9 Breathing Exercises For Shortness Of Breath You Must Know

The shortness of breathing is the condition in which the patient is not able to get an adequate amount of air. Conditions related to the heart and lungs are the primary causes of shortness of breath. Conditions such as asthma, COPD, heart failure, and pneumonia may result in shortness of breath. Shortness of breath may be managed through exercises. If you are experiencing shortness of breath, you should find a yoga teacher in your location.

[Also Read: Tips to treat pneumonia without antibiotics]

Exercises For Shortness Of Breath

Exercises are vital for managing shortness of breath. It helps in increasing the capacity of the lungs. There are various breathing exercises to strengthen the lungs. Exercise is important for increasing the strength of muscles. They also enhance the build-up of tissues around the lungs. Different types of breathing exercises that improve your condition when you are out of breath:

1. Deep Breathing

Tidal volume is important for normal breathing. For enhancing the tidal volume, you should perform deep breathing.

Procedure To Do

Take the air into your lungs through nose as deep as possible. Exhale the air slowly through your mouth. Deep breathing allows the chest cavity to expand. You should perform the deep breathing exercise once in the morning and night.

2. Walking

Walking is one of the important exercises that help improve your cardiovascular health and breathing capacity. Do not push yourself hard during the initial phase. Maintain a light walking for at least 6 weeks. After that, you may increase the speed and time of walking.

3. Water Exercises

Water exercise is a smart way to build lung capacity and reduce the risk of shortness of breath. Walking in the poor or doing simple exercises helps improve your stamina without any negative impact on breathing. During water exercise, maintain inhaling from the nose and exhaling from the mouth.

4. Pilates

These exercises help you to increases the strength of diaphragm muscles and make your breathing more powerful.

Procedure To Do

During this exercise, you should lie on your back. Your feet should be flat, touching the ground and your knees bent. Lift your shoulders, head, and neck slowly. Once you are in a half-sit position, extend your legs and lift your legs till 45 degrees from the ground. Move your arms up and down slowly 10 times. Repeat this exercise 10 times.

5. Intense Interval Training

The intense interval exercise helps improve cardiovascular and lung health. The intense exercise increases cardiovascular demand leading to make lung performing more efficiently. Initiate the exercise by performing 10 seconds of exercise with 30 seconds of rest. Once you stabilize with this regiment, perform 20 seconds of exercise with 30 seconds of rest. Later, the exercise may be of 20 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest to make it more challenging.

6. Push-ups

Baby push-ups are another exercise regiment to improve breathing.

Procedure To Do

Make your body face towards the floor in a push-up position. Lift the neck, head, and shoulder to 60 degrees from the floor while ensuring that the head is in a straight line with your spine. Inhale deeply while moving up. While lowering yourself towards the floor, exhale slowly. Repeat this exercise 10 times.

7. Abdominal Breathing

The diaphragm is vital to muscle for breathing. Abdominal breathing exercise provides strength to the diaphragm.

Procedure To DO

Lay on your back with one hand on the chest and the other on the abdomen. Take a deep breath and ensure that the hand on your abdomen rises above the hand on the chest. Hold your breath for 7-10 seconds and exhale slowly through the mouth.

8. Running

High-level health of your muscles is important to reduce the requirement of air. This helps you to reduce the risk of shortness of breath. Running makes the muscles of legs and arms strong. As your muscle strength increases, you will be more resistant to the effects of lactic acid and reduce your requirement of air.

9. Boat Exercise

This imaginary boat row exercise helps in improving the capacity of the lung.

Procedure To Do

Sit on the floor with knees slightly bent. Take an elastic band and tie it around the legs. Hold the other end of the elastic band in the hands. Extend the elastic band and then pull it towards your chest. It will also help in strengthening the back muscles.

Various breathing exercises for shortness of breath are available. However, these exercises should be done under the guidance of a specialized person.