The primary purpose of these breathing exercises is to teach
the asthmatic to exhale completely, letting stale air out of the lower part of
the lungs, making room for fresh air to enter and fill the lungs. The exercises
also tend to build up breathing muscles and increase their power. They assist,
too, in loosening up muscles of shoulders, upper chest, and abdominal wall.
1. To develop abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing, lie on
the back with knees drawn up. Place the hands on the upper abdomen, exhale, and
let the hands sink in and contract the abdominal muscles. Then take a short
breath, relax the abdominal muscles, making certain the upper part of the chest
does not move during the process.
2. Also for abdominal breathing, sit on a firm bed or hard
chair with the back supported. Place hands over lower ribs and, while breathing
out or exhaling, contract the abdominal muscles. At the end of the exhaling,
squeeze the ribs to push out any remaining air. Next, relax the abdomen and
take a short breath while the lower ribs move out.
3. Breathing with the lips held close together is valuable
since the greater effort required to let air out exercises the diaphragm,
abdominal, muscles, and lower rib muscles. For variety, you can achieve the
same purpose by blowing bits of paper across a table, blowing bubbles in water
through a straw, and even by whistling or humming.
4. Sit with feet apart and arms hanging down loosely bend
the body forward until the head is at knee level -at the same time breathing
out, keeping abdominal muscles contracted. Then sit up and inhale.
5. To loosen shoulders, stand with feet apart and circle
both arms so they cross each other in front of the face.
6. As a relaxing exercise, sit on a chair, shrug your
shoulders quickly, then relax them, letting the arms hang down, and head,
shoulders, and back sag. After you have worked for a time with these exercises,
you can add others which are more advanced.
