It is a well-known fact that COVID-19 is a respiratory virus that attacks the lungs. The question is, what can we do to protect our lungs and improve their ability to breathe in the maximum amount of air possible?
- FIRSTLY, improve your posture with specific exercises to stretch and strengthen the spine, hips and neck. Poor posture is a sign that the upper body is rounded, limiting the lungs’ ability to expand. Doing 10-15 minutes of daily, easy full body exercises will quickly reverse most cases of poor posture.
- SECONDLY, do specific exercises to increase the full range of motion of your rib cage. If the muscles and fascia of your ribs are tight, you probably have trouble bending sideways, twisting and turning the torso or lifting your arms fully above your head. These are signs that your rib cage is permanently contracted, limiting your ability to deeply inhale oxygen. Gentle stretching of the torso and arms will liberate your rib cage and improve your lung capacity.
- THIRDLY, practice deep breathing every day. Slowly inhale to your maximum, hold your breath for 2 seconds, and then slowly exhale. Repeat this five times in a row and as often as you want throughout your day.
Try this 3-minute “Posture workout” to improve your lung health, with Miranda Esmonde-White
View the full workout on Essentrics TV.
NOTE: (2020, April 6) Chris Cuomo opens up about Covid-19 fight (shares pulmonary expert’s suggestions to fight COVID-19 with arm raises and torso stretches.) Retrieved from CNN (view link – 1:56 mark)
