Breathing Exercises to Improve Lung Capacity

Maddy had asthma since she was 10 and it was a terrible experience for her. More than her, her parents used to be a worried lot. Cortizones and steroids were a routine for Maddy to deal with her asthma attacks. That was the only solution to her ordeal of being up for 2 or 3 nights on account of her breathing problem. The steroids even though they worked to curb the attack, affected other systems of the body. Maddy's parents were so distressed that they had thoughts whether she would live or not. But thankfully as she grew up her resistance became better and thanks to Yoga and breathing exercises, she got rid of almost 99% of asthma.

The point to be noted here is that breathing exercises certainly help improve our lung capacity. Regular practice of these exercises even if you do not suffer from any problem is great for overall health. Breathing is the basis of our existence and so, if we know proper techniques to do it, then we can avoid many health problems.

Exercises for Increasing Lung Capacity

Pushing Out: To do this, stand upright on flat ground. Then bend over the waist, keeping both knees lose and exhaling as much as you can. Follow this up by regaining your stature and inhaling in the same speed. Fill in the maximum possible amount of air in your lungs and hold it for around 20 seconds. In case you cannot manage this, see how much time suits you. During this counting, extend your arms overhead completely. Then finally, relax, exhale and lower your arms gradually. Do this a minimum of 4 times.

The Oriental Breath: For this, inhale in three short bursts first through the nose. Do not exhale. Now, while you inhale for the first time, raise your arms at shoulder level in front of you. On the next one, open your arms outward and by the third inhale, your arms should be overhead. After this, when you exhale, get back your arms in their original position in a circular motion. Try doing it for around 10 times.

Rib Stretch: This is a good exercise for improving lung capacity. Exhale the last bit of air out of your lungs while standing erect. Breathe in gradually and expand your lungs to the fullest. Hold your breath for around 20 seconds. During the counting, keep your hands on your hips with your thumbs in the front and little finger on the small of your back. Exhale slowly and relax and repeat it at least 3 times.

Abdominal Breathing: Begin with lying on your back in a comfortable posture. Put one hand on your chest and another on your abdomen. Inhale deeply and slowly and feel the pull at your mid section. Ideally, while you do this, the hand on your belly will rise higher than the one on your chest. Now exhale only through your mouth. Then breathe in from your nose and hold it for around 7 seconds. Breathe out till you finish counting up to 8. As you come close to finishing this, squeeze your abdominal muscles to make sure there is no residual air.

Numbered Breaths: With eyes closed take a deep breath and then breathe out the last bit of air in your lungs. Inhale once again. Now as you do that imagine the number 1 in your mind and concentrate on inhalation at the same time. Breathe out, after holding your breath for 2 seconds. Again, exhale and as you do that, picturize the number 2 in your mind. Similarly, breathe in visualizing number 3. Hold the breath for 3 seconds. Likewise exhale saying 4 and inhale saying 5 and continue respectively till the count of 8. Finally, repeat the entire procedure from 1 to 8 and open your eyes slowly.

Deep Breathing: This one is the easiest of the lot. You can do it either lying down or sitting in an upright position. Inhale as much as you can and then exhale gradually. That's it! You can do it anywhere, anytime; driving, sitting in a cab, in the office, while cooking and so on.

Apart from the ones mentioned above, you can also go for aerobics and cardiovascular exercises. But here, you have to stretch yourself a bit to do more and more gradually even if you are slightly out of breath. Yoga also helps a great deal, for enhancing your lung power.

From my personal experience I would say that continuing the exercise or activity beyond your breathing capacity does work wonders. Of course that does not mean that you hold your breath till you almost say a breathless goodbye to this world! What I meant was, your lungs slowly become stronger with such conditioning. Take Care!