Tai Chi & Qigong for COPD and Asthma

This is the first in Trayfoot’s Tai Chi for Health & Healing Series. In this 4-week class, you learn easy evidenced-based movements and techniques (i.e., see Pursed Lip Breathing below) that can be done daily which may strengthen your respiratory system and ease symptoms. While this class is at the Grottoes Community Center, the class may continue at Trayfoot Mountain Studio, so please call 540/476-1789 if you would like to join us beginning April 3rd at 10:00 a.m.

Pursed Lip Breathing for COPD and Asthma

From American Lung Association

Pursed lip breathing is a technique that helps people living with asthma or COPD when they experience shortness of breath.Pursed lip breathing helps control shortness of breath, and provides a quick and easy way to slow your pace of breathing, making each breath more effective.

When you feel short of breath, pursed lip breathing helps get more oxygen into your lungs and calms you down so you can better control your breath.

To practice pursed lip breathing, sit down in a chair and relax your neck and shoulder muscles.

1. Breathe in slowly through your nose, making sure to keep your mouth closed. Some people find it helpful to count to themselves, “inhale, one, two.”

2. Pucker, or “purse” your lips as if you were going to whistle or gently blow out a candle and then breathe out, or exhale, all of the air in your lungs through your mouth slowly and gently through pursed lips.

Try to breathe out longer than your inhale. Some people find it helpful to count to themselves, “exhale, one, two, three, four.”

Continue to repeat this exercise of slowly inhaling through the nose and exhaling through pursed lips until your breath becomes normal.

Pursed lip breathing works by moving oxygen into your lungs and carbon dioxide out of your lungs.

This technique helps to keep airways open longer so that you can remove the air that is trapped in your lungs by slowing down your breathing rate and relieving shortness of breath.

If you continue to be short of breath, call 911 and seek immediate medical attention!

When you exhale with your lips pursed, there is increased resistance in your airways, which helps them stay open during exhalation. Pursed–lip breathing also helps calm you down and slows your breathing. Practice this technique by inhaling through your nose, making sure to keep your mouth closed.

Important Note! The information in Wholistically Speaking is for educational purposes only and should not be used to diagnose and/or treat diseases. If you have a health problem, I highly recommend you consult a competent health practitioner and educate yourself before embarking on any course of treatment.