Breathing: All Things Performance, Stress, and COVID-19
Breathing has been a hot topic recently. From symptoms and recovery of COVID-19, to breathing in masks, to meditation to keep our stress levels down. Our breathing habits can play a crucial role in our health. Physical therapists are equipped with the tools and knowledge to help you improve your breathing. We can teach breathing to optimize health in recovery, improve athletic performance, decrease stress, boost energy levels, and reduce pain.
A few of breathing tips:
To improve athletic performance: Exhale on exertion
To decrease stress: Breath in for 4 seconds and out for 8 seconds.
To boost energy: Breath in for 8 seconds and out for 4 seconds
To reduce pain: Belly breath - Inhale and expand through your belly, exhale and let your belly fall.
For recovery and health: Position and posture matter. Make sure you are not hunched over as you take slow, deep breaths through your belly. Ps: Lying on your stomach has been shown to be most effective, especially for COVID patients. Note: if you are experiencing shortness of breath, contact a healthcare provider. If you don’t know where to start, let us help you!