I had a great conversation with a client the other day about belly breathing. She was telling me that she has never understood this breathing into her belly thing, as it has always felt so forced and tight to try and expand her belly when she breaths in.
Interesting. So we started to break down this idea that really we are only thinking of the direction that he diaphragm moves. It moves down when you breath in, and up when you breath out. Telling people to let their belly expand is cue that we have created that sort of dumbs down the whole process and can be easily slid into a yoga class, but for some the belly may not feel expansion very much at all. Especially if your diaphragm isn’t easily moving in these down/inhale and up/exhale directions.
This is a great visual of the movement that the diaphragm makes, and if you are a chest breather, then it make take some unwinding to let that pattern go. And if you are a chest breather that is trying to add belly expansion, of course you may feel like it is tight and restrictive, it can’t happen. So don’t “try” to expand the belly, just bring your awareness to the base of your ribcage, even set your hands there, and see if you can allow the diaphragm to move in its natural directions just a little, noticing any restrictions and not pushing up against them but just letting the breath be, watching it, releasing tension, and slowly, slowly, you will notice a shift.
And if this is cool, lets book a session and continue to unwind your essential breath. It is so amazing.
“Chest Breath” Vs. “Belly Breath” – What’s The Deal?