If you are living with asthma you need to form a plan to help control your symptoms. Learning all you can about your condition, what triggers it and what medications may help will all need to be discussed with your doctor. Your health care team may also suggest asthmatic breathing exercises to help strengthen your respiratory muscles. Before starting any program, check with your doctor first.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Practicing diaphragmatic breathing, which is often taught in yoga classes, can help you to strengthen your lungs and respiratory muscles. It encourages you to fully expand your lungs and increase the amount of oxygen your body takes in. In addition to making your lungs stronger, taking time to breathe deeply is very calming for the body. The American Lung Association states that emotional stress can trigger asthma attacks. Learning a deep breathing exercise will help you to calm yourself on a regular basis and during times when you start to feel stress, which may help to prevent an attack.
Allow your abdominal muscles to expand as you inhale so that your diaphragm will drop and the lungs can fully expand. Then, as you exhale, the abdominal muscles should relax, pushing the diaphragm up, which will help to clear the air from your lungs. Keep your attention on your breath and make each breath a little deeper and slower.
Breathe With Longer Exhalations
You may find that with asthma you do not fully empty your lungs of air. Performing a breathing exercise that focuses on the exhalation may help. Try inhaling for one or two counts and then exhaling for four to six counts. You can strengthen this breath by consciously tightening the abdominal muscles to help push all of the air out. Be careful not to strain. There should be a slight pause before you inhale. This ensures that you are breathing calmly. If you tend to gasp for a breath after exhaling, ease up on this exercise until you can do it calmly. Try inhaling and exhaling just through the nose. If this is uncomfortable, inhale through the nose and breathe out through pursed lips.
Breathe Against Resistance
The Illinois Neurological Institute recommends that to strengthen your respiratory system even further, you can add resistance to your deep breathing practice. Use the deep diaphragmatic breathing exercise noted above while lying down. Place a light weight on your chest. You can also use a book or hot water bottle if you do not have weights. Try to move the weight up and down as you inhale and exhale. Another version is to wrap tubing around your chest and make the tubing expand when your inhale. Do these exercises slowly and at a level that does not make your breathing muscles sore. If using resistance makes you sore, try starting out by wrapping a towel firmly around your chest and making it expand with your breath.
