Effective Breathing

1. Goals

1. To increase expiration of air.

2. To decrease air trapping.

3. To increase lung expansion.

2. Procedure for Diaphragmatic or Abdominal Breathing

1. Rest one hand on abdomen and one hand on chest.

2. Breathe in slowly while letting abdomen protrude.

3. Breathe out through pursed lips while tightening the abdominal muscles.

4. Belly should rise during inspiration and fall during expiration.

3. Procedure for Pursed Lip Breathing

1. Breathe in slowly through the nose counting to three.

2. Exhale through pursed lips (as if blowing out a candle), counting to seven.

3. Take at least twice as long to breathe out as you do to breathe in.

4. Try these methods for practice.

1. Blow through a straw into a glass of water to form bubbles.

2. Blow at a candle to bend the flame without blowing it out.

3. Blow a tennis ball across the table at a steady pace.

4. Procedure for Counted Breath

1. Assess usual pattern of breathing by counting seconds required for inspiration and seconds required for expiration.

2. Breathe out slowly, attempting to increase expiration time.

3. Coordinate breathing with walking by counting steps taken with inspiration and steps taken with expiration.