David Blaine, a well-known magician, was able to hold his breath for more than 17 minutes on the Oprah show. Whether you are a magician, swimmer or freediver looking to improve his or her ability to hold your breath underwater, yoga pranayama exercises can help. Breathing exercises and cardio exercise increase your lung capacity and ability to retain air while underwater.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
The alternate nostril breathing exercise is a yoga breathing exercise that promotes breathing through your right and left nostril for the most efficient breathing. Throughout the day, it is common for people to breathe only through one nostril for approximately two hours, then to switch. This exercise can help regulate this breathing pattern so it does not get thrown off. To perform this exercise, sit upright with your legs crossed on the floor. Relax your hands palms up on your thighs. Raise your right hand to your forehead, placing your middle and index fingertips between your eyebrows with your elbow bent and pointing toward the floor. Gently press your left nostril closed and inhale deeply through your right nostril for 4 seconds. Close your right nostril and open your left nostril so that you may exhale for 8 seconds. Breathe in through your left nostril and out through the right one following the same 4 seconds inhale and 8 seconds exhale pattern. Use your ring finger on your left nostril and your thumb for your right. Perform this exercise for five to 10 minutes at a time.
Breath Retention Exercise
Breath retention is a yoga breathing exercise. It is a simple pranayama exercise that strengthens the diaphragm, lungs and abdominal muscles to allow you to breathe deeper and more efficiently. To perform this exercise, sit with your legs crossed and the backs of your hands resting on your thighs just above the knee. Sit up straight. Place the fingertips of your index and middle fingers of your right hand where the third eye is said to be on the forehead. Close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through your left nostril. Breathe in for 3 seconds. Close off your left nostril with your ring finger and retain your breath for 12 seconds. Take your thumb off your right nostril and exhale through it for six seconds. Repeat starting on the right by breathing in for three seconds through your right nostril, holding your breath for 12 seconds, then exhaling left for 6 seconds. Practice this exercise for five to 10 minutes. Increase your time as you can easily handle this 3-12-6 tempo to a tempo of 4-16-8. Work up a 5 second inhale, 20 second retention and 10 second exhale.
Anuloma Krama
Anuloma Krama is another breathing exercise borrowed from yoga. This exercise works off an equal inhalation, retention and exhalation sequence. To do this exercise, sit in your favorite upright position and breathe in through your nose for four seconds, pulling the air deep into your abdomen. Hold your breath for 4 seconds. Then exhale through your nose for 4 seconds. Be sure to empty your lungs completely with each exhalation. Take five breaths after the 4-second inhale, hold and exhale. This counts as one cycle. Do Anuloma Krama in cycles of 10 with a short break in between, during which you may breath normally. Work up to taking 10 breaths per cycles.
