Walking with Breath Holds
The Walking with Breath Holds Exercise
Once you feel comfortable walking with your mouth closed, the next step is to add in some breath holds while you are out for a walk. This is a time efficient way to build up your Control Pause and feel great. If you have a very low control pause, or have unstable asthma symptoms, then this exercise may not be suitable for you as it might destabilise your breathing and bring on symptoms.
Instructions:
Begin with walking with a relaxed upright posture with your mouth closed for the first 5-10 minutes.
Take a normal, quiet breath in and out through your nose.
Pinch the nose with your fingers and hold your breath for 5 steps (note, we count in steps not seconds in this exercise).
Let go of your nose and breathe normally through your nose for 30–60 seconds.
Once your breathing is calm, repeat the exercise, but this time, hold for 10 steps.
Continue with the holds and breaks in between following the pattern of 5,10,10,15,15,20,20 steps… and so on. We are looking to create a moderate air hunger. You should be able to get your breathing back under control within 2 breaths.
Practice up to 10 repetitions in one session.
Allow 5–10 minutes at the end of your walk without any breath holds to allow your breathing to settle.
Clarifications & Tips
Your mouth should be closed for the duration of the exercise. If you have to open your mouth after the breath holds then you are holding your breath for too long!
The breath before the hold is a normal, small, quiet breath with the mouth closed.
The breath hold happens after the out breath. So, we breathe in, breath out, then hold.
Experiment with the length of the pauses and the breaks in between to find a ratio that feels right for your body. During the exercise your body should start to feel warmer. If you feel any sense of distress, then you are holding your breath for too long.
It can be helpful to slowly increase the length of the breath holds in increments of 5 during your session. This slowly “warms up“ the breathing centre and makes it easier to gauge when you have held the breath for too long.
If your control pause is below 15 seconds, then it is advisable to use breath holds of 5–15 seconds.
If you have very low control pause, severe asthma or feel uncomfortable with air hunger, you can use a milder version where you walk on the spot, and stop walking in the breaks.
