Pursed-lip breathing is similar to blowing out a candle, just slower.
Physical exercise helps you improve strength and endurance -- it improves coordination, breathing, promotes relaxation, helps you manage weight and decreases the amount of oxygen needed by your muscles. Breathing exercises can do essentially the same thing. Diaphragmatic breathing and pursed-lip breathing are both useful exercises you can do anywhere, anytime to help you breathe easier.
Purse-Lip Breathe
Slowly inhale through your nose with your mouth closed. Now exhale through your mouth with lips pursed, as though you are blowing out a candle. Passively exhale approximately twice as long as you inhale. When inhaling, breathe in quietly and passively. In other words, don't force the air in or out of your lungs, let it flow smoothly and slowly.
Why it Helps
Pursed-lip breathing is done to remove trapped air held within the air sacs or alveoli in your lungs. It helps increase the amount of oxygen you breathe in called respiration, and the amount of oxygen transported to your cells, called ventilation. Pursed-lip breathing helps keep your airway open longer, making it easier to breathe. This breathing technique also helps prevent shortness of breath.
Who Can Benefit
Trapped air is often the result of emphysema, chronic bronchitis and sometimes asthma, as well as other chronic pulmonary diseases. These diseases are often lumped together under the term chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. The disease process is usually slow and gradually limits the amount of air flow into and out of your lungs. People with COPD often suffer from low oxygen levels as well as high blood pressure. A diminished breathing capacity makes it more difficult for the heart to pump blood throughout the body.
Activities of Daily Living
Pursed-lip breathing, walking, using an exercise bicycle, stretching exercises and relaxation techniques are all useful in increasing the efficiency of oxygen use and distribution within your body. Coordinated breathing activities, such as pursed-lip breathing, can improve your ability to complete daily activities, such as walking up and down stairs and carrying objects without becoming short of breath.
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