Mouth Breathing Exercises |

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Deep breathing is a relaxation technique that releases tension from your body. Since shallow breathing limits your oxygen intake, breathing exercises can help you avoid fatigue, raise your energy, and increase alertness. Typically, you will use your mouth during the exhale portion of breathing exercises, after inhaling through your nose.

Relaxing Breathing

Relaxing breathing is a deep breathing exercise that helps you to relax --- such as when falling asleep --- or relieve internal tension. Sit with your back straight, the tip of your tongue resting behind your upper front teeth. Exhale through your mouth, around your tongue, making a whooshing sound. Close your mouth and inhale silently through your nose to a count of four. Hold your breath and count to seven, then exhale completely while counting to eight. This equals one breath. Inhale again and repeat three more times. Be sure to inhale quietly through your nose and exhale with a whooshing sound through your mouth, always keeping your tongue in place.

Stimulating Breathing

Stimulating breathing evolved from a yoga breathing technique, and raises energy and alertness. The effort of this type of breathing should be felt in the diaphragm, stomach, chest, and the back of the neck. Close your mouth, relax, and inhale and exhale rapidly. Keep your in and out breaths as equal as possible, performing three in-and-out breath cycles per second. This is a noisy breathing exercise, and you should be able to hear the air whooshing in and out of your nose. Do not perform this exercise for more than 15 seconds on your first attempt. Instead, try to increase by five seconds each time you perform the exercise until you reach a full minute.

Breath Counting

This mouth-breathing exercise is a simple technique used in Zen Buddhist practice. Sit with your back straight and your head leaning slightly forward. Close your eyes and relax, then take a few deep breaths. Your breath should be quiet and slow, but its depth and rhythm can vary. To begin, exhale and count "one" to yourself. The next time you exhale, count "two" Continue until you reach five, counting just the exhalation, then start over, again counting to five. Try to do 10 minutes of this meditation, never counting higher than five.

Sitting Breathing Exercise

This exercise emphasizes inhalation to increase oxygen intake, and exhalation to expel stale air and impurities from your lungs. Your body will be flooded with fresh oxygen, energizing and balancing you. Sit with your spine elongated and your hands on your knees. Look straight ahead of you, and relax your shoulders. Exhale forcefully through your mouth to empty your lungs. Simultaneously, tighten you stomach muscles and bend forward to help expel the air. When your lungs are completely empty, relax your stomach muscles and inhale softly through your nose as you sit up. When your lungs are about half-full, start exhaling again. Perform 10 rounds, two to three times a day. If you begin to feel dizzy, stop and take a few slow breaths to regulate your breathing.

Breathing