Breathing is an important process without which the life of an organism is impossible. Improper lung function leads to various diseases. Special breathing exercises will help improve skills.
Practitioners should uniformly develop the upper, lower and middle parts of the lungs. Mastering proper breathing is recommended first in a horizontal position. Then you can practice while standing or sitting. In the first days or even weeks, the duration of one exercise should not exceed 1 minute. Then gradually increase the practice time. Perform breathing exercises only with your nose. If it’s hard for you to do this, then the nasal passages are blocked. In yoga, there are several ways to clean them: rinsing with water and solutions, using a catheter.
Breathing exercises are best done outdoors, for example, in a forest, by a river, etc. But in an urban environment this is not always possible, so try to ventilate the room well before practice. The best time for breathing exercises is early morning (about 5-8 hours) and late evening (around 20 - 22 hours). It is necessary to practice daily, before morning exercises or an hour before going to bed.
We begin breathing exercises with the development of the diaphragm and the lower part of the lungs. Lie on a flat surface, do not place a pillow under your head. Put your right palm on the abdomen, and the left on the chest. The whole body is completely relaxed. Take a breath and let the air go right into your stomach, inflate it freely, without tension. When exhaling, contract the abdominal muscles and smoothly push the air upward so that it freely leaves the lungs. Perform 20 breaths and let yourself rest. At this time, do not just lie, but watch the feelings inside you. With this practice, breathing exercises begin . Exercises for the middle and upper lungs are discussed below.
Without leaving a relaxed state, we begin chest breathing. If in the first exercise the chest remained motionless , then in this - the abdomen should be absolutely calm. Take a breath, let the air flow into the center of the lungs, while the ribs will expand slightly. With expiration, the chest volume will decrease. After 20 repetitions, go back to your natural breathing and observe the sensations.
It remains to develop the upper lungs. Such breathing is called clavicular. When inhaling, both hands remain completely motionless, the air only fills the lungs a little and immediately goes back. Do 20 reps and rest.
Now all breathing exercises are compatible. Yoga calls this practice complete breathing. Inhale and exhale will be somewhat stretched. When inhaling, first fill the lower part of the lungs (the stomach is inflated), then the middle (the ribs expand) and then the upper (the collarbones are lifted). The exhalation is performed in the same order. Deflate your stomach, chest, and upper lungs. Repeat the exercise at least 5 times. Again, let yourself rest and relax.
At the end of the practice, do a cleansing breath. It is best done standing or sitting. Breathe in with your nose and out with your mouth. But the lips in this case should be pursed under the teeth and directed inward. The exhalation is performed in three doses. That is, inhale - conclusion - exhale - exhale. Take 3 cleansing breaths and observe the sensations. If you want to repeat it, spend it 2-4 more times. After breathing practices, it is advisable to lie down a bit.
You will notice that the lungs begin to work more fully. Do not worry if the exercises will not work out right away, this is normal. Your lungs used to work superficially, and now they need to adapt to a healthier lifestyle. Practice every day and after a few weeks notice a good result.