Post Covid Breathing Exercises

On September 3, 2021, I tested positive of dengue fever. The doctor advised for admission for proper monitoring and management. Dehydration from dengue scares me, so I relented and admitted to a local community hospital on the following day. In observance of hospital protocol, I was tested for Covid 19 antigen which came out positive. Since the antigen test is positive, I had to be tested for RT-PCR for confirmation. And lo and behold, the result came out positive. Aside from fever which lingered for days, I felt I lost my sense of taste and smell. So here was I, officially a Covid 19 patient and became part of statistic. Thankfully, with God's grace, I had no serious complications. Lack of appetite was my main concern for the duration of my hospital admission.

When I was home after seven days, I started a rejuvenation program: proper nutrition, vitamin supplementation and exercise.

My exercise regimen of walking and breathing exercises. I found this Yawn to a Smile exercise simple but rejuvenating. Found this from the website hopkins medicine.com.

Deep breathing is the essence of this exercise. I preferred the Yawn to a Smile over other deep breathing exercises because the motions also strengthen coordination in the arms and shoulders. While doing it, I can feel that the movement of the muscles in my chest which give the diaphragm space to expand.

With or without Covid 19 experience, this exercise is good for maintaining a healthy oxygen saturation level. For execution, just follow these steps:

• Sit upright on the edge of your bed or in a sturdy chair

• Reach arms overhead and create a big stretching yawn.

• Bring your arms down and finish by smiling for three seconds.

• Repeat for one minute.

But if you are a visual person, you can follow the exercise through this link.