Most people take 13-20 breaths per minute. Try to take 8 or fewer. Relax the pace of your respiration.
Fully expand and contract your belly as you inhale and exhale. This allows over 10x the normal amount of air to enter your lungs.
Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, first by pushing out your abdomen, thus allowing your diaphragm to move down and your chest to expand. As you exhale through your nose, allow your diaphragm to relax, by gently pulling in your abdomen and emptying the base of your lungs, then allow the rest of your chest to deflate. If you have any respiratory condition, such as bronchitis or emphysema, exhale through pursed lips and not through your nose.
With diaphragmatic breathing the amount of air entering your lungs increases significantly. This allows more oxygen to enter your bloodstream. Shallow chest breathing allows approximately 350 ml of air to enter the lungs, compared to the 4500ml that can enter the lungs when you breathe diaphragmatically. Training yourself to consistently breathe deeply while using your diaphragm will ensure that more air enters your lungs.
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