Strelnikova Breathing Exercises: What the Method Is and How to Do It
The short answer first, because that is what people look for: Strelnikova breathing exercises are a system built around a short, sharp inhale through the nose, taken at the exact moment a movement compresses the chest. The exhale is passive, through the mouth, and you pay no attention to it. Everything else in the method is counting and the order of the exercises.
Where the method comes from
Alexandra Strelnikova, the author of the system, was a singing teacher. The set was originally put together to restore the voice in singers, and only later spread as general breathing gymnastics. That origin explains the logic: the whole method is built around the inhale, because the inhale is what singing needs.
Three rules, without which it is a different method
- The inhale is short, sharp and noisy, through the nose only. As if you were suddenly sniffing at something. You do not think about depth at all.
- The exhale is passive, through the mouth, on its own. You neither push it out nor count it. Any attempt to control the exhale breaks the mechanics.
- The inhale coincides with a movement that compresses the chest. Not after the movement and not before it, but together with it.
How the counting works
The basic unit is eight inhales in a row, called an "eight" in the method. Twelve eights make ninety six inhales, and that number is what the system calls a "hundred". Beginners are usually given a different count: four inhales in a row, twenty four sets, with pauses between them. The total is the same, the load per set is lower.
The first exercises of the set
Palms. Stand with your elbows bent and palms facing away from you. On each sharp inhale through the nose, squeeze your palms into fists. Four inhales, a pause, and so on twenty four times.
Epaulettes. Fists at your waist. On the inhale, push your arms sharply down, opening the fists, as if pushing something away. Shoulders tense, arms straight.
Pump. A light bend forward, rounded back, arms loose. The inhale happens at the lowest point of the bend, short and noisy. The bend stays shallow, never below the waist.
Cat. A light squat with a turn of the torso, hands making a grasping motion at waist level. The inhale comes at the moment of the turn.
Hug your shoulders. Arms cross over the chest as if you were hugging yourself, and the inhale happens at that moment. The arms do not swap places and do not open wide.
Big pendulum. A combination of the pump and the hug: a bend forward with an inhale, then a slight arch back with an inhale. This one is harder and gets added later.
The limits, stated plainly
The authors and followers of the method describe it as having a broad effect on health. We neither repeat nor confirm those claims: the evidence base for the method remains a subject of debate, and we promise no medical effect here. What can be said honestly is this: it is a structured set of exercises with a clear count, done standing and without equipment.
A separate word on caution. The method puts an intense load on breathing and on the cardiovascular system. During pregnancy, with high blood pressure, cardiovascular conditions, glaucoma, a history of seizures, after recent surgery, or during a flare of any chronic condition, it is not done without speaking to a doctor first.
If you need calmer breathing instead
Strelnikova is an active method and it does not suit everyone, nor every state. If the task is the opposite one, to settle down and lower tension, techniques with the reverse logic work better: ones where the exhale is longer than the inhale. Those are described on the Ukrainian part of this site, along with the full set of five basic techniques.