DEEP BREATHING EXERCISES: EXERCISE 2—THE STANDING EXERCISE

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Now that you have mastered the preliminary exercise it’s time to commence the breathing exercises proper. There are many derivations of the standing, deep breathing exercises and all of them are good. If you have learnt Karate, Tai Chi or any of the martial arts, you may have one that feels good to you. By all means use it. If you have a favourite deep breathing yoga technique, practised from the sitting posture, then by all means use that.

If you are totally unacquainted with deep breathing techniques you may want to try my favourite. Taught to me by a Chinese Kung Fu master, it has the lyrical name of ‘Scoop the Stream’. It is excellent for stretching the rib cage and expanding the lungs. Practised first thing in the morning, it is a good wake-up tonic. It raises the metabolic rate, giving you an immediate lift that makes you mentally alert and emotionally buoyant, yet calm.

1. Close your eyes or fix your gaze on a given object or point. Stand with your feet either together or 10-20 cm apart (whichever is most comfortable for you), and arms hanging loosely at your sides. Relax your muscles.

2. Breathe out until the lungs are empty then slowly and deeply inhale while at the same time raising the hands (palms down) until the fingertips touch above your head. Now, turn the palms so that they are facing upwards. Time it so that the fingers touch at the point of complete inhalation—when you are unable to take in any more air. Stretch upward and count to three silently. Now exhale slowly and steadily while slowly dropping your arms in the reverse motion to the previous action. Have them reach the side of your legs at the point of complete exhalation. To achieve complete exhalation contract your stomach muscles tightly so that the abdomen is concave at the point of total exhalation. Hold this position for the silent count of three. Count slowly.

3. Interlace the fingers with the palms up, forming a scoop. As you slowly and deeply inhale, raise the scoop to the level of your lips with your bent arm in line with your shoulders and your elbows raised as high as possible. Hold this position to the count of three.

4. Now turn the palms over and exhale slowly and steadily by tightening the abdomen muscles until the lungs are completely empty. Slowly drop the overturned palms during exhalation.

5. At the point of ultimate exhalation your arms will be at complete extension. Press down as if pressing a spring and hold for a silent count of three. Return your hands to the side of your legs and start again. (Breathe and count slowly.)

Do these movements twelve times each. Take it easy, don’t stand in a draught and make sure you are warm, yet loosely dressed (a tracksuit is good). Don’t force yourself, you’ll pull muscles otherwise. If you are out of condition and stiff it would pay to start off with six exercises only, building up to eight, to ten and then twelve when you feel you are ready. Concentrate on pressing the diaphragm down and letting the abdomen bulge out. Don’t worry, this won’t give you a pot. On the contrary, the tightening of the abdomen muscles on exhalation is excellent for removing a pot and slimming the figure.

To help you concentrate on your breathing you can count the breath ‘in’ and count it out again. To start with, breathe in to the count of six or eight, whatever is most comfortable. As you progress and your diaphragm descends further, and your rib cage expands further, you will need to expand the count to ten or twelve and even beyond. The further you extend the count, the more slowly you will be raising and lowering the arms. This is good, for the slower the exercise is, the more it will relax you.

Counting also gives you a yardstick to measure your progress. An increased count means your diaphragm is distending further and your rib cage is expanding further. Both actions increase the tone of the muscles needed to straighten your posture and improve your body shape. Breathe and count slowly.

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