CAN BREATHING EXERCISES HELP YOUR ASTHMA?

People with severe asthma who do not obtain enough relief from certain medications such as inhaled corticosteroids and beta-agonists can perhaps benefit from additional treatments like breathing exercises. Learning how to breathe from the diaphragm can help slow breathing and decrease the body’s oxygen needs. The Papworth method teaches breathing and relaxation techniques that can keep stress from affecting breaths. Buteyko breathing has had mixed results with asthma patients, but the idea is to teach one how to breathe slowly and more deeply. The process involved in pursed-lip breathing can be used to relieve shortness of breath, and yoga breathing, combined with yoga movements, has been shown to improve asthma symptoms and lung function.

P.S. Breathing through the nose (rather than through the mouth) is always more beneficial for people with asthma since the nasal passage warms air before it hits the lungs better than the mouth does.

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