Diaphragmatic Breathing: The Correct Way To Breathe

Benefits of Diaphragmatic Breathing

Diaphragm is a large dome shaped muscle that is situated at the base of the rib cage; it divides chest from the stomach. When you breathe diaphragmatically, you do so by stretching down your diaphragm and not by expanding your chest bones.

When it stretches down, the diaphragm pulls down the lungs and fills them with air. When it gets pushed up, it empties the lungs.

Diaphragmatic breathing has a therapeutic affect: it is deeply relaxing. This way of breathing makes efficient use of the respiratory system: there is least burden on heart and lungs, and there is maximum inter-change of oxygen and carbon dioxide, and the correct balance of oxygen and CO2 is maintained.

This is the most natural and healthy way of breathing that we tend to forget over time; our breathing becomes shallow or irregular or both. For living a healthy and low stress life, it is important to re-learn diaphragmatic breathing. With some practice it will become your normal way of breathing. To check whether you are breathing correctly, take this free breath test.

The benefits of breathing diaphragmatically can be summarized as-

• It triggers relaxation response,
• It improves flow of blood,
• It slows down the rate of breathing, so less energy is consumed in breathing,
• It strengthens the lungs and diaphragm,
• It decreases the demand of oxygen,
• It strengthens the immune system.

A Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise

While breathing diaphragmatically, you breathe with the help of your diaphragm. You do not puff out your chest. You breathe air into your stomach, rather than the chest. By gently expanding down the diaphragm, the air starts filling the lungs; and gentle pushing up of the diaphragm empties the lungs. Your abdomen rises when you breathe in, and falls in when you breathe out. Your chest should remain still.

Following is a common breathing exercise for practicing diaphragmatic breathing. Before starting the exercise, ensure that you are wearing loose and comfortable clothes. Then sit straight on a chair. Your shoulders should be squared but relaxed.

1. Place your right hand on your lower chest and left hand on your abdomen.
2. Slowly inhale through your nose.
3. As you breathe in, your left hand should rise slightly. As you breathe out, it will fall in. There should be little or no movement in your right hand.
4. Keep your inhalations and exhalations of equal duration. Your breathing should be long, slow, and regular. It may take a little practice for breathing to become regular. Allow some unevenness in the beginning.
5. Practice this four to five times. Rest and repeat.

In the beginning, Practice the exercise for 4 to 5 minutes, two to three times a day.

The breathing should be deep, slow and smooth. Try not to force all of the air out of the lungs-- let it be natural and gentle. Keep the inhalation and exhalation of the same duration. Practice it for some time and allow the breathing process to fall into a rhythmic cycle.

Diaphragmatic breathing is also known as abdominal breathing, belly breathing, deep breathing and seesaw breathing.

You should note that yoga and pranayama teachers differentiate between the diaphragmatic breathing, belly breathing and abdominal breathing. According to them, the most compete form of breathing is what is known as 'the complete breath,' or the 'three part breath.'

Dr. Mike White has done extensive research on breathing. To get to know if you are breathing right, take his free breathing test.

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Further Reading

Deep Breathing For Stress Relief.

Three Part Breathing Exercise – Deerga Swasa

Why Proper Breathing is So Important For a Low Stress Life?

The Relaxation Response: A Perfect Antidote to Stress

Relieving Stress By Exercise

Meditation:Stress Relief Through Awareness

Top 10 relaxation CD, DVDs, tapes and MP3 downloads

Meditation: Stress Relief Through Awareness

How Does Stress Affect a Person....How It Affects You?

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