Pursed lips breathing
In this exercise, I exhale through my mouth with a slow and steady airflow. The exercise slows my breathing and silently expels the negative.
How I exercise ‘pursed lips breathing’:
Directives:I sit comfortably with a straight back, relax my tongue and jaw, and close my eyes.
- Reset my breathing if needed.
- Breathe with nose inhales and mouth exhales.
- Inhale in 3 parts, with sealed lips.
- Pucker my lips and slowly exhale, in 3 parts, through my mouth.
- Hold my breath until I gently reach the point of ‘air hunger start.’
- Repeat for a few rounds.
When I first learned this exercise, I engaged my lip muscles as if I was about to whistle. Later on, I moved to visualize, trying to flutter a feather or gently bending a candle flame.
Pursed lips exhaling is ‘whistling the sound of silence.’ It’s a slow, gentle, and quiet exercise. It peaks when my diaphragm returns to its neutral dome shape, and my lips gently seal.
The breath-hold allows indication. If I exhale slowly enough, post the breath-hold I reach ‘air hunger start’ more rapidly.