found to be very helpful for people having Obstructive Lung Disease like Asthma, Obstructive Sleep Apnea etc.
Method
Step 1: Sit comfortably with your body relaxed and spine neutral.
Step 2: Inhale from your nostrils.
Step 3: While pressing your lips softly against each other, create a little opening in between your lips and exhale slowly as if you are trying to blow out a candle.
Step 4: Check the ratio of your respiration. Mentally, if you are doing 2 counts of inhalation, try to make it 4 counts of exhalation. However, allow it to happen naturally and not with force. The aim is to double the exhalation.
Step 5: Once you are comfortable with the above practice, try and further lengthen your exhalation.
Step 6: Adding resistance helps better recovery. You can do so slowly and gradually by pulling in your abdominal muscles in during exhalation. Basically, you are creating a pattern where abdominal pull is helping you release air from the mouth gradually for a longer stretch of time.
Frequency
- You can start with 5 rounds. Slowly graduate to 10.
- You can practice twice or thrice a day.
Benefits
For Respiratory Problem (Asthma, Bronchitis, COPD, Obstructive Sleep Apnea)
- This practice does improve ventilation of the lungs.
- The air gets trapped in the lungs in case of asthma patients. This practice helps release the trapped air.
- Longer exhalation activates parasympathetic nervous system and relaxes you.
- Longer exhalation helps empty the stale air from the lungs thereby allowing new air to enter the lungs. It also makes the inhalation, that follows, better.
Ease of Practice
Can be practiced anytime and anywhere
Contraindications
- Do not practice after a heavy meal
- Do not force inhalation & exhalation. Maintain a natural rhythm
- One diagnosed with COPD should not breath too deeply