Breathing more easily

Breathing techniques

Get into a comfortable position

When you feel breathless, it can help to get in a comfortable position that allows your shoulders and upper chest to relax and lets your diaphragm and tummy expand. This could be:

• sitting and leaning slightly forward with your forearms resting on your thighs
• sitting and leaning forward with your head resting on several pillows stacked on a table, and resting your arms on the table on either side of the pillows
• standing and leaning against a wall
• standing and leaning forward on to a secure surface.

Breathe gently

Once you’re in a comfortable position, try breathing in through your nose and out gently through your mouth. Some people find it helpful to breathe out through pursed lips – as if blowing out a candle.

Focus on your breathing and count your breath in for three counts and out for four. If you find breathing in through your nose difficult, you can breathe through your mouth instead.

Controlled breathing

Breathlessness can cause you to breathe with the upper chest and shoulder muscles in a fast and shallow way. This can use up a lot of energy and tire you out.

An important part of managing breathlessness is learning a technique called controlled breathing, which uses your diaphragm and lower chest muscles. Controlled breathing can help you to relax and breathe more gently and effectively using lower chest breathing.

Practise these exercises when you’re not feeling too short of breath. You’ll then become familiar with them and can use them when you’re more breathless.

1. Sit comfortably with your neck, shoulders and back well supported - an upright chair with armrests is ideal.
2. Relax your shoulders.
3. Place your hands on your tummy, just below your ribcage.
4. Give a little cough; the muscle you feel under your hand is your diaphragm.
5. As you breathe in, you’ll feel your hands rising and being pushed out by your diaphragm and tummy muscles.
6. As you breathe out, your hands will sink down and in. Try to get a sense of breathing from around the waist rather than from your upper chest, and feel your lungs expand as more air is able to get in.

It may help to sit sideways to a mirror so you can see that your lower chest is moving.

Relax your shoulders and upper chest muscles

When you breathe out, feel your shoulders and upper chest relax. As you breathe in gently, keep your shoulders relaxed. If this is hard to do, ask someone to press down gently on your shoulders to help relieve some of the tension.

Breathe in slowly and out gently, feeling your upper chest muscles relax more and more with each breath out.

It can take a bit of time to get used to these exercises. Try not to force the exercises or expect instant results. Aim for a gradual change from breathlessness to controlled breathing.