hey everybody it's Doctor Jo, and today I'm going to show you some breathing
exercises that may help with things like COPD, asthma, emphysema, and even
bronchitis. so let's get started.
for the breathing exercises, one of the great training tools is using inspiratory muscle
training. and this is really great for things like COPD and asthma, and all
those other things because the muscles that you use to breathe in, are the
things that help us breathe in, so if they're weak or if they're not working
properly, that's when you have all those other issues. so a lot of research shows
that that inspiratory muscle training, the building up those muscles, is what
really helps with the breathing. so if you're having a hard time breathing, I'm
going to show you some exercises that help with that. and the way to really do
that inspiratory muscle training is kind of just restricting airflow coming in. so
you have your lungs and those muscles have to work harder to get that air into
your lungs. so a great tool that you can use for that is a high altitude training
mask. and the folks at perpetual air sent me their mask. so I'm really just going
to talk about it today as a rehab tool to help increase those muscles and
strengthening the lungs and everything, but what's so great about it is you can
see here that once you put it on, and I'll put it completely on in a second,
sounds like Bane, it makes it a lot harder to breathe. so your muscles have
to work harder to get that air in. so this is a great tool because you're
exercising those muscles that sometimes are hard to figure out how to exercise.
you can walk, and you can do exercises, but to get that extra training you want
to reduce that airflow, and the perpetual air really does that. and what's super
great about this mask is it has four different levels on each side. so it
restricts the air flow even more. so if you do one on this side it makes it a
little bit harder to breathe. you can do them together and you can go all the way
up to four and that makes it even more restricted. so it's just more exercise
for your lungs and those muscles around your lungs. and so you also have these
which go in here to make it more as well. so you
would start off with these, and if you get strong enough where you can get to
four on each side and you want it even more restricted, then you can add those
in as well. so if you have an ailment like COPD, asthma, the bronchitis,
emphysema, I would start off with your exercises without that mask, but once you
get going you can definitely put this on to get a better training and really
start getting some better breathing. and then when you're doing your everyday
activities, and you don't have the mask on, it makes it that much easier to
breathe because your muscles have been trained for that. so the way these work
is pretty neat because this one particularly has the way you can put
around it it opens up and then this part is nice and smooth. so this one goes kind
of over your head and then there's an adjustable strap in the back. so I'm
going to put it on. can you hear me now? And so I'm gonna breathe in.
and so you can see that I'm having to work a little bit harder for that. so I'm
going to go into the exercises now. I'm just gonna do the first one with the
mask and then I'm going to do the other ones without the mask because I really
want you to do the exercises first without the mask, and then if you're
progressing and you're doing well, then you can get the mask and do it. so the
first one, the first one is you're going to breathe in just for about two seconds
with your mouth closed and then out for four seconds with your lips pursed like
that. almost like you're sucking through a straw. but when you have the mask on
you don't necessarily have to purse your lips because it's doing all of that for
you, but really try and breathe in those two seconds nice and strong, and then four
seconds breathing out. so you're really just working those muscles in the lungs.
so you can see if you're doing it along with me, even if you do it without the
mask, but just breathing in a little bit and blowing out it gets you winded
pretty quickly. so I'm gonna do it one more time without the mask on so you can
see what I'm doing with my lips. so breathing, in mouth closed. so you're
really just trying to get all that excess air out, and you're pursing your lips
to make it harder to. so the great thing about the mask is it goes both ways, not
just the blowing out, so that's why I really like the concept of using the
mask for these things. but make sure if you're thinking about using the mask,
talk with your doctor or your physical therapist or your respiratory therapist
because you might not quite be ready for this. so make sure that you get the okay
to be able to use something that makes it a little bit harder. so if you're
interested in purchasing the perpetual air mask, make sure and click on the link
up there. so the next exercise is just going to be getting your muscles working
using your arms to get all the muscles going as well. so you're still going to
be breathing in through your mouth, purse your lips, and then blowing out,
but this time you're going to add some arm movement in there. so just clasp your
hands out in front of you, arms nice and straight. and so this time you don't have
to worry about the seconds you want to take a nice deep breath. so you can do
this for a little while so you're gonna breathe in through your nose and purse
and go.
so you want to blow as much as you can to get all that air out of the lungs. nice
deep breath in, and again if you're ready to do it with the mask you can do it
with the mask too, but by doing this you're starting to work these chest
muscles as well and they all work together for breathing. so that's really
really important as well. and so the last exercise is really just diaphragmatic
breathing. so this is really important to do because using your diaphragm it's
that big huge muscle in there that helps with the lungs as well. and so a lot of
times when we're breathing, we just breathe really shallow. studies show that
when we're just breathing normally we only use about 10 to 15 percent of our
lung capacity, and that's not very much. these things are nice and big, so you
want to be able to get that air in and get it out. so when you're doing
diaphragmatic breathing, it's sometimes people call it belly
breathing, and so what you're really doing is breathing in through your belly
versus your chest. so a lot of times people like to kind of place their hand
on their belly, place a hand on their chest. the hand on your chest really
shouldn't move. it shouldn't be rising and going down. the movement should be at
your stomach. so that's how you can tell. some people like to kind of put their
hands like this, and so you can see your hands going in and out. I like this one a
little bit better. sometimes lying down is a little bit better too because you
can see the stomach moving, but I'm just going to kind of show you here, and see
if you can see where I'm gonna breathe in and my stomach's gonna come out, and
then breathe out and it coming in. Is my tummy growling? I must be hungry. so as
you can see, that hands coming in and out and this one's just kind of staying
still. and as you do it more, you'll be able to breathe in more and breathe out
more and it's a really relaxing tool as well. so if you're a little bit stressed
out, especially if you're having some breathing issues, doing that
diaphragmatic breathing really works as well and you can do that with the mask
on too, but make sure you're just building up to it and then getting there.
if you're interested in a little bit more exercises you can check out my
other video. I go into some other exercises as well. so those were your
breathing exercises that may help with things like
COPD, asthma, bronchitis, and even emphysema. so if you're interested in
purchasing the perpetual air high altitude mask, make sure and click up
there. and don't forget to subscribe by clicking down there. and remember be safe,
have fun, and I hope you feel better soon.