Depending on the complexity, breathing exercises can be taught by a beginner or an experienced teacher. Pranayama is the Sanskrit word for breath work. Normally, pranayama is taught in the context of a yoga practice for advanced students, but everyone can learn basic breathing exercises for stress relief. If you are interested in teaching breathing exercises to others, learn from a creditable, experienced teacher and practice the techniques yourself for at least a year before teaching others.
Screen All Candidates for Medical Issues
The most important factor in learning and teaching others breathing exercises is to know what medical conditions are red flags. People with high blood pressure, asthma or other chronic diseases should receive medical clearance before undergoing lessons for breathing exercises. It is common for people to overwork and strain while learning new breathing exercises - a hazard especially for those with medical issues. Screen everyone before you agree to work with them.
Practice What You Are Going to Teach
Establish a daily practice of at least one form of breathing exercises for a year before teaching others. This could be a basic guided visualization of filling and emptying the lungs or something more detailed. The idea is to experience any of the common mistakes or extremes that a beginner might encounter. By experiencing this firsthand, you can better guide another person. You could record your comments about your daily breathing exercise in a notebook to check your progress and use the notes as a reference when you begin to teach other people.
Begin With an Easy Breathing Exercise
When teaching others, you could begin with a basic breathing exercise that is appropriate for most healthy adults. Instruct the person to sit in a chair with a straight spine and close her eyes. Ask her to inhale through the nose with mouth closed for a count of four, pausing at the top and exhaling for another count of four. Do five rounds and rest. Start with a very small number of breathing cycles. If the person has any negative side effects such as light headedness or dizziness, reduce the count to two. If the problem persists, ask her to get a doctor's advice.
