Breathing with arm raises pairs a slow breath with a simple shoulder movement. Sitting on a chair, you breathe in as you lift both arms forward and up over your head, then breathe out as you lower them to your sides. It keeps stiff shoulders moving gently and gives your breathing a slow, easy rhythm to follow. You will often find it in seated exercise routines.

How to do the breathing with arm raises

Sit toward the front of a sturdy chair without wheels, feet flat and about hip width apart. Sit tall and let your arms hang by your sides.
Breathe in slowly through your nose and, at the same time, lift both arms forward and up. Straight or slightly bent elbows are both fine.
Time it so the breath in and the lift finish together, with your arms overhead or as high as your shoulders comfortably allow.
Breathe out gently through your mouth as you lower your arms back down to your sides.
Rest for a moment with your arms down, then begin the next breath and lift.

What you should feel

An easy stretch through the shoulders and along the sides of your chest as the arms go up, and a slow, relaxed rhythm to your breathing. It should not feel like hard work.

Common mistakes

Rushing the breath or breathing much deeper than feels natural, which can leave you light-headed.
Arching your lower back or leaning back to get the arms higher.
Letting your shoulders rise toward your ears as the arms go up.
Pushing on into a pinch at the top of the shoulder.

How often

Many programs use 5 to 10 slow repetitions, 1 to 3 times a day, often as a warm-up or a short break from sitting. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Your fingers or the skin around your mouth start to tingle, or you feel light-headed or spaced out. This can mean you are breathing too fast or too deeply, so stop and let your breathing go back to normal. If it has not settled within a few minutes, get medical advice the same day. If you faint, or the numbness or tingling is on one side of your face or body, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
You suddenly become short of breath, your chest feels tight or heavy, or you are far more short of breath than usual. Stop, rest and use your breathing control. Call emergency services if the breathlessness came on suddenly, your chest feels tight or heavy, your breathing does not go back to normal, you are gasping, choking or cannot get your words out, you have pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck or jaw, you feel suddenly confused or very drowsy, or your lips or skin turn very pale, blue or gray (on brown or black skin this can be easier to see on the palms of the hands). If everything settles quickly, get medical advice the same day before you do these exercises again.
A sharp or catching pain in a shoulder as the arm lifts, or tingling that runs down the arm.
Chest pain or pressure, dizziness or feeling faint, a racing or irregular heartbeat, or being far more out of breath than the effort should cause.

From the clinic

The voice guide says to stand, but the video shows the exercise seated on a chair, so these steps follow the video. In the last lift of the video the arms go out to the sides and up instead of forward, which is also fine if it feels easier on your shoulders. Sitting keeps you steady if you tire easily or your balance is not reliable.

There is no need to fill your lungs to the top. A comfortable breath, matched to the speed of your arms, is enough. To practice the breath on its own, try diaphragmatic breathing.

If a shoulder is stiff or sore, lift only as high as is comfortable, or raise one arm at a time. After shoulder surgery, your surgeon and physio will tell you how high the arm may go and when. With a lung or heart condition, check with your doctor or physio how this fits alongside the rest of your care. If chest pain, pressure or tightness does not ease quickly when you rest, spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, feeling light-headed or being short of breath, call emergency services straight away, as this can be a heart attack. If it eases quickly and none of these happen, get medical advice the same day, and do not exercise again until you have been checked. If you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Breathing with arm raises