During the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, it would be advisable for us to take care of our lungs. As doctors have learned, COVID-19 can cause a range of breathing problems from mild to severe. Keeping our lungs healthy so they function well could help maintain overall health during the epidemic.

Jogging, running, swimming, cycling and other types of aerobic exercises have a positive impact on our lung function.

Ryanto, for example, swims twice a week on his doctor’s advice, and the 30-something feels better, especially when pacing his breathing to swim laps at the pool.

“When I swim, I hold my breath regularly for, say, 15 seconds, and being in a horizontal position helps me [expel] excess mucous from my lungs. I always feel fresh and fit after swimming,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Quoting his doctor, Ryanto said, “‘Swimming regularly allows our heart to become stronger and capable of pumping more blood with each contraction. Our lungs will adapt by learning to absorb more oxygen, and this will also strengthen the muscles in our diaphragm and [along the] ribs that control our breathing.’”

Of the many options of aerobic exercises that we can choose from, several exercises especially stand out as regards to their focus on breathing to improve lung capacity and health.

Followers of Satria Nusantara, a foundation based in Yogyakarta that focuses on the “art of breathing”, for example, practice a special breathing technique in addition to movement exercises.

According to its founder Maryanto, ordinary breathing is a function of the autonomic nervous system over which we have limited conscious control. However, the foundation’s breathing techniques for developing wellness and inner power involves conscious breathing and is practiced on a regular basis.

Improving lung capacity

The Satria Nusantara breathing technique aims to improve the capacity of the lungs for improved respiratory function, Maryanto writes in Ilmu Satria Nusantara (the science of Satria Nusantara).

“In other ordinary aerobic exercises, the breaths can be deep and fast, but maximum depth and speed can be reached only through breathing exercises [done] in a sitting position,” says Maryanto.

Doing breathing exercises while seated helped the alveoli – tiny air sacs in the lungs – to inflate and be used actively in breathing, which was a good way to improve respiratory health, he says.

The Satria Nusantara breathing technique provides exercises that allow the activation of not only the ordinary breathing muscles, but also supporting muscles like the abdominal muscles and muscles at the base of the hip, especially during abdominal contractions.

“Active breathing muscles will help [people] who have breathing problems such as asthma,” he says.

The breathing exercises actively use the muscles, so it is only natural that doing the exercises will raise the body temperature to produce sweat, even in a sitting position.

“I used to have shortness of breath, but after joining the breathing exercises I can breathe normally, and so I think breathing exercises can help reduce shortness of breath caused by limited lung function,” says one follower of the method, who preferred to remain anonymous.

Salyanto, who heads Satria Nusantara’s Jakarta branch on Jl. Fatmawati in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, told the Post that the COVID-19 outbreak had prompted growth in membership.

“We’ve seen a 10 percent increase in the number of members compared to [our] records before the COVID-19 outbreak. Many participants include old members that had not attended the exercises for a long time. Apart from wanting to keep their lungs healthy, they also want to boost their immune system by attending regular breathing [classes],” he says.

The foundation resumed its breathing classes following the relaxation of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in Jakarta in June.

“We adhere to the new health protocols during the exercises by, for instance, keeping the participants apart,” says Salyanto.

Meanwhile, the Melati Suci Indonesia institute, also based in Yogyakarta, teaches a breathing method for healing. The method emphasizes the combined use of breathing exercises and dzikir (dhikr), or the physical and the spiritual, for healing both physical and mental disorders.

“Many kinds of diseases can be cured by applying the breathing method we have introduced, but the problem is that not everyone can do it. It requires the right exercises,” Melati Suci Indonesia chair Khairul Ihsan said as quoted in Suara Merapi, a local newspaper.

Like other aerobic exercises, the Melati Suci breathing method had a positive impact on the lungs and had thus attracted more people to join its classes amid the health crisis, said one participant who requested anonymity.

Ihsan says that the institute is open to anyone eager to learn the art of breathing, irrespective of their religious background.

Aside from these homegrown methods, many internationally acclaimed wellness and fitness practices harness the power of conscious breathing. These include yoga, which originated in ancient India, and tai chi, which originated in ancient China. So, which is your pick for maintaining healthy lungs?