Nikki Jongedyk – Remedial Massage Therapist
This is an effective way to utilize your lung capacity and assists in promoting a regulated central nervous system.
Start by lying flat on the floor. Breathing in through your nose, and out through your mouth – take a couple of deep breaths (this alone stimulates your diaphragm, empties out stale air and prepares your body for fresh air).
Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly. Send all the breath into your chest. Feel your hand rise and fall in this area for 4 breaths.
Now shift your breath, sending it all to your belly. Aim to do this in 4 breaths, increasing the amount you need until you are comfortable with the hand on your belly rising fully with your inbreath.
Putting your arms to your sides, start sending your breath to the sides of your ribs. Feeling as though you are inflating a balloon and it is filling up the sides of your body. Take extra time if you need to adjust to the change of where your air is filling your body.
After 4 breaths, start sending your air into the back of your ribcage. It should feel as though you have a weight on your ribs that is sinking down into the earth. After a few breaths of adjustment, take 4 through the nose and out through the mouth.
Repeat this exercise as often as you wish, aiming to take 4 good breaths into each chamber of your body.