Sitting like a pasha: A brief introduction to the breathe-easy position

Sitting like a pasha is a simple, breathe-easy position. It can help to quickly ease respiratory distress. In this position, your weight is on your arms. This makes it easier for the respiratory support muscles to do their job. Your chest and abdomen can freely expand as you breathe. This makes it easier to breathe.

Sitting like a pasha is, incidentally, also the ideal position for inhalation therapy with a nebuliser using, for example, NaCl or hypertonic saline solution. This is because it means that inhalation solutions and medications can be breathed deep into the lungs.

You can sit like a pasha in an armchair or in a bed with a high headboard. Respiratory therapist Marlies Ziegler explains how both variants of this position work.

• Sit in an armchair and stretch your legs loosely in front of you.
• Lean back with your back and head resting against the back of the armchair.
• Raise your arms a little by placing a cushion under your arms on the armrests.
• Take deep and calm breaths in and out. As you breathe out you can use the pursed lip technique if that helps.

• Lie down in a bed or on a recliner.
• Make sure your head and upper body are higher. If the bed or recliner does not have a mobile back support, position cushions behind your back.
• Ensure that your hips are angled and your back is upright. Your head and chest may not lean forward, but should rather rest comfortably on the bed, recliner or cushions.
• Stretch out your legs. If necessary, pop a cushion under your knees if that is more comfortable.
• Place blankets or cushions under your arms, so they are raised.
• • Take deep and calm breaths in and out. As you breathe out you can use the pursed lip technique if that helps.

This article was written in cooperation with Marlies Zieger. She works as a physiotherapist in private practice in Munich. She specialises in respiratory therapy. She has been treating patients with chronic obstructive and restrictive airway diseases such as asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis (CF) and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), for more than 20 years.

More exercises and information for free breathing

• 9 techniques that anyone with asthma should know: Breathing exercises for asthma
• Everyone should know these: Helpful breathing techniques
• These 3 tips can help: How can I deal with respiratory distress
• Exercises and advice from a physiotherapist: Shortness of breath and panic attacks
• Positions that make it easier to breathe: How to sit or stand and what to do if you are short of breath or have a cough

Note: The information in this blog post is not a treatment recommendation. The needs of patients vary greatly from person to person. The treatment approaches presented should be viewed only as examples. PARI recommends that patients always consult with their physician or physiotherapist first.