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OPEN MIND OPEN BODY Take A Deep Breath |
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Pursed Lip Breathing Pursed-lip breathing is a technique for slowing down the breath. By pursing the lips and breathing through the mouth, rather than the nose, the airway is narrowed. Narrowing the airway allows the breath to slow down by limiting the rate of airflow. Why would you want to slow down the breath? It can induce the relaxation response, decrease the emotional and physical effects of stress, and help insomnia. A recently published review of medical studies reports that pursed-lip breathing is helpful for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Other methods for narrowing the airway focus on closing one nostril (as in alternate or one nostril breathing), engaging the muscles of the throat to narrow the throat (ujjayi breathing), or pulling the chin to the throat to narrow the upper throat (jalandhara bandha). However, pursed-lip breathing is the easiest for most people to learn and the easiest to practice. Simply purse your lips (pucker up like you're going to kiss someone, then slightly part the lips). There should be enough space between the lips to place an imaginary straw. (Breathing through an actual straw is a more advanced version of pursed-lip breathing; it can slow down the breath even more than pursed lip breathing.) Then inhale and exhale through your pursed lips. You can pinch your nose to prevent air from escaping through the upper airway. Your body may unconsciously try to adapt to the narrowed airway by making your breathing muscles (diaphragm, intercostals, etc.) work harder. Focus on relaxed breathing - don't try to breathe particularly powerfully. Breathe easily. Let your breathing rate lower. You can also use this technique to alter the relative length of your inhale or exhale. For example, lengthening the exhale only can decrease heart rate and blood pressure even more effectively than trying to lengthen the inhale and exhale. In this case, you would inhale through the nose and exhale through pursed lips. When would this breathing technique not be helpful? Anytime you already feel sluggish or tired, or anytime you need to breathe deeply to sustain effort (i.e., during physical exercise). Enjoy these ideas? Sign up to receive monthly ideas for your yoga practice in the free Open Mind Open Body Newsletter.
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