According to the National Institutes of Health, Yoga breathing, also called Pranayama in Sanskrit, can help prevent and even reverse some symptoms of diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Yoga can also help reduce stress-related illnesses. Deep breathing exercises can help improve lung capacity and decrease muscle tension.
Abdominal breathing, also known as diaphragmatic breathing, can help improve blood and lymph flow and increase stamina and energy. Abdominal breathing can be done twice a day to help eliminate upsetting thoughts or mitigate pain. To practice abdominal breathing, you can sit upright or lie on the floor on your back with your hands and legs casually outstretched. Watch your abdomen rise and fall as it does when you breath normally. After a few moments, you can try to increase the rise by allowing your abdomen to rise to its full extent and then allowing it to fall completely, contracting the abdominal muscles during the exhale. Try to exhale fully while keeping your chest still during this type of breathing.
Most chest breathing is inefficient because most of the oxygen exchanged in the lungs is done in the lower lobes, which rarely get used in normal, shallow breathing.
During thoracic breathing, concentrate on your chest. Notice how it rises and falls slightly during inhalation and exhalation. To enter into deeper breathing, concentrate on your chest and begin to exaggerate its movement, lifting and expanding your rib cage during inhalation and letting the lungs collapse fully upon exhalation. Try to keep your abdomen still during this type of breathing.
To gain the full benefits of Yoga breathing, you can combine both abdominal breathing and thoracic breathing. This allows a more full exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide which helps deliver more oxygen to all the cells of the body. In full yogic breathing, inhale to fill the abdomen then continue to inhale, filling and expanding the chest. When exhaling, first empty the air from the lungs and chest, then contract the abdomen, pulling it inward to force any remaining air out of the lungs. You can repeat this breath up to 20 times several times a day.
Another yogic breathing technique, called bellows breathing, helps increase energy. Also called the stimulating breath, this exercise simulates the breathing that occurs when you are under stress and can stimulate the adrenals to release energizing chemicals.
To practice the bellows breathing technique, sit up straight and close your mouth. Breath in and out of your nose as fast as possible, as if you are inflating a bicycle tire. Try this for no longer than 15 seconds, building up in five second increments each time. Try this exercise when you need a short boost of energy.
