A man with his eyes closed leans back against a tree and practices breathing exercises..

If you want to give breathing exercises a try, whether it’s to reduce shortness of breath associated with a condition such as asthma or simply to alleviate some stress and anxiety, here are several recommended by the ALA. Practice these for 5 to 10 minutes a day or as needed. “When you’re not feeling well, you can also use them to open up the airways more,” Gupta says.

Pursed lip breathing: Breathe in through your nose, then exhale for at least twice as long through pursed lips, as if you were flickering the flame of a candle.

This helps slow down your breathing. It can also help get additional air out of your lungs, which can build up in people with lung diseases such as emphysema and COPD, Mannino says. This can help you manage a feeling of breathlessness and make physical activity easier, says Grace Anne Dorney Koppel, president of the Dorney-Koppel Foundation, which has co-­founded 12 pulmonary rehabilitation clinics.

Source:www.consumerreports.org/health-wellness/breathing-exercises-benefits/

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