What do breath awareness exercises NOT promote?

Breath awareness exercises primarily focus on promoting relaxation, increasing lung capacity, and enhancing the flexibility of the rib cage. These exercises encourage individuals to pay attention to their breathing patterns, which can lead to a calming effect on the mind and body, making relaxation a key outcome.

Increased lung capacity occurs as individuals become more mindful and deliberate in their breathing techniques, which can help expand their breath and improve overall respiratory function. Additionally, flexibility of the rib cage can be enhanced through specific breathing exercises that involve deep and controlled inhalations and exhalations, promoting better movement within the thoracic region.

On the other hand, breath awareness exercises do not typically promote an increase in heart rate. In fact, these practices are often associated with a decrease in heart rate as they activate the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to a state of calm rather than stimulating the body or inducing stress that would raise the heart rate. This makes the increase in heart rate an inappropriate outcome of breath awareness exercises.