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Diaphragmatic breathingDiaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, belly breathing or deep breathing is the act of breathing deep into your lungs by flexing your diaphragm rather than breathing shallowly by flexing your rib cage. This deep breathing is marked by expansion of the stomach (abdomen) rather than the chest when breathing. It is generally considered a healthier and fuller way to ingest oxygen[citation needed], and is often used as a therapy for hyperventilation and anxiety disorders. Note that some yoga and meditation traditions draw a clear distinction between diaphragmatic breathing on one side, and abdominal breathing or belly breathing on the other. Between these two, the more specific technique of abdominal breathing is said to be more beneficial.[1][2][3] Additional recommended knowledge
OverviewPerforming diaphragmatic breathing can be therapeutic, and with enough practice, can become your standard way of breathing. To breathe diaphragmatically, or with the diaphragm, one must draw air into the lungs in a way which will expand the stomach and not the chest. It is best to perform these breaths as long, slow intakes of air - allowing the body to absorb all of the inhaled oxygen while simultaneously relaxing the breather. To do this comfortably, it is often best to loosen tight-fitting pants/belts/skirts as these can interfere with the body's ability to intake air. While at first one may not feel comfortable not expanding the chest during breathing, diaphragmatic breathing actually fills up the majority of the lungs with oxygen, much more than chest-breathing or shallow breathing. The most complete and fullest way of breathing is called "three-part breath" and includes diaphragmatic breathing as the first step, followed by thorax expansion and then chest expansion. This way of breathing is known in Tantric yoga as that which facilitates the greatest flow of life force through the body. ExercisesA common diaphragmatic breathing exercise is as follows:
CaveatOne thing to note is that for some, the diaphragm is dysfunctional or entirely non-functional, in which case one should focus on slow inhalation and exhalation (through the nose and pursed lips).
See alsoReferences
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Diaphragmatic_breathing". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |