The average person takes about 20,000 breaths a day and you would think that makes us experts, but it turns out that most of us are probably not breathing correctly. All of us are born knowing how to breathe – the diaphragm muscle below the rib cage works to draw air into the lungs and let it out.
As time passes, we forget how to breathe properly and most of us begin to ‘chest breathe’ which results in the muscles between the ribs and neck raising and lowering the rib cage to pull and push air in and out of the lungs. This is a lot more effort for the body and can lead to a tighter neck, chest and vocal cords.
Relearning how to belly breathe – using the diaphragm – can have a large positive impact on our health. Research has suggested that people with gastroesophageal reflux disease who practise it after eating reduce how often they experience reflux. Richard Crockett MD of Mayo Clinic said that people with sleep apnoea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can “find some relief with belly breathing, which helps them feel less short of breath and anxious”. It can also “slow your heartbeat and lower or stabilise blood pressure”.
Belly breathing encourages full oxygen exchange which has important health benefits
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But how can you relearn how to belly breathe? The American Lung Association suggests beginning by sitting up straight in a comfortable chair and putting your hands on your belly – though you can lay down if it is more comfortable. Close your mouth and take a deep breath through your nose – when you slowly breathe in you want your belly to “fill with air and get bigger like a balloon”. You should blow their air out slowly through pursed lips “as if you were blowing bubbles”. Continue to concentrate on breathing like this for five to ten minutes and relax.
Belly breathing (also referred to as ‘abdominal breathing’) is beneficial as it encourages full oxygen exchange, according to Harvard Medical School. This slows down the heartbeat and can lower blood pressure. It also stimulates the vagus nerve which runs from the head, through the chest and to the colon and activates your relaxation response. This technique slows the body down, helping it shift to a “rest and digest” state which can reduce inflammation, according to Mayo Clinic.
Another exercise to help you understand what belly breathing is involves sitting in a chair and leaning forwards. You should then put your elbows on your knees and breathe naturally which forces you to breathe from the belly “so you know what the sensation feels like”, Dr Katherine Rosa of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine said. Rosa also suggests placing one hand on your chest and one on your belly when breathing – the chest hand should be still while the belly hand moves out like you are blowing up a balloon.