Belly Breathing?
WHAT?? Have you heard of belly breathing? Well let me just help explain a little bit of what this technique is. Belly breathing is also known as Diaphragmatic breathing. This type of breathing engages your diaphragm. The diaphragm is right at the bottom of the ribcage.
See most people have a habit of breathing only with their chest. We will ware restrictive clothing, have bad posture, plus lots of stress. These things can weaken the muscles that are involved in breathing.
When you belly breath, you will put less pressure on your chest. So, when your breathing, try to focus on your belly moving in and out vs your chest. Hard? Sure, it is, we are going to have to retrain ourselves how to breath differently.
So, when you feel upset, sad, stressed or just need to get away try belly breathing. This will most definitely help. This technique will help losing the body and relief the mind. A technique worth trying.
Here are the simple steps.
Go to a quiet place, put some meditation music if you like. Lie on your back (you can put a pillow under your head and knees).
Put one hand on your chest and one right under your ribcage
Breath in through your nose slowly, you should feel your hand on you belly move up. Let this happen naturally, you do not want to force it.
Breath out through your mouth. Just let your belly relax and you should feel your hand on your belly move inward towards your spine.
Do this for about 5 minutes. Get to the point where you can do it for 10 minutes.
That is all! It might be weird at first because you are doing something new with your body.
**if you have COPD or asthma, or a lung condition please consult with your doctor before trying any breathing exercises.
Happy Breathing!
Stephanie
