Sessions designed by physiotherapists
Follow 24 recorded exercise sessions at home over eight weeks. We monitor your progress to help you improve.
Free support for people living with lung disease
Breathing exercises and support, through WhatsApp.
A free, eight-week lung health programme through WhatsApp, with guided exercise videos, practical advice and support from physiotherapists.
Guided exercise sessions
Follow along at home
Follow along at homeAfter your session
How hard are you breathing now from today’s session?
🟢 Too Easy🟡 Just Right🔴 Too Breathless
Respira HealthToday
How Respira works
A structured programme, from your first health questions to your final progress check.
1. Apply through WhatsApp
Answer questions about your health so we can check whether the programme is suitable for you.
2. Follow your programme
Complete three exercise sessions a week, with practical lung health education and WhatsApp reminders.
3. Share your progress
Record completed sessions, tell us how breathless you felt, and send questions to our team.
This programme complements professional medical care. It is not a substitute for medical advice or emergency care.
Clinical approach
Support that fits daily life
Pulmonary rehabilitation is one of the most well evidenced treatments in respiratory medicine and can help people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) manage symptoms and stay active. Respira provides exercise sessions and practical support through WhatsApp, helping extend access where clinic-based services are limited, unaffordable or difficult to access.
The programme is developed with qualified physiotherapists. Over eight weeks, we monitor your progress to support you to improve. The programme complements care from your doctor or clinical team. It does not replace it.
Practical lung health education
Learn about managing breathlessness, everyday activities and your lung health.
Support from our physiotherapy team
Our physiotherapists review your progress. Send questions through WhatsApp for the team to respond.
Research and clinical references
These sources describe the evidence for pulmonary rehabilitation, remote delivery and Respira’s 2026 pilot.
- WhatsApp-based pulmonary rehabilitation in India: pilot analysis (Respira Health, 2026)
Our analysis of a small 2026 pilot found improvements in key health outcomes among participants who completed exercise in the programme, despite having no prior clinical relationship with the Respira team.
- Pulmonary rehabilitation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (McCarthy et al., 2015)
This review found clinically significant improvements in quality of life and exercise capacity. Its authors concluded that further trials comparing pulmonary rehabilitation with conventional care for COPD were not warranted.
- Telerehabilitation for chronic respiratory disease (Cox et al., 2021)
This review found that pulmonary rehabilitation delivered remotely can achieve outcomes similar to centre-based pulmonary rehabilitation, with no safety issues identified.
- WHO: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Overview of COPD, its causes and care.
- The Lancet Global Health: chronic respiratory disease in India (2018)
Population-level research on the burden of chronic respiratory disease in India.
The people behind Respira
Built with healthcare and delivery experience
Our team combines cardiopulmonary physiotherapy, digital health and nonprofit programme delivery.
Oli Munns
Co-Founder
Oli brings experience in nonprofit strategy and delivery, including scaling digital health projects nationally at the UK Department of Health.
Rowan Lund
Co-Founder
Rowan has led operations for health and other high-impact charities, including Family Empowerment Media’s digital health programme in Nigeria.
Sampada Kulkarni
Lead Consultant Physiotherapist
Sampada holds a Master’s in Cardiovascular and Respiratory Physiotherapy, with experience in patient care, treatment planning and teaching.
Sushil Singh
Consultant Physiotherapist
Sushil is a physiotherapist and researcher with experience delivering pulmonary rehabilitation in rural communities through the PuRe trial.
Our advisors
Marshall Thomas
Executive Director, HealthLearn
Health-tech expertise
Sidharth Rath
CEO, Swasthya Plus Network
Media expertise
Mrinmayee Kolthakar
CEO, The Pulmonary Rehab
Medical expertise
Narelle Cox
Tele-rehabilitation academic
Research expertiseFor partners and supporters
Help make rehabilitation easier to reach
Our mission is to make lung rehabilitation easier to access in India. Travelling to a clinic and finding specialist support can put regular care out of reach. Respira brings a structured exercise and education programme to people at home through WhatsApp, supported by physiotherapists.
We welcome conversations with healthcare providers, researchers, community organisations and supporters working to improve respiratory care.
Send an enquiry
This form is for general enquiries about partnership, research or other collaboration.
- To join the free programme, message us on WhatsApp.
- For vacancies, see our LinkedIn jobs page.