(I just rolled-up my fist and breathed through it. And it provided lots of resistance. So it looks like I might be able to make this work with just my fist.)
If anyone knows, please hit reply and let me know.
Intervention section mentions that study participants used a device called 'POWERbreathe K3 inspiratory muscle training device'.
Googling the device provides these videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd5U7mDhFi4 & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvtZW5Q1ox8
When I was working out in the gym in the summer in pandemic season with masks on, I noticed my breathlessness, the movement of the mask amplifies the visual and it was easy to draw a comparison in this way with my surrounding gym peers, and indeed I realized my lungs were in much worse shape than I'd expected, so I'm going to give this thing a try.
Edit: model featured in YouTube is not the same one the study used but close ‘nuff to get the idea.
The point is to breathe in and out as strongly/deeply and slowly as possible. You don't "do" anything aside from breathing and increasing the difficulty mode as your strength improves (over e.g. weeks).
If you breathe out quickly you're losing a large amount of the benefit of the exercise.
PS - I own a POWERBREATHE Sport, no relation to the company or this study.
Zen and the Brain by James Austin details his study of Zen monks brains which revealed this breathing-stress connection scientifically decades ago.
If I remember correctly, the exhale is especially important to triggering certain relaxation states; brains of monks who were especially focused on long exhales were appreciably different from other monks.
This is an incredibly elitist and exclusive observation.
The use of a tool that provides positive health benefits to assist those unfamiliar with zen breathing techniques should be applauded. Meditation is ‘easy’ to those who are open and have time to commit to it, and it’s not for everyone. To some it might even be outside their own cultural or personal comfort zone, and that is entirely OK.
And what on earth is the problem with a ‘uni-tasking gadget’? My garage, bathroom and kitchen drawers are all full of these things. In fact, with the obvious exception of the smart phone, it’s the multi-tasking gadgets that should be derided (the outdoors industry is full of these, as epitomised by the ‘axesaw’).
You found a holy war in a disposable comment. You might consider your own knee jerk reaction over something so insignificant.
“Unnecessary unitasker” is not equivalent to “all unitaskers.” Not sure how you can take the language as is an extrapolate so much drama.
Two sentences and look at the thin skins remind me “we’re a society!”
The tool offers a cheap shortcut to a positive health outcome. The alternatives could be medication, or a guided practice - both of which require financial and time commitments. Why would you dismiss it on some ideological grounds?