Best Breathing Exercises to Protect Your Body from Air Pollution

Practical Breathing Exercises for Urban Air Quality Challenges

The modern city is a marvel of engineering, yet its structures offer little resistance to the invisible tide of pollutants. This issue extends beyond the haze in the sky. Pollution steadily undermines respiratory health, forcing cities to grapple with the consequences of their own growth.

Recent worldwide data shows that air pollution stands as the second most dangerous risk factor for deaths worldwide, with its impact reaching 8.1 million deaths in 2021. The massive number of deaths demonstrates why strong solutions must be developed to reduce air pollution's health consequences. An annual total of 7 million deaths emerge from air pollution, and this environmental issue continues to create a serious global health problem.

Practicing daily breathing exercises is equally important because such exercises strengthen your lungs against pollution damage. This piece outlines optimal breathing exercises that guard your body against air pollution risks.

Best Breathing Exercises to Protect From Air Pollution

Let's explore the most effective breathing exercises to protect your body from air pollution.

1. Diaphragmatic Breathing

Below are the steps for Diaphragmatic Breathing or Belly Breathing.

1. First, sit comfortably on a chair with your back straight or lie down on a flat surface, then bend your knees and make sure that you have a pillow under your head and knees too.
2. See to it that your shoulders are relaxed and away from your ears.
3. Feel your chest and abdomen. Place one hand on each area; for the abdomen, place your hand just below your rib cage.
4. Breathe in slowly through your nose so the air fills your lungs and deepens your breath. The abdomen rises as the diaphragm descends.
5. You will keep your hand on the chest still and move the hand on the belly upwards.
6. Exhale softly through your lips as your abdomen contracts and your diaphragm lifts.
7. The contraction of your abdominal muscles will benefit your air expulsion process.
8. Repeat these steps as many times as possible and practice for 5–10 minutes many times a day.

Benefits

The practice offers lung expansion improvement along with relaxation benefits while enhancing oxygen transport to the body.

2. Box Breathing

Here are the detailed steps for Box Breathing or Square breathing.

1. You should begin by using a chair support with feet flat on the floor or by getting into a relaxed position on your back supported by pillows beneath your knees.
2. Closing your eyes enables you to concentrate on your breath while you relax. Start breathing deeply through your nose for a count of four seconds, then take in the air into your lungs.
3. Then, pause your breath and maintain a relaxed state while you hold your breath for four seconds.
4. You should exhale the air from the lungs completely by slowly breathing through your mouth for four seconds.
5. Pause or hold your breath again for a count of 4 before you begin the next cycle. Visualize a box tracing a square with your breath to help maintain focus.
6. Continue this pattern for several cycles until you feel relaxed and centered.

Benefits

When practiced properly, this technique recalibrates lung breathing patterns and achieves relaxation while making the lungs stronger.

3. Pursed Lip Breathing

Below are the steps guiding you in practicing Pursed Lip breathing.

1. The first requirement for breathing involves sitting on a comfortable chair with a straight spinal posture and maintaining equal foot positions on the floor; alternatively, you can lie down while keeping your legs relaxed. If you're on a mat, give your head and knees some pillow support.
2. Inhale through your nostrils for two seconds, keeping your mouth closed. Your abdomen expands at this time while your belly protrudes out.
3. Synchronize your lips into the shape they take for whistling or extinguishing a candle flame.
4. Exhale through your lips, slow and steady, for about 4 to 6 seconds. Think of it like a controlled release, not a dramatic sigh. Use a 1:2 ratio so your exhalation lasts about twice as long as your inhalation
5. Allow your breath to exit your lips slowly while keeping them in a purse position.
6. Practice this technique several times to achieve controlled relaxation of your breathing pattern.

Benefits

The extended openings created by pursed lip breathing allow better lung airflow and serve well for patients dealing with long-term lung conditions.

4. Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodhana)

One can perform Nadi Shodhana by following this procedure.

1. Begin the exercise by sitting with a straight spine and relaxed shoulders. People with backaches should use wall support during this breathing technique.
2. Both the index and middle fingers are placed between the eyebrows.
3. Rest your thumb over the right nostril while placing the ring and little fingers on the left nostril.
4. Press your thumb and release the breath gently from the left nostril.
5. Take a deep breath through your left nostril, then exhale through the right.
6. This completes one cycle of Nadishodhana Pranayama.
7. Always inhale from the nostril you just exhaled from, taking long, deep breaths.
8. Complete nine cycles, keeping your eyes closed and maintaining deep, steady breaths

Benefits

Health benefits include balanced breathing, improved oxygen intake, and lung detoxification processes.

5. Bhastrika Pranayama

There are different ways to perform Bhastrika Pranayama; here, we have explained one of the best ways.

1. Sit in Vajrasana. Vajrasana ensures the spine is erect.
2. Keep your hands with closed fists near your shoulders and elbows near the waist.
3. Raise your hands first and open your fingers out, then let them fall back to where they started.
4. Sync it with your breath. Inhale as your hands lift, and exhale as they drop.
5. Breathe in through the nose and exhale forcefully using hand movement.
6. Complete 10 Bhastrikas per round, then rest palms on thighs facing up.
7. Perform 3 rounds, gradually increasing to 15 or 20 repetitions.

Benefits

It helps in throat cleansing, improves lung capacity, and increases respiratory strength.

Protect Your Lungs with These Breathing Techniques

Air pollution isn’t always visible, but the body feels it. Breathing exercises can reinforce lung strength, offering a practical way to navigate the daily exposure. Each breath becomes a small investment in long-term well-being. Life is a journey that can always be re-edited, and each breath is a step towards a new beginning.

Platforms like Life Re-Edited, which combine blogging, e-commerce, and events focused on health, fitness, lifestyle, and recipes, can provide valuable resources and community support for those seeking to improve their respiratory health.

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