How do you increase your breath capacity for Qur’an recitation?
✦ This article has been updated and republished at How To Memorise The Quran — be sure to read it there! ✦
“How do I control the breathing capacity when I am reciting the Qur’an?”
“Is there a way, one can have longer breath capacity?”
“Can I be advised on how to increase my breath capacity?”
“I struggle with breathing while reciting verses, what do I do?”
“I try to recite like Qari X, but my breath is short, what do I do?”
You get the idea.
These are common questions I get asked every now and then. So, today, I'll discuss and share exercises with you that you could try to adopt in order to increase your breath capacity.
Is having a longer breathing capacity natural or something that can be acquired (through training)?
It's a combination of both.
As human beings we are species who survive and live with air. We breathe, we live. We don’t breathe, we don’t live. As healthline.com notes: “Your lung capacity is the total amount of air that your lungs can hold. Over time, our lung capacity and lung function typically decreases slowly as we age after our mid-20s. For many people with a chronic lung disease, shortness of breath presents many challenges. Some conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can significantly speed up these reductions in lung capacity and functioning. This leads to difficulty in breathing and shortness of breath. There can also be other conditions that affect lung capacity. So there is an element of nature. Fortunately, there are exercises that can help maintain and increase lung capacity, making it easier to keep your lungs healthy and get your body the oxygen it needs.”
Things that are part of this are:
- Big lungs / big chest
- Strong stomach muscles
- Regular rhythmic breathing pattern
- Breathing that done right and is not easily restrained
- A pleasant breathing rate even when you are reciting to or before someone (confidence)
- Exercise
- Motivation
- Persistence
- Hard work
- Self-awareness (you need to know and understand what you're capable of, including the health factors).
Having a big breathing capacity naturally therefore is as a result of both good health and training.
✦ This article has been updated and republished at How To Memorise The Quran — be sure to read it there! ✦
Qāri Mubashir Anwar
www.howtomemorisethequran.com
