Shallow breathing doesn't provide enough oxygen for your body to function properly and it can also trigger your sympathetic nervous system to remain in a fight-or-flight stance that gives your body an underlying sense of stress. This can eventually cause you to experience high blood pressure and muscle pain, according to the American Medical Student Association. The easiest way to tell if you are taking shallow breaths is to place your right hand on your abdomen and your left hand on your chest. If your left hand rises more while you are breathing, you are taking shallow, chest breaths and you must learn how to take deep abdominal breaths.
Abdominal Breathing
Step 1
Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen to notice where you are taking in the air once you take a breath.
Step 2
Inhale through your nose, imagining that you are pulling in all the air in the room and don't stop until the hand that is on your abdomen rises more than the one on your chest.
Step 3
Hold this breath for a count of seven.
Step 4
Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of 10, gently tightening your abdomen, as if you are trying to squeeze out all the air from your body.
Step 5
Repeat each step for five more breaths at least twice per day. You can release your hands from your abdomen and chest once you feel you have mastered breathing in this way.
Chinese Tai Chi Chuan Breathing Exercise
Step 1
Sit comfortably and inhale a short, but not shallow, breath through your nose with your arms lifted straight out in front of you at shoulder height.
Step 2
Take a second short inhalation through your nose and open your arms to the sides, keeping them at shoulder height.
Step 3
Inhale a third short inhalation through your nose and lift your arms over your head.
Step 4
Exhale through your mouth while releasing your arms down to your sides.
Step 5
Repeat each step 10 to 12 times. According to the University of Missouri in Kansas City College of Arts and Sciences, this breathing exercise opens up your chest and body.
Tips and Warnings
- Try doing both of these breathing exercises daily in order to learn how to breathe right with openness and fullness.
- It is unlikely you will feel dizzy or light headed while performing either of these breathing exercises, but if it occurs, sit or lie down and stop the exercise. Breath normally until you feel better.
