Known as the ‘rule of threes’, this breathing exercise includes three deep breaths, three coughs, repeated three times.
Steps:
- Stand up to allow gravity to help with lung expansion.
- Take a deep breath through your nose and hold it for 5-10 seconds.
- Exhale through your mouth with pursed lips. Repeat this for 3 deep breaths.
- When you exhale the third breath, give three forceful coughs.
- Repeat the whole exercise three times.
Explaining its benefits, Dr Devendra Kumar Singh, Professor-Respiratory Medicine, Sharda Hospital, said, “Breathing in deeply and slowly through your nose leads to expansion of lower rib cage, and lets the abdomen move forward. This, subsequently, leads to increased lung capacity and improved oxygen level. Controlled coughing has just enough force to loosen and carry mucus through the airways without causing narrowing and collapse of the airway.”
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