Breathing with pursed lips is an effective breathing technique for asthmatics as it focuses on extending the exhale making it long and slow. Using a glass of milk and a straw as a learning tool, this breathing technique will teach kids how to lengthen the exhale, fully emptying the lungs in a slow, controlled manner.

Breathing with Pursed Lips

Breathing with pursed lips is a fantatic exercise for asthmatics who sometimes need to be able to regulate their exhales. This exercise focuses on the exhale, making it long and soft.

Greer is going to help me demonstrate how to breathe with pursed lips. What you do is you inhale and exhale, like you’re blowing out a candle. Can you do that again? You want to make your exhale as long and slow as possible.

A really good learning tool to do this is a glass of milk and a straw. So the goal here is to blow bubbles in the milk but try to keep them small and soft. Nice and steady. 

There we go, look at all those steady, long bubbles. Perfect. That’s exactly how you do it.If you can maybe fill the whole glass with little bubbles then you are doing this really, really well. And that’s how you breathe with pursed lips.

For more information on yoga exercises that help children visit yogainmyschool.com.

A complete listing of pranayama exercises for kids can be found on the Breathing Exercises Page.

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Children with asthma have unique physical challenges. More and more children are being diagnosed with this respiratory complaint with a 160% increase of asthma cases since 1980. In fact almost 7 million children in the US have asthma . This Blog Talk Radio episode will focus on three types of yoga poses and three breathing exercises which help alleviate symptoms of asthma in children. Please always continue to take perscribed medication and use these exercises in addition to your Doctor’s recommendations.

Original Air Date: 12/15/2009 3:00 PM

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Gate pose is a lovely side stretch which resembles a beam (parigha) used to latch a gate. This is a terrific pose for kids because it teaches balance while maintaining a solid foundation. It also focuses on elongating the side body, an often forgotten part of the torso, which helps to improve posture. Be careful not to collapse on the folding side by focusing on lifting both sets of side ribs. As well, its common for the lifted arm to come to the front of the body, so be sure that the gaze goes under the arm which will open the chest (fantastic for asthmatics, allergies, or anyone with pulmonary issues). I use this pose with stories such as Garden Delight and Farmyard Fun or anywhere someone needs to enter a special or magical place by going through the gate. You can also use the Double Gate #2 as a partner pose for a butterfly.

Gate Pose – Parighasana

gate pose

• Kneel tall, extend the right leg out straight to the side, toes forward
• Keep your shoulders and hips squared to the front
• Place the right hand on the right leg
• Reach overhead with the left arm, keep reaching over toward the right, feeling a lovely stretch along the left side
• Gaze forward or look upward toward the inner elbow and hold for a few breaths
• Repeat on the other side

Benefits: stretches the side of the torso, opens the shoulders, stretches the hamstrings, increases lung capactiy by lengthening the intercostal muscles, improves circulation and spinal flexibility.

Double Gate – Partner Pose Variations 

1. Face your partner. Come into Gate Pose reaching for your partners straight leg with the underside arm and joining your raised hands overhead (as if you are unlatching a gate which is almost out of reach).
2. Kneel beside your partner. Extend the outside leg straight. Reach away from one another with the upper arm (looks like butterfly wings).
3. Kneel a distance away from your partner. Extend one leg toward your partner so that the feet touch. Reach the arm overhead until you join hands forming an arch. You can join both hands and perform a simple twist by bringing the upper arms down then back up, repeating a few times.

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mountain pose

Yoga exercises for asthma can have numerous benefits. They were covered in Yoga a tremendous help for Asthma. This article will cover three types of poses and three specific breathing exercises which help relieve and control asthma symptoms.

Asanas for Asthmatics

There are three types of poses which are used to help relieve and control asthma symptoms.

1. Poses which coordinate movement with the breath are especially beneficial. For children this can be as simple as standing in Mountain pose and on a inhale, raising the arms above the head, and then lowering the arms on the exhale. Repeat 10 times. This will help teach breath control as well as open the chest and torso.


fish pose

2. Any chest opener is also highly beneficial as they increase the lung space and improve posture. These are often backbends such as Fish pose or Camel pose.
3. The third type of pose specific for asthma are twists. Easy seated pose with a twist and Marichiyasana III are both wonderful twists which promote spinal length and flexbility. Here is a short Yoga Journal TV video which teaches how to perform twists properly.

Also here is video yoga routine for asthma which includes a number of additional poses that you may want to check out.

Pranayama for Asthmatics

The first skill necessary for asthma relief is learning to relax and becoming aware of the breath. Secondly learning proper breathing techniques is essential for asthmatics. Often asthmatics do not expel the carbon dioxide fully and, therefore, cannot get enough oxygen into their lungs. Learning to exhale completely is essential for helping to control asthma and hopefully will even prevent or curtail asthma attacks. Here are three effective breathing exercises to teach proper breathing techniques and help relieve asthma.

1. Observing the Breath

   

   corpse pose

   Lie in Corpse pose. Close your eyes and place on hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen to help you feel the movement of the breath. Listen to the flow of air into and out of your body. Visualize a particle of air flowing into your nostrils, going down your throat, into your lungs and entering the bloodstream. As you exhale, reverse this pathway. How does your breath feel? Is it rough, smooth, fast, slow, even or uneven? Do not control the breath, simply observe. If your mind wanders, bring your focus back gently to the movement of each breath.

2. Lengthen the Exhale
   As you breathe focus on softening the inhalation and extending the exhalation. It is often helpful to count as you do this. Try to make the exhale twice as long as the inhale. So if you inhale to a count of 3, exhale to a count of 6. Try to use diaphragmatic breathing, expanding and contracting the belly and lower lung instead of the chest and upper lung. Continue to do this for 5 minutes.

3. Breathing with Pursed Lips
   This exercise also focuses on the exhale. Inhale softly through the nose. Exhale through pursed lips, blowing the breath out in a steady stream. Do not push too far. Pause gently. Inhale again through the nose and repeat trying to completely exhale each time without stressing the body. Keep the inhale soft, do not gulp in air. Instead allow the lungs to fill gently from the bottom like a balloon. Maintain a steady exhale, using the diaphram to expel the air. Smaller children may benefit from using a straw in a glass of milk or juice so they can actually see the effect of their breath. Just make sure they blow out in a slow steady stream instead of short and forceful – think lots of little bubbles. Watch this video for more details.

These yoga exercises can greatly help relieve and control asthma symtoms but should never replace a doctor’s diagnosis or care. Please continue to take any prescribed medication and be sure that your school has a personal Asthma Action Plan in place. The Canadian Lung Association and this web site  are terrific places to look for more information and resources in helping students with asthma. Also Asthma Mom has lots of real life stories, comments, and concerns addressed on her blog. Check it out.

If you enjoyed this post be sure to subscribe via RSS Feed or e-mail to continue to get great yoga content catered to meet the needs of children and teens.

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Children with asthma are encouraged to participate in physical activities. In fact, physical activity will help prevent asthmatics from becoming isolated, withdrawn and physically unconditioned. In particular, movement education, such as yoga, is beneficial for students with asthma because it provides an anaerobic activity with warm up and cool down periods.

Yoga exercises, including asanas, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques, put you in control of your mind and emotions, making you more relaxed and allowing you to breathe easier. This will also help your lungs work better and enhance airflow during asthma episodes.

Yogic practices result in more anxiety reduction than drugs do. Yoga gives patients access to their own internal experience and helps them pin-point the cause of their ailment, i.e., find their own triggers. This comes through increased self-awareness. Simple yogic practices help regulate breathing patterns, as well as enhance lung functioning. This results in many patients being able to better manage their condition by allaying their fears and anxieties.

Yoga also has a stabilizing effect on the body’s immune system. It is now proven that the regular and consistent practice of yoga raises the body’s tolerance to infection as well as its local resistance to infections in the respiratory tract. Yogic rest and relaxation reduce the nervous system’s overall activity, leading to remarkable recovery.

Breathing is an integral part of yoga and tremendous importance is placed on proper and effective breathing techniques. These yogic techniques help to strengthen the lungs and ensure that we breathe fully and properly. Yoga techniques can ensure that we utilize almost one hundred per cent of our lung capacity and help to preclude the possibility of respiratory ailments, including asthma.

Yoga also helps to calm the mind and bring it in sync with the body. It promotes relaxation and helps to alleviate stress and tension. It can help one to understand the emotional and physical triggers that induce an asthma attack and thereby avoid them. Truly, yoga can be a tremendous aid to asthmatics.

Please continue to take any prescribed medication and be sure that your school has a personal Asthma Action Plan in place. The Canadian Lung Association and this web site  are terrific places to look for more information and resources in helping students with asthma. Also Asthma Mom has lots of real life stories, comments, and concerns addressed on her blog. Check it out.

Next week I’ll be posting a series of poses and a few breathing exercises especially for asthmatics. Watch for it!

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