Deep Breathing

Deep breathing is an effective way to improve your respiratory health. Many of us unknowingly breathe quite shallowly and inefficiently, using only our chest. But retraining our bodies to breathe deeply can have tremendous benefits. Deep breathing involves breathing with long breaths that fill the lungs and let the abdomen expand fully. In addition to simply focusing on breathing more slowly and fully, there are variety of exercises that can help improve our breathing. These include diaphragmic breathing, purse-lipped breathing, and paced breathing. Relaxation techniques such as yoga or meditation can also help us breathe more deeply. Engaging in regular aerobic exercise can improve lung function and increase lung capacity, reducing the likelihood of shallow breathing as well.