Asthma-Free Naturally: Everything you need to know about taking control of your asthma. Patrick McKeown

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      Exercise One

       Reduced breathing by relaxation and monitoring air-flow with finger

      The following is a very simplified version of one of the main exercises involved in breath correction. Certain steps have been omitted as it is essential they are practiced under the direct supervision of a practitioner to take into account individual nuances of the patient.

      This exercise lasts about half-an-hour and it is recommended that you practice two to three times each day. If you can, you should practice before breakfast, during the day if possible, and again in the evening. Exercises should be carried out in a quiet place with no distractions. The temperature should be cool and the room airy because a hot and stuffy environment can promote big breathing, the exact opposite of what you are trying to achieve.

      Food affects your breathing, so it is not recommended that you practice immediately after eating a meal. Exercises are best practised before meals or at least two hours after them. At half hourly intervals there should be pulse and control pause measurement, as well as a number of sets of breathing exercises.

      If you want to get the best out of these exercises, it is recommended that you adhere to the following general guidelines. Go to a quiet place where you are unlikely to be disturbed and where you will have no distractions. Place a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door, if you need to, and take the telephone off the hook or switch off your mobile. You will need to concentrate to complete this exercise correctly, particularly in the early days.

      Adopt a correct but comfortable posture. Correct posture involves sitting up straight with both feet underneath your chair. If you have difficulty with this, then imagine a thread suspended from the ceiling, attached to the top of your head, holding you in an upright position.

      Correct posture is very important in helping to reduce your breathing. When you sit slouched, your breathing will increase and will be more from the upper chest than the tummy, where it should be coming from. When you adopt the correct posture, your tummy will move more than your upper chest and your breathing will require less effort. Your tummy will move out with each inhalation (breathing in) and will move in with each exhalation (breathing out) because of the action of the diaphragm, which is the main breathing muscle. Make sure that your tummy moves in the right sequence. If not, you are performing what is known as reverse breathing.

      Now that you are in the right place and the right posture for you, focus on your breathing. Feel the movement of air in and out of your body, particularly through your nostrils. Concentrate on the slight movement your body makes with each inhalation and exhalation. It is vital to be aware of your breathing so that you can correct it. If you are unaware of your breathing, you will not be able to improve it.

      As you breathe, let your shoulders fall to their natural position. Raised or tense shoulders increase the volume of the chest cavity and so increase the volume of air inhaled. Tension increases breathing, but relaxation decreases it. Relax the muscles involved in respiration, such as the muscles above your tummy and in your chest.

      The next step is to monitor the amount of air flowing through your nostrils by placing your finger under your nose in a horizontal position. Your finger should lie just above your top lip, and close enough to your nostrils so that you can feel the airflow, but not so close that the airflow is blocked.

      Now, breathe air slightly into the tip of your nostrils. Little breaths or short breaths mean the amount of air reaching your lungs reduces. By reducing the depth of your breathing or the length of each breath, in other words, the number of breaths you take every minute may increase, but don’t worry because this is normal. Remember that the aim is to reduce the volume.

      When you breathe out, the more warm air you feel, the bigger your breathing. Concentrate on reducing the amount of warm air you feel on your finger.

      Don’t worry if this exercise does not work for you the first time you try it. It will take time for your body to become accustomed to the lower volume of breathing. Over time it will become easier. A gradual and relaxed approach is best, because if you try to decrease the amount of air too quickly or too much, it may cause involuntary gasps of air or cause you to take bigger breaths. It is important that you get to the stage where you can sustain reduced breathing over the course of three to five minutes.

      Take a few minutes’ break before you start the next five minutes of reduced breathing. Two sets of twenty minutes