Respiratory gymnastics

1. Breathe importance (oxygen).

Each of us should breathe easy and easily – this is the law of Nature. However, it happens sometimes that for any of several reasons we lose this easiness (for example, if you have caught a chill or have eaten tasty ice on the frost). And then, in order to restore this quality of breath given us from the birth by Nature, we have to make some efforts. After all, if you wish to have good skills in drawing, dancing etc. you have to train. Here is the similar situation. You need to do respiratory gymnastics. In contrast to other exercises, breath should never turn into a heavy work. Any excessive loading is harmful! Breathe yourselves, please! Every superfluous loading is harmful here! Say it to your parents that it is necessary to breathe yourselves and for your health! Correct way of breathing and health are inseparable! So go in for respiratory gymnastics and take a pleasure! If you are a dancer, then you know how difficult to begin studies after vacation or a long break. The same thing is with respiratory gymnastic. If you don’t have good developed respiratory muscles, then it is possible to have different impairments. A man is capable to correct these respiratory impairments and illnesses himself, if he will train on a regular basis. Besides, correct breath is very profitable, because positively affects all functions of a human body. It increases your stamina; muscles are stretched much more by combination of exercises and certain breath. You will recover your health quickly after various loading and traumas. Our organism may be compared with a motorcar. If some part of machine works badly the other parts take a loading much more then usually. If you breathe incorrect then your heart needs to work more, it must to do part of the work that our lungs did not finish. So, the heart would be tired faster. When your lungs breathe correct then the heart works in its pleasure and gives nutrition to every cell with pleasure. Let’s breathe easy and correctly! Correct respiration brings great benefits first of all to organs of breath and to internal organs. It influences good digestion and state of your health. As well it increases your stamina and strength. It would be useful for you in dancing, jogging, swimming, etc. You would be tired less and spend fewer efforts. So this is the way to achieve perfection. You can ask me: why it happens? An answer is very easy: respiration is a set of different processes that participates in maintenance of an organism by oxygen and allocation of carbonic gas. Oxygen is like petrol for car. You know that car would not move without petrol. As concerns a man, everything more complicated: we can live several days without water, but some minutes without oxygen. Oxygen is used by cells and fabrics to release the energy that is contained inside.

2. Influence of correct breath on health (breath by abdomen, sicknesses).

We have found out an importance of correct respiration. Now let’s consider correct respiration in detail and how to recognize incorrect respiration. All movements of various parts of the body are carried out by muscles. Also breath is realized by muscles that work in automatic mode. For instance, you don’t think about the way you breathe in and breathe out. Your organism controls this procedure itself. But if you want you can manage your respiration. So it is possible to control the way of breathing and change it. That allows us to speak about correct and incorrect respiration. You know that top of the body where heart and lungs are located is named – thoracic part, and where stomach and other organs are located – abdominal part. When you do a correct breath in, the trunk extends due to pressure of respiratory muscles. Especially it extends in the area of waist, when these muscles relax. Correct breath should not be accompanied by rise and lowering of a thorax in usual conditions. Only your belly must enlarge and blow off. Incorrect breath can be defined by the rise and lowering of clavicles. It is related with a pressure of the external pectoral muscles located directly under clavicles. When you dance or do your fitness exercises and other physical activities you want breath deeper and more. It’s because of cells which need more energy. And cells are getting this energy from oxygen. That takes place automatically due to tachypnoe and deeper respiration. With poorly developed respiratory muscles there can be some defects in breath.

3. Tan-chi (what it gives, what for, for whom; exercises without oxygen, stretching)

I wish to acquaint you with a unique complex respiratory gymnastics «Tan-Chi» that will be right both for you, our young readers, and your parents, your friends, relatives, irrespective of a level of physical state and state of health. Our system combines diaphragmal respiration (correct breathe by belly that we have studied) with elements of Eastern and Western health improving programs. Everything that allows you to increase stamina of organism, to strengthen a backbone, to improve state of health, to rejuvenate and strengthen organism as a whole, prepare your body for different loading due to good stretching of all muscles! After exercises there is a feeling of vivacity and energy. And your endurance and vitality rise. The respiratory gymnastics massages abdominal cavity bodies. It helps to cope with problems of an intestines and a stomach. And, as it is known, it is very important for our health. Thus, doing exercises regular, we improve general state of health and mood. The gymnastics can be carried out in motionless position, sitting or standing. Exercises are indicated with sport injuries, sprains, an arthritis (if it is crunch curving arms, legs), because improves joints maintenance with oxygen. There are various external factors, for example different medicines, which influence results of exercises. Reception of thyroid gland treatment preparations, hormonal preparations and some kinds of antidepressants slows down, but does not exclude an effect from respiratory gymnastics. The matter is that all these treatments contain the components that are slowing down metabolism. And as «Tan-Chi» accelerates it, there are contradictions to one another. Nevertheless, if to be engaged constantly, positive results necessarily will be, but probably, not so fast. Besides there are people with the natural slowed down metabolism. They can feel results later. However, all of you will receive desirable result. Recommendations: The program should be carried out on an empty stomach or at least 2 hours later after the last food intake. However, after the exercises it is possible to eat practically right away, instead of waiting some time as it is advised in various fitness-centers. By the way, you can carry out respiratory exercises in transport, in the street, when you go to school, work or go shopping, in the morning, when you make tea, during a lunch break, etc. :) «Tan-Chi» is an excellent revival in the end of the working day. If you start feeling weariness, retire somewhere and make some respiratory exercises. You will feel inflow of energy straight away.

4. Belly breathing (inhale with your nose, exhale with your mouth), three-stage exhalation. Technique: exhale, exercises, respiration.

To master this complex of exercises you need to learn belly breathing or, in another words, to make deep diaphragm respiration. Most of children breathe of diaphragm, but some parents teach their children to breathe with chest. It is not right! In this position, we use our lungs only for 20%! Meanwhile over the ages people are using diaphragm respiration for improving their health. If you breathe correct, you clean your organism in natural way, expand your lungs and develop immunity. Before doing exercises stand still and put one hand on the chest, another hand – on the belly. Make belly breathing: inhale through nose – belly is inflated, exhale through mouth - belly is retraction. The technique of «Tan-Chi» gymnastics is very easy: every exercise we do without any air (without breathing). After that, you need to make at the least 12 inhalation with belly. So, scheme of the gymnastics:
  • Three-stage exhalation
  • Exercise
  • Belly breathing
Then you repeat this cycle, but you change exercises. Let’s learn 3 stages exhalation. Starting position: legs on a width of the shoulders, knees are bended, arms are leaned on the knees, back and belly must be relaxed. 1 stage. Calm exhalation through mouth, belly is indrawn. 2 stage. Abruptly inhalation through nose, throw your head back. Try to draw as much air as you can. 3 stage. Abruptly exhalation through mouth, thrown your head down. Your tongue must be putted out and your throat must be open. You need to breathe out all air from you diaphragm. Try to draw your stomach in as much as you can. Then stand on, do not breathe, the belly is indrawn. Every exercise we will do without air after the three-stage exhalation. This is very important moment: if you somehow inhale, do not do the exercise, make three-stage exhalation again. If you want to take a breathe, stop doing exercise, stand on and make belly breathing. Let’s start!

5. Exercises (warm-up at first):

For the beginning, it is necessary to limber up for 5 minutes: some inclination in different directions; circular motion of the body, hips; stretching of your legs, arms, neck, and shoulder’s muscles. For the beginning, I will show your five exercises. It will take your about a 20-25 min. Doing this exercises every day your will feel yourself much better, cheerful and you will get a burst of energy in a week.

1) Body’s side exercises.

Do three-stage exhalation. Stand still. Do not breathe. Your belly is indrawn. Starting position: legs are on a width of the shoulders, legs are strained and buttocks are squeezed. Do the inclination neatly aside. The arm is over your head. The hips do not move. Stretch your body’s side. After the exercise, do belly breathing. Then do three stages exhalation again and do inclination aside in the other direction. Make belly breathing. Do three stages exhalation. Put your hands up and do inclinations forward, place your body in parallel with the floor. Make belly breathing.

2) Leg’s muscles exercises.

Do three-stage exhalation. Starting position: your legs are strained; your arms are locked in front of your body. Abruptly raise the right leg forward. Then raise the left leg back. Alternate your legs’ raises. Attention: Do not curve legs in knees. Do not try to raise legs too high. It is much more important your legs to be strained. Make belly breathing. Do three-stage exhalation. Change your legs: left leg raise forward and right leg raise back. Make belly breathing. Do three-stage exhalation. Do the same, but raise your legs to the right and to the left. Make belly breathing.

3) Hips’ inside stretching exercises.

Make three-stage exhalation. Starting position: right leg is bend in knee, left leg is straight and stretched; place your body in parallel with the floor. Stretch inner surface of the left hip, and try to bend down as low as you can. Do belly breathing. Make three-stage exhalation. Do the exercise again, but change your legs. Stretch an inner surface of the right hip. Do belly breathing. Make three-stage exhalation. Do the exercise again, but stretch both legs. Do belly breathing. Repeat whole exercise once more.

4) Prelum abdominal exercises.

Now we sit down. Make three-stage exhalation sitting on the floor: legs are bended in knees, body bend forward. Do three-stage exhalation the same way as in the standing position: 1. Calm exhalation through mouth, belly is indrawn. 2. Abruptly inhalation through nose, throw your head back. Try to draw as much air as you can. 3. Abruptly exhalation through mouth, thrown your head down. At the same time, draw your belly in. Then do exercise sitting on the floor without any air. Starting position: lie down on the back to the floor, bend the knees, arms are locked behind your head. Raise your body and try to touch the floor. Then return back and raise again. Do belly breathing sitting on the floor. Repeat the exercise one more time. Make three-stage exhalation sitting on the floor. Starting position: lie down on the back to the floor, legs are straight, arms are locked behind your head. Raise your straight legs very slowly until they would be at an angle of 90 degrees. Then lower them down. Repeat it again. Do belly breathing sitting on the floor. Repeat the exercise one more time.

5) Back’s Exercises.

Make three-stage exhalation sitting on the floor. Starting position: lie down on your belly to the floor; the arms are along the body. Raise your legs and arms at the same time. Stay in this position for 3 seconds then return to the starting position. Raise your legs and arms at the same time again. Stay for 3 seconds. Once again, repeat the exercise. Do belly breathing sitting on the floor. Repeat the exercise one more time.

Stretching.

I recommend you to stretch all muscles after these five exercises. One moment: do stretching without any air, without any inhalation (so we doing exercises), after that do belly breathing. a) For example, make three-stage exhalation sitting on the floor. Starting position: bend left leg in front of you; draw out hands up. Bend forward to your right leg. Do belly breathing sitting on the floor. Repeat the stretching but change legs. b) Make three-stage exhalation sitting on the floor. Starting position: legs are in sides, body inclinations forward. Stretch both legs. Do belly breathing. c) Make three-stage exhalation sitting on the floor. Starting position: right leg forward lie on the floor, left leg are bent behind you. Do inclination towards right leg. Do belly breathing. Repeat the stretching but change legs. d) Make three-stage exhalation sitting on the floor. Starting position: sit in kneels, put your hands up. Bend one hand in elbow and stretch the triangularis (or back side of hand). Do belly breathing. Repeat the stretching but change hands. e) Make three-stage exhalation sitting on the floor. Starting position: bend both legs in kneels, turn body forward. Stretch hips’ inside. Do belly breathing. Good luck!