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Deep Breathing And Coughing Exercise

Submitted by Kevin Pederson on January 21, 2011

Practicing deep breathing exercises is important in the development of health as well as spiritual aspects. Deep breathing exercises help in increasing vitality and bringing about relaxation. There are many deep breathing exercises you could practice which would enable you to improve your breathing patterns

Practicing deep breathing exercises is important in the development of health as well as spiritual aspects. Deep breathing exercises help in increasing vitality and bringing about relaxation. However, ignorance of what deep breathing really is leads most of us to breath from the chest instead of the belly. This kind of breathing is shallow and doesn’t allow the air to reach the lower part of your lungs. It is important to notice how tensed muscles can adversely affect your breathing. It is also important to maintain a correct posture for breathing to be done properly. You should avoid slouching in your chair while sitting as it will prevent you from breathing deeply.

There are many deep breathing exercises you could practice which would enable you to improve your breathing patterns. One simple deep breathing exercise is to place a book on your stomach and breathe in and out so that the book rises up and down with the breath. Deep breathing offers benefits of high levels of relaxation. To perform one of the deep breathing relaxation exercises you should keep your left hand on your stomach and the right on your chest. Inhale so that your left hand rises and your right hand remains unmoved. Breathe out through your mouth and repeat it 10 times. Then take another deep breath into your upper chest so that your right hand rises up and your left hand goes down a bit. Then exhale while making a whooshing sound so that your left hand comes down first followed by your right. As you breathe out feel all the tension leaving your body and become relaxed. Repeat this for around five minutes.

Progressive muscle relaxation is a useful technique to induce a state of deep relaxation. It was found that tensing and releasing different groups of muscles can bring relief to various conditions including high blood pressure and ulcerative colitis. Progressive muscle relaxation is considered to be very effective to those whose anxiety is associated strongly with tension in the muscles. Deep breathing in yoga plays a very important part in many pranayamas (breathing exercises). In one of the pranayamas Agni-Prasana (Breath of Fire) the inhalation is done with a long, deep breath and the exhalation is done by pumping the breath in and out rhythmically.

Apart from practicing the deep breathing exercises for relaxation and other benefits, it is important that you permanently adopt proper breathing techniques that will improve your mental and physical health for optimum functioning.

Deep breathing exercises are growing more popular these days because people have started to know more about the benefits of these easy exercises in improving their overall health. Under normal circumstances, perform five reps of deep breathing exercises every hour or couple of hours. This will help your body overcome exhaustion and get rid of some toxins that have accumulated in your lungs.

Take a deep breath from your mouth and count to five, then exhale fully from your nostrils. Do this five times and you will feel the difference. If you have had an abdominal surgery recently, you may want to perform these deep breathing exercises to fortify your abdominal muscles and regain their flexibility.

If you are suffering from excessive secretions in the lung then you may want to practice coughing exercises to regain full pulmonary function. Taking a deep breath and coughing deeply while you exhale will expel a large amount of secretions out of your body.

The coughing exercise is one of the best known and most effective forms of chest physiotherapy. Coughing deeply will help in clearing your lung after surgery. When you stay in bed for a long time after surgery, you need to keep your lungs active as if you are doing your daily activities. This can be done easily through the use of an incentive spirometer. The spirometer is used to train your lungs through deep breathing. The breathing depends on your diaphragm and costal muscles and the continuous deep breathing will help make these muscles stronger.

In case of a coronary artery bypass graft, it is mandatory to use the incentive spirometer to make your chest muscles stronger, especially after the surgery. Deep breathing and coughing exercises will help you to recover quickly because they deliver more oxygen to your arteries. So, your heart will perform better in a shorter time.

People are afraid to cough heartily after surgery because they think that this will affect the incision. The best solution is to perform deep breathing exercises while you support the incision with the palm of your hand. You should also practice the coughing exercise to clear your respiratory passages. After surgery you should get rid of all the residues and clotted blood resulting from the operation.

The coughing exercise is very simple but it is very useful for everyone. If you practice your coughing exercises periodically, you will ensure that your respiratory tract is free from inclusions.