(Please practise the ‘simply breathing’ technique first.)
As with any breathing exercise, please check with a medical practitioner before trying. Please stop immediately if you feel unwell. If you have time please follow the video. However, you can find a quicker exercise below.
Method:
As you inhale, raise your arms upwards and over the head. Retain the breath for a starting count of 6, increasing to 12 with regular practice before letting the arms drop as you exhale (repeat three times).
In front of your chest, raise your straight arms level with your shoulders, and inhale slowly. With retention of the breath, open up your arms to the side of your body (stretching them slightly behind if you can). Hold for a count of three seconds and exhale, dropping the hands back down (repeat three times).
In front of your chest, raise your straight arms level with your shoulders and reach as far as you can in front causing the shoulder blades to open through the top of the back. As you inhale aim to take the breath in between the shoulders causing a greater expansion across the top of the back. Hold the breath for several counts before exhaling and opening your arms up to the sides, causing a stretch to happen across the front of the chest (repeat three times).
Inhale deeply and push the air out in a short forceful blast (as if you were taking a breathing test at the doctor’s). Repeat this three times. On your final breath push out the air for as long as possible. This may cause you to cough. Please do not panic, it is just your lungs cleaning themselves.
Drop your hands and take two slow deep breaths in and out to settle your body.