Diaphragmatic Breathing (Belly Breathing)

Have you noticed how your breath today? Do you breathe correctly with your belly movement or just only chest movement? Do you know that movement of the muscles related to respiration is important for the right and functional breathing.

There are 2 primary muscles movement when you breathe, diaphragm and intercostal muscles. The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle located at the base of the lungs and the top of the abdomen. It is the most important muscle in breathing. It contracts and flattens during inhalation, increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity and allowing the lungs to expand. During exhalation, it relaxes and moves upwards, helping to expel air from the lungs.

Intercostal muscles are found between the ribs and are divided into two groups: external intercostal muscles and internal intercostal muscles. External intercostal muscles help expand the chest cavity by lifting the ribs up and outward during inhalation, meanwhile internal intercostal muscles assist in forced exhalation by pulling the ribs down and inward.

Benefit

Diaphragmatic breathing helps to reduce stress, improve lung efficiency, and promote relaxation by engaging the diaphragm fully. In this article, I will explain how to practice Diaphragmatic breathing exercise.?

Practice diaphragmatic breathing with pursed lip:

When exhale through your moth slowly with pursed lip, the air in the lung will be slowly released, hence exercising your lung. This practice can help improving breathlessness in Asthma and COPD.

How to practice

1. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. If sitting, keep your back straight. If lying down, place a pillow under your head and knees for support.
2. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen, just below your ribcage.
3. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose (about 4 seconds), allowing your abdomen to rise while keeping your chest relatively still. Your hand on your abdomen should move up, while the hand on your chest remains mostly stationary.
4. Exhale slowly through your mouth (4-8 seconds), letting your abdomen fall. Feel the hand on your abdomen move down.
5. Continue this breathing pattern for 5-10 minutes, focusing on the rise and fall of your abdomen.

Tips:

• Practice this technique twice a day to develop the habit.
• Use diaphragmatic breathing whenever you feel stressed or anxious to quickly calm your mind and body.

If you want the guided VDO for this practice, please click this link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsiGXvt6Js0&list=PL7U6cL9dqc6qTdP_RGagXZd5aGDE1OYvn

See you next chapter

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