Have you ever heard of diaphragmatic breathing? Another term you may be more familiar with is deep breathing or abdominal breathing. They all refer to the same thing.
Are you aware that it involves the proper way us humans should be breathing? Not to mention all of the health benefits that comes with it. This blog post will teach you the anatomy of the diaphragm and why it is important to breathe using your diaphragm, the benefits of diaphragmatic breathing, and how to start practicing this breath work today.
**This is not medical advice. Please consult your medical provider for more information.
Anatomy Lesson: The Diaphragm
The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that sits below the lungs. It is a muscle of respiration that involuntarily contracts and relaxes. During contraction, it flattens and subsequently the chest cavity enlarges, filling our lungs with air. As the diaphragm relaxes, it returns to its dome shape and expels the air from our lungs, allowing us to exhale.
What is Diaphragmatic Breathing?
Diaphragmatic breathing refers to the proper and conscious use of the diaphragm for deep breathing which allows us to use a higher percentage of our lung capacity.
Many people nowadays breathe with only the upper chest which does not allow us to take deep breaths or use a larger capacity of our lungs. Instead, we have adapted to taking shorter and more shallow breaths which only allows us to use a small portion of our lungs.
Benefits of Diaphragmatic Breathing
There are many benefits to deep breathing, some of which include reducing heart rate and blood pressure which promotes relaxation. Abdominal breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) while also suppressing the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). This is another reason why deep breathing is beneficial for relaxation; the PNS is known as the “rest and digest” system while the SNS or “fight or flight” system is suppressed. Deep breathing actively promotes the functional pathways of the body for rest.
Deep breathing also helps with mobility of the thoracic and shoulder girdle. When you take a deep breath and expand the chest cavity, you are helping to mobilize the ribs and thoracic spine… to a degree. This can ultimately help with core muscle stability and posture.
Getting Started Today
Here is an easy way to get started with diaphragmatic breathing:
- Lie on your back in a comfortable position with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
- Place one hand on your upper chest and the other on your belly.
- Take a deep breath in. Try to fill your belly with air first, meaning your hand on your belly should rise before your hand on your chest moves.
- Allow your belly to fill with air completely before your upper chest fills with air and expands, allowing the hand on your chest to rise. Keep practicing if this is hard to coordinate!
- When you have taken as deep of a breath as you can, exhale, allowing the hand on your chest to fall first. This is the opposite order from where we started.
- The hand on your belly should be the last to fall. Repeat for a few breath cycles.
With deep breathing the hand on your belly should be the first to rise and the last to fall. This means you are successfully using your diaphragm to breathe deeply.
TL;DR
This blog post discusses the anatomy of the diaphragm, what diaphragmatic breathing is, and the included health benefits. It also teaches how to start practicing deep breathing today. Give it a go!
