Your diaphragm is the dome-shaped muscle between your lungs and your abdomen. As you inhale, your diaphragm lowers, your lungs expand and your abdomen moves outward. As you exhale, your diaphragm rises, your lungs relax and your abdomen moves back inward. Diaphragmatic breathing refers to using this muscle fully as you inhale and exhale.
Benefits
Breathing is a natural expansion and contraction within your body. Babies automatically breath with their diaphragm. By breathing with your diaphragm, your lungs expand and expel waste more efficiently. Diaphragmatic breathing slows your breath, relaxes your nervous system, detoxifies your organs, aids circulation and digestion, improves your immune system, reduces high blood pressure, builds stamina and heightens your sense of well-being.
Whenever you feel stress, check to see how you're breathing. Anytime you focus on your breath, you become more aware, focused and relaxed, which helps you function better overall.
Chest Breathing
Emotional or physical stress can cause your breath to become shallow, also known as chest breathing, which limits the efficiency of your lungs. Chest breathing tenses your muscles, speeds up your heart rate, weakens your diaphragm and cuts you off from your emotions, according to Dennis Lewis, author of "The Tao of Natural Breathing." Your body receives less oxygen and uses up more energy.
The result is an overstimulated sympathetic nervous system, which can adversely affect your physical and mental health. By becoming aware of your breath, you can teach yourself diaphragmatic breathing so that eventually you are doing it automatically.
Testing Your Breath
Give yourself a test to determine whether you are diaphragmatic or chest breathing. Lie on your back and place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your belly. When you inhale, if the hand on your chest rises more, you are chest-breathing. If the hand on your abdomen rises more, you're using your diaphragm.
Diaphragmatic Breathing Practice
To practice diaphragmatic breathing, lie on your belly with your your arms folded underneath your forehead. Your body naturally uses your diaphragm for breathing in this position. Notice the rhythm of your breath and the movements in your body, specifically, your abdomen, the sides of your rib cage and your lower back. Observe how, as you inhale and exhale, your abdomen presses against and pulls back from the floor, your lower ribs expand and contract, and your lower back rises and falls. The more you practice this breathing technique, the more natural it will become.
