Before you start
This video is an introduction to the Support Breathing Ease videos.
Core principles
Welcome to our practices to support breathing ease. So breathlessness is really hard to live with whatever your condition whether it's asthma or COPD or other kinds of things that affect your lungs. So these practices are suitable for anybody um whatever your age or condition or physical ability. The main note is to just [music] practice safely for you. So everybody is different. Everybody has a different lung capacity. [music] If you're unsure, of course, check with your medical health professional, but these practices are based on best [music] evidence, and they're designed to help support your breathing ease. So, what we found in our research is that when people feel tense about breathing, that makes their anxiety worse, which then makes their breathing worse. So, we want to set up here a conditions that feel safe and comfortable for you.
Well, basically you can do them wherever you like. I'm doing them sitting in a chair and I've got a cushion behind me because that helps me to feel more comfortable, but during the practices you might want to put that on your lap and rest your arms on it or even lean forwards which can help with breathing ease. You may also wish to do the practices standing [music] up while the kettle's boiling is a good idea. Or you can do them lying down on the floor or even on the sofa or in bed. The only other instruction is to possible make sure you've got clothes on that aren't restricting you. So, I'm just wearing trousers with an elasticated waistband so I can breathe. That's really important. And the other thing is it's nice to do this with your shoes off so that you can spread your feet down into the floor and that [music] helps us to feel steadier. So, we're looking for this steadiness and comfort in the body.
But what we know is that the more we practice, the better we get. So rather like learning to drive a car or play an instrument, [music] the more you practice, the more comfortable it feels, the more natural it feels. So I often suggest to people that they do a little bit of practice perhaps while the kettle's boiling in the morning or perhaps to prepare for bed. So perhaps doing this at night before you go to sleep. And the idea is that if you practice them when you're feeling well and comfortable, then you can reach for the practices when you feel you're starting to get anxious or breathless. So a little bit a lot is better than a lot a little. So try and build this into your daily life as suits you.
We're doing this because we know from the evidence and from talking to people living with any lung condition that there's a lot of fear and anxiety around living with breathlessness. [music] And when we're anxious and tense, this of course affects
our breathing. And then our breathing is tight or difficult and that affects how we feel. So we get trapped in a [music] vicious cycle. We know that living with this kind of anxiety and these physical symptoms can lead to disengagement from activities of daily living. So it can affect our working life, our personal relationships, our sleep and other aspects of our physical, social and emotional health. [music] So, these exercises aren't going to fix any of that, but the idea is to just give you some practices that help you in the moment to support your breathing ease, to help you to come back to a place of steadiness and comfortableness within your own body, and just to help you when you're in need.
Before you start any physical activity
- Check with your healthcare professional that it's safe for you. You can also discuss with them the level of exercise that's right for you.
- If you have a reliever inhaler, always carry it with you and use it when you need to.
- If you have a GTN spray, have this with you as well.
- It's a good idea to wait around one to two hours after eating a meal or thirty minutes after eating a snack, before you start doing any physical activity and have some water close by.
- If you normally use oxygen therapy when you move, then make sure to use it on your usual setting for the exercises. Ensure you have enough oxygen to complete the session and speak to your oxygen team, if you have any concerns.
- Stop exercising and get advice from your healthcare professional if you get any of these symptoms:
- Chest pain or chest tightness, you feel more breathless than you usually would when being active, dizziness, feeling sick, clammy, or feeling really cold, wheezing, sore joints, or muscle weakness.
Living with breathlessness can create a cycle of fear and anxiety that makes breathing harder, which further increases anxiety. These practices won't “fix” that cycle, but they can help you understand and interrupt it in a way that works for you. They're designed to bring you back to a place of steadiness and ease in your body, so you have something to reach for when you need it.
These practices are “body-up” (rather than mind-down), meaning that we’re not trying to change our thinking. Rather, we are creating a felt sense of safety in the body for the nervous system to settle, so that easier breathing becomes possible.
You can do the practices anywhere that feels comfortable. Little and often works best so that you embed the concepts in your body and mind. The trick is to take what you need and leave the rest. You are the expert in what works for you!