Diaphragmatic breathing: the posture under every other technique

The Joyful Exhale, chapter 3

How to do it Common mistakes Research Questions

Belly breathing, also called diaphragmatic breathing, is the floor nearly every other technique in the book stands on. Singers call it breathing low. Your own body already does it correctly every night while you sleep, so this is a default you drift away from during the day, and a hand on the belly is how you find it again.

How to do it

Put one hand flat on your chest and the other on your belly, just above the navel.
Breathe normally for four or five breaths without changing anything, and watch which hand moves and by how much.
Now let the belly hand be the one that moves. As you breathe in, let the belly go soft and expand outward, like a balloon with no resistance in it.
As you breathe out, let the belly fall back on its own, without pushing.
Keep the chest hand quiet.
Breathe through your nose as your default whenever you’re at rest.
Ten breaths, once a day. There’s no need to make it longer.

When to reach for it

Once a day, ten breaths, as the gauge you read everything else from
When the soundcheck tells you the breath has gone up into the chest and gotten shallow
In a bathroom stall as easily as on a meditation cushion
Underneath almost every other technique in the book

Who should skip it or change it

If your nose is chronically blocked, talk to a doctor, since there may be something fixable going on that no breathing technique will address. If you have a heart or lung condition, high or low blood pressure, or you’re pregnant, check with your doctor before starting any new breathing practice. Never while driving or operating machinery, this one included.

Common mistakes

Letting the chest do most of the traveling.Keep the chest hand quiet and let the belly hand be the one that moves.

Pushing the belly in on the exhale.Let it fall back on its own. The out-breath here takes no effort.

Trying it while folded over a desk or a phone.Sit forward on your sit bones with both feet flat and let the breastbone float up a little, so the diaphragm has room to drop.

What you might notice

If the chest hand does most of the moving when you first look, you’ve found the shallow pattern that shows up under load. When the belly takes over, it should feel soft and unforced. The movement comes from the diaphragm, a dome just under the lungs that can drop as much as a couple of inches into the abdomen on a deep breath.

Singers call this breathing low, and it’s the floor that breath support gets built on. The yoga tradition calls it diaphragmatic breathing. Your own body has been doing it correctly, without being asked, every night of your life while you sleep, which is proof that the “correct” way isn’t an exotic skill, just the default you drift away from during the day.
From The Joyful Exhale by Eric Bradley, chapter 3

What the research says

Standard respiratory physiology; nothing to overclaim. Nasal breathing’s warming, filtering, and nitric-oxide effects are real and small, with the two foundational studies (six people each) cited under Chapter 14.

Does breathing retraining help asthma?

Pairs well with

The Soundcheck The Exhale-Weighted Breath

Rooms where it does the work

The Mat, Not the Microphone The Meeting That Won’t End

Questions people ask

How long should I practice belly breathing each day?

Ten breaths, once a day, with a hand on the belly. There’s no need to make it longer, and it becomes the gauge you read from for everything else.

Should I breathe through my nose or my mouth?

Nose, as your default at rest. It warms, humidifies, and filters the air, and the smaller passage slows the breath down on its own. Mouth breathing has its place during hard exertion and for a long pursed-lip exhale.

Why does my belly move when the air goes into my lungs?

The diaphragm sits just under the lungs and drops into the abdomen on a deep breath, which pushes the belly outward. That’s the mechanical reason the belly moves at all.

Belly Breathing