How To Do Abdominal Breathing Exercise? A Step-By-Step Guide And It’s Benefits!
Health
Published on: 22-Mar-2024
10 min read
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Anushka Tripathi
How To Do Abdominal Breathing Exercise? A Step-By-Step Guide And It’s Benefits!
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Dear readers, do you ever feel like your breath is stuck in your chest, leaving you feeling tense and out of sorts? Or maybe you crave a stronger core, but traditional exercises just don't seem to hit the mark. The solution might be right under your nose (or should we say, in your belly button!) – also known as abdominal breathing.
Think about this: you may have noticed that little babies' bellies move up and down as they sleep. This is because children use their abdominal muscles to breathe, so the developing body receives enough oxygen, and their organs grow. This is a natural behaviour. But as you grow old, your breathing muscles begin to change, and your body begins to use chest and shoulder muscles while breathing.
Studies have shown that breathing through the chest and shoulder muscles fills only one-third of the lungs with oxygen, while breathing through the abdominal muscles fills the entire lung with oxygen. This is why experts believe abdominal breathing is more beneficial. This is also called diaphragmatic breathing. In this blog, we will learn about the abdominal breathing exercise benefits and the correct abdominal breathing method with a step-by-step guide. Ready to charge up your vitality? Read on!
Table Of Contents
What Is Abdominal Breathing Technique?
How To Do Abdominal Breathing Yoga?
What Are The Benefits Of Belly Breathing Exercises?
The Final Say
FAQs
References
What Is Abdominal Breathing Technique?
Breathing is an essential part of life. The diaphragm is one of the main respiratory muscles, and its function is essential for proper breathing. Abdominal breathing, also called diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing, is a deep breathing technique that uses the diaphragm, a large dome-shaped muscle that runs horizontally across the abdomen below the ribcage. So, when you breathe in, your stomach should expand and when you exhale, your abdomen should contract or move inward.
Abdominal breathing refers to lying on your back with one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach and breathing slowly and deeply through the nose using the diaphragm while minimising chest movement. During breathing, the practitioner should keep the chest as still as possible and focus on contracting the diaphragm to ensure that the abdomen moves in the direction away from the arms.
Belly breathing has been shown to be very effective as a calming aid and for many health reasons. Breathing is a vital link between our mind and body, making it one of the most sensitive indicators or warning signs of stress. Increasing awareness of our breathing and practising breathing exercises can reduce stress levels and help us feel more relaxed and calmer.
How To Do Abdominal Breathing Yoga?
You can practise this pranayama for 5-10 minutes once or twice a day. The different stages of diaphragmatic breathing are:
Step: 1 |
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Step: 2 |
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Step: 3 |
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Step: 4 |
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What Are The Benefits Of Belly Breathing Exercises?
Studies show that the benefits of belly breathing include:
1. Improved Endurance
As you get used to using and strengthening your diaphragm as you breathe, you actually tend to expend less energy and breathe more slowly. This may result in lower oxygen requirements and improved endurance compared to relying on shallow neck/chest breathing.
Interestingly, for athletes and people with active lifestyles, belly breathing can improve performance in other areas as well, including improving balance and flexibility in the torso and improving blood circulation, focus and motivation. It may also reduce oxidative stress and improve antioxidant defences in athletes after strenuous exercise.
2. Stress And Anxiety Management
Deep abdominal breathing is also called Eupnea in medical books. Studies have shown that it has a natural anxiety-reducing effect because it helps counteract the body's "fight or flight" response that is triggered when feeling stressed or afraid. Some studies have shown that practising slow, controlled breathing can help relieve symptoms associated with chronic stress and anxiety, including muscle tension, chronic pain, sleep problems, high blood pressure, upset stomach, headaches, anger, and difficulty concentrating.
Abdominal breathing exercises are now also recommended for people with panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. A recent 2017 study examining the impact of abdominal breathing on cognitive function and cortisol response to stress found that regular exercise can reduce cortisol production, improve alertness, reduce fatigue, and promote emotional balance and social adjustment.
3. Improved Respiratory Function And COPD Prevention
People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) typically have difficulty breathing deeply because the disease interferes with the normal movement of the diaphragm. Experts recommend diaphragmatic breathing exercises for people with COPD. Studies have shown that it helps improve a variety of factors, including cardiorespiratory fitness and endurance, and improves exercise capacity.
Abdominal breathing can strengthen your breathing muscles, providing greater stretch/flexibility. It occurs in tissues that control greater expansion of the lungs and chest. It also reduces coughing by improving ventilation efficiency, slowing breathing, reducing respiratory noise, and improving airway clearance. It may also help control symptoms of asthma and other respiratory problems for the same reason.
4. Improved Digestion
If you suffer from stomach upset or IBS symptoms (including frequent diarrhoea or constipation), breathing exercises may help. Deep abdominal breathing combined with other natural stress relievers such as journaling, meditation, and exercise is recommended for patients with gastrointestinal diseases because it can improve gut-brain communication and reduce the body's response to stress.
Activating the diaphragm creates a gentle massaging effect felt in internal organs such as the intestines and stomach, which can reduce abdominal pain, urges, bloating and constipation.
5. Better Oxygenation
About two-thirds of gas exchange occurs in the lower third of the lungs, so oxygenation is more efficient when using the diaphragm.
6. Reduced Fatigue
Abdominal breathing restores balance to the autonomic nervous system, lowering heart and breathing rates and shifting from sympathetic “fight or flight” to parasympathetic calm and relaxation. Because the muscles here can relax, tension and pressure in the neck and shoulders are reduced.
7. Increased Lung Capacity
Most of us primarily breathe shallowly, especially when we are stressed. This breathing pattern deprives us of oxygen and overloads our nervous and cardiovascular systems. We become more tense, more lethargic, and increasingly out of breath.
When we consciously train our diaphragm, it stretches further toward the abdomen, giving the lungs more room to expand. That's why professional singers, actors, speakers, athletes, and even teachers practise diaphragm breathing regularly to make it a habit.
8. Better Organ Stimulation
Abdominal breathing gently “massages” or moves the abdominal organs to promote digestion and lymphatic drainage. Most of the lymphatic system is located just below the diaphragm. The diaphragm promotes good posture and core strength, so it must be functioning properly.
In fact, excessive abdominal muscle development and abdominal contraction can prevent the diaphragm from moving properly, promoting upper chest breathing.
9. Strengthened Immunity
Belly breathing has been shown to improve immune response. A 2018 study found that deep breathing increases the production of lymphocytes, one of the most important cells for a healthy immune system.
10. Pain Relief
Deep breathing improves blood and oxygen circulation and promotes muscle relaxation. This reduces pain by reducing muscle spasms and tension.
11. Reduced Blood Pressure
Recent studies have shown significant clinical improvements. Meditative abdominal breathing can lower blood pressure. Surprisingly, this reduction occurred after just 9 minutes of practice per day.
12. Improved Core Muscle Stability And Posture
Activating the diaphragm through abdominal breathing also strengthens the body's core muscles. The deep and lateral abdominal muscles are activated, stabilising the pelvis, spine and posture. Additionally, abdominal breathing can help you see how much more comfortable it is to do the exercises when your spine is high and straight.
The Final Say
Abdominal breathing involves breathing deeply into your belly while fully using your diaphragm. This strengthens the diaphragm and helps your lungs to work more efficiently. It also promotes the feeling of calm and relaxation. Belly breathing can be a useful complementary treatment for people having anxiety or respiratory conditions such as COPD or asthma.
However, it is not an effective stand-alone treatment for these conditions. You should talk to your doctor about the potential risks and benefits of adding abdominal breathing to your treatment plan.
FAQs
1. Where is abdominal breathing takes place?
Abdominal breathing involves breathing in slowly through the nose and then out through the mouth using the diaphragm (the thin muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen) and abdominal muscles. This helps boost the amount of oxygen in the blood, lowers blood pressure and heart rate, and reduces muscle tension.
2. Is abdominal breathing exercise during pregnancy good?
Deep abdominal breathing is beneficial during pregnancy as it maximises oxygen intake and promotes relaxation.
3. What is the diaphragmatic breathing exercise procedure?
As you know the amazing abdominal breathing exercise benefits, here is the procedure mentioned:
Sit or lie in a comfortable place
Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your abdomen
Inhale through your nose for about 4 seconds, feeling your abdomen expand
Hold your breath for 2 seconds
Exhale very slowly and steadily through your mouth for about 6 seconds
4. What are the 4 breathing exercises?
Eupnea: Eupnea is normal breathing
Hyperpnea: Hyperpnea is intensive, deep breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing: Abdominal muscle used in breathing which helps you take deep breaths
Costal: Refers to breathing that requires contraction of the intercostal muscles.
5. What is the abdominal breathing exercise for stress?
Use the 3-3-3 rule breathing technique. Breathe in for three seconds, hold for three seconds, and exhale for three seconds. This is an easy exercise you can do even at your desk or in a stressful situation to quickly bring your anxiety levels down.
6. What happens during abdominal breathing exercise?
When you breathe from the belly, your diaphragm stretches downward, creating space for your lungs. Air and oxygen travel deep into the bronchi and reach the bottom of the lungs. When you exhale, your diaphragm relaxes and rises. Old air leaves the lungs.
7. Why is abdominal breathing exercise recommended?
Due to busy lives or the beauty standard of a flat stomach, many people breathe too shallowly when inhaling and only fill the upper part of their lungs when they inhale. Still, belly breathing is considered a healthier breathing method because it is more natural. Chest breathing requires the muscles that support breathing to work harder, which can lead to overexertion.
8. How often should I do abdominal breathing exercise?
Initially, practice this exercise for 5 to 10 minutes 3 to 4 times a day. You can gradually increase the time you spend doing this exercise and even increase the intensity of your efforts by placing a book on your stomach.
References
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