Breathing Exercises

Pursed-lip breathing is a technique that helps people living with asthma or COPD when they experience shortness of breath.

It helps control shortness of breath and provides a quick and easy way to slow your pace of breathing, making each breath more effective.

When you feel short of breath, pursed-lip breathing helps get more oxygen into your lungs and calms you down, so you can better control your breath.

To practice pursed-lip breathing, sit down in a chair and relax your neck and shoulder muscles. Breathe in slowly through your nose, making sure to keep your mouth closed. Some people find it helpful to count to themselves: inhale... 1, 2.

Pucker or purse your lips as if you were going to whistle or gently blow out a candle. Then breathe out all of the air in your lungs through your mouth, slowly and gently, through pursed lips. Try to breathe out longer than you inhale. Some people find it helpful to count to themselves: exhale... 1, 2, 3, 4.

Continue to repeat this exercise of slowly inhaling through the nose and exhaling through pursed lips until your breathing becomes normal.

Pursed-lip breathing works by moving oxygen into your lungs and carbon dioxide out of your lungs. This technique helps to keep airways open longer so you can remove the air that is trapped in your lungs by slowing down your breathing rate and relieving shortness of breath.

If you continue to be short of breath, call 911 and seek immediate medical attention.

For more breathing techniques and information on living with COPD, asthma, and other lung diseases, visit the American Lung Association’s website at lung.org.

Belly breathing, also called diaphragmatic breathing, is a breathing technique that helps individuals living with asthma or COPD when they experience shortness of breath.

This technique helps slow down your breathing so you can catch your breath and use less energy to breathe.

When you feel short of breath, belly breathing helps get more oxygen into your lungs and calms you down so you can better control your breath.

To practice belly breathing, sit down in a comfortable chair. Sit up straight and put your hands on your belly. Or, if it's more comfortable, you can lie down.

Close your mouth and take a slow, deep breath in through your nose. When you breathe in, you want your belly to fill with air and get bigger, like a balloon.

Blow all of the air out slowly and gently through pursed lips, as if you were blowing bubbles.

Concentrate on your breathing as you continue to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Repeat belly breathing for 5 to 10 minutes and relax. Just remember to keep your hands on your belly, as it helps you concentrate on the air going in and out.

The more you practice, the easier it will be to calm down and breathe more freely.

If you continue to be short of breath, call 911 and seek immediate medical attention.

For more breathing techniques and information on living with COPD, asthma, and other lung diseases, visit the American Lung Association’s website at lung.org.