DAY 5
WARM-UP: BASIC BREATHING
1.
Sit or lie on your back in a relaxed position. Breathe through the nose. Take three deep breaths. Then allow your breathing become even and find its natural rhythm.
2.
Bring one hand to your rib cage and the other on your abdomen. Notice whether it is your abdomen or chest that rises when you breathe in.
3.
Make a conscious shift from chest breathing to abdominal breathing. As you breathe with your diaphragm, your abdomen will rise and your rib cage will remain still. Keep the breathing rhythm relaxed and natural.
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Do you feel tightness in your chest or shoulders? Regularly stretching the chest muscles makes breath-holding feel more natural.
WARM-UP: THORACIC BREATHING
1.
Sit or lie on your back in a relaxed position. Breathe through the nose.
2.
Fill your lungs gently with air by expanding your rib cage. The chest rises and expands to the sides and the stomach falls.
3.
Relax your rib cage, letting the air flow out of your lungs. Don’t try to forcibly blow air out.
4.Hold your breath with empty lungs. Wait a few seconds until a natural inhale begins.
Do the exercise at your own pace.
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The intercostal muscles between the ribs serve to support our respiratory muscles. When we become breathless chest breathing supports diaphragmatic breathing. By exercising chest breathing, you will strengthen the supporting respiratory muscles and learn to notice your breathing.
BREATH-HOLD EXERCISE
1.
Lie on your back. You can keep your legs bent to help keep your abdominal area more relaxed.
2.
Close your eyes and breathe calmly with your diaphragm for the first minute. When you hear the signal, fill your lungs.
3.Follow the breath-hold sequence according to the video instructions:
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60 sec breathing
30 sec breath-hold
60 sec breathing
30 sec breath-hold
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60 sec breathing
60 sec breath-hold
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The goal of this exercise is to find relaxation during breath-holding. Don't force yourself. Breathe as soon as you feel the need to.
