Of course, breathing is a part of all you do and so it is especially difficult to identify drills that can easily be categorized by breathing. But, we will attempt to provide drills here that enhance breathing when possible. One easy way to enhance any other drill is to add different breathing challenges to the drills. Those will often be included with the other drills as ideas for how they might be enhanced by various breathing alterations.
In our work, breathing is always inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. This is indeed opposite of what many have learned in school sports but the difference is important. Breathing in this way has many benefits - for one, it allows your nose to warm and filter the air as it is meant to do. As with everything in Systema, you can vary your breathing to alleviate specific limitations you may have but keep the ideal in mind when doing the work.
This one would especially be useful when combined with other relaxation drills.
Check out the video of some of the drills demonstrated by Kevin Secours.
One of the common warmups in most Systema schools is to do slow pushups, squats, or situps. Variations provide for doing them with or without a partner.
Variation
Vary the exercise with additional challenges - for instance, pushups done while holding a knife and switching the knife hand with each pushup.
Vary the drill by having a partner give you strikes to the belly during situps or squats.
Vary the situps by having a partner get down on all fours and you hook your feet behind his thighs and sit back so that your back rests on his head. He lowers his head as you go back then lifts with his head as you come back up. Both of you get a workout that way. Another partner variation is for one partner to lie on his back then the other approach from behind his head then you clasp hands - as the top partner goes down, the bottom partner bends his arms and as the top partner straightens to go up, the bottom partner straightens his arms.
Vary pushups by moving your arms out at odd angles - it will help to spread your feet apart a bit. Or, vary pushups by lifting one foot with each down-up.
Vary pushups by pressing your feet up against a wall so that they are well above your shoulders. The effort required to keep your feet pressed hard enough against the wall so that they do not slide down will enhance the effort required to do the pushup.
Vary pushps by adding a stick to restrict your range so that the exercise becomes a static isometric exercise - put the stick across the back of your neck then loop your arms over the stick and put your fists against the ground (your fists will be by your head) and try to do the pushup. Hold the pushup at the limited range while breathing a set number of breaths, start with 5 or fewer breaths then increase it as your strength increases. Move the stick across the small of your back and loop your arms over it so that your fists are pressed against the ground at about your waist, use the same breathing pattern as before.
Vary squats by having partners back-to-back holding a tennis ball in the small of their backs pressed against each other. A good squat means your heals do not come off the floor and your back remains straight - doing this variation helps ensure your back is straight.
Vary squats with a partner so that you face each other, clasp hands, and squat with one leg. This improves balance while challenging your strength.
Vary squats by gathering everybody in a line like a chorus line - arms across your neighbors' shoulders - and all squat together in unison. Agree upon a breathing pattern - such as, 5 breaths at 1/4 position, 5 at the 1/2 position, and 5 at the full squatted position then repeat the pattern on the way up. Or, make the pattern 15 breaths for the entire distance down and 15 breaths for the distance back up. One secret - do not be in the middle of the line, those in the middle will be most likely to have the hardest time getting back up.
Vary squats by going all the way to the ground and sitting flat with your legs outstretched in front of you before going back up again - do not use your hands! Or, vary them by going all the way to the ground and laying flat either on your face or back then get back up without the help of your arms or hands.
Vary squats by adding a stick. Place the stick across your shoulders and put your hands up over the stick from behind. As you squat (especially with the sitdown variation), the stick will pinch if you are not relaxed and correct your tension.
In your everyday activity such as climbing a flight of stairs, attempt to control your breathing with your steps - for instance, inhale with 4 steps and exhale with 4 steps.
One twist to television watching and making use of commercials is to do the exercises during commercial breaks.