The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healthier, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You

by Patrick McKeown

To practice this exercise, it can be very helpful to sit in front of a mirror to observe and follow your breathing movements. • Sit up straight. Allow your shoulders to relax. Imagine a piece of string gently holding you up from the top of the back of your head. At the same time, feel the space between your ribs gradually widening. • Place one hand on your chest and one hand just above your navel. • Feel your abdomen gently moving outward as you inhale and gently moving inward as you exhale. • As you breathe, exert gentle pressure with your hands against your abdomen and chest. This should create resistance to your breathing. • Breathe against your hands, concentrating on making the size of each breath smaller. • With each breath, take in less air than you would like to. Make the in-breath smaller or shorter. • Gently slow down and reduce your breathing movements until you feel a tolerable hunger for air. • Breathe out with a relaxed exhalation. Allow the natural elasticity of your lungs and diaphragm to play their role in each exhalation. Imagine a balloon slowly and gently deflating of its own accord. • When the in-breath becomes smaller and the out-breath is relaxed, visible breathing movements will be reduced. You may be able to notice this in a mirror.