Abdominal, or belly breathing, is deeply relaxing to the nervous system, and it’s how babies breathe (they don’t have anything to worry about yet!). Watch this video clip for a demonstration:
Breathe Like A Baby For Stress Relief
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By: Jill Miller | Friday, April 9th, 2010 |
Comments 49
Category:
General Health, Jill Miller, Stress Relief, Tension | Tags: Stress Relief, yoga breath, yoga breathing, Yoga Therapy |
About This Author
Jill is the creator of Yoga Tune Up®. Having studied Yoga, Dance, and Body Movement for more than 24 years she created the Yoga Tune Up® format to help people find and heal trouble areas before debilitating breakdowns occur. Jill teaches workshops and retreats internationally, is a longtime faculty member of the Omega Institute, and has traveled nationally choreographing programs for Discovery Health Channel. The L.A. Times calls her "kinetically arresting”. For more info on Jill go here.
Thanks for this!… it has really helped calm my mind down before bed. I definitely seemed to be a chest breather and this is a really good tip on clarifying the difference.
It’s nice to see that only 5 minutes can make such a difference
Great information. A lot of people make the comment to ‘just breathe’, and most of us don’t really know what that means. Thanks for letting us know it is not only okay, but good for us to let our belly’s be a part of our breathing.
Susan
Belly breathing has helped me a great deal…especially during stressful situations, it has a very calming effect.
Consciously raising the belly on the inhale and allowing it to fall on the exhale in this manner certainly helps reduce stress.
Breathing into the belly and say the words rise and fall do make a difference in relaxing from stress….it has a peaceful effect on our bodies.
I watch my babies breathe like this all the time. It is amazing how 5 minutes of belly breathing can bring you to such a deep level of relaxation.
I’ll be sleeping like a baby now, using the diaphram and transeversalis.
With kids and a career (not to mention a husband), it’s easy to let stress take over something I am doing. I like the way you incorporate saying the words to yourself as you practice belly breathing. What a great way to really focus on what you are doing to relieve stress.
Ahhh, what a great way to visualize the diaphragm doing its work when we breath. Distinguishing the different ways we allow our internal organs to take in oxygen is relaxing – the diaphragm contracts and relaxes through the autonomic nervous system with the phrenic nerve, massaging the abdominal organs. Knowing all of the internal choreography makes breath feel more like a calming dance of the nerves!
It is so true. Belly breathing quickly calms stress.
Never knew belly breathing could be so relaxing! To consciously breath like this can help us with stress.
this is definitely something i can commit to doing everyday. i have sleep issue. hopefully this will help!
I appreciated your use of a single word repeated with the inhalation and exhalation. “Rise/Fall.” Personally I use the cues given by the Vietnamese Buddhist Monk Thich Naht Hahn. “Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in, Breathing out I know that I am breathing out .In. Out.” I find that the simple words allow for a focus that keeps my attention on my breath.
I like your technique of mentally focusing on the words “rise” and “fall”. It helps keep the mind focused on the correct action. Babies do it with such ease. We need to practice.
Thank you Jill! The simply action of breathing like a baby is crucial for well being and overall health. You can tell so much about a person just by asking them to lay down and watch them breath and finding if then can indeed create this kind of breath within their bodies. I have had the heartache and privilege to be present when my father, mother and brother all left there bodies. They all died of Lung disease. I spent many days with my brother at the end sitting at his bedside watching and listening to him breath and found my self breathing with him. It took me a long time after to realize what I had done and continued to do with my breath long after he had died and how my restriction of breath was effecting ever aspect of my life, emotionally and physically, When the realization how my breath had been altered, I spent weeks coming slowly back to the ability to take these complete baby like breaths. It was a powerful lesson.
this exercise makes perfect sense as a way to work consonantly with the natural actions of the body: upon inspiration the diaphragm moves inferiorly to expand lung volume and superiorly upon exhalation to decrease lung volume. by consciously breathing in this way we’re facilitating the body’s natural rhythm.
I love practicing restorative yoga and this is a great way to start out the practice! It’s so important to focus on our breathing, especially if we are stressed and feeling anxious. I love practicing deep belly breathing after a long, hard day b/c it always calms me down. Usually I say to myself “let” on the inhale and “go” on the exhale.
I love belly breathing!
Back in college, my first yoga teacher from India totally called me out on “sucking it in” during her class. I had no idea what I had been doing to my breath, and just how limiting it was!
She made me breath with my belly, and I am so thankful.
Great video & valuable demonstration. Thanks!
Deep belly breathing has always worked for me for stress-reduction. Alexandra, I love the mantra “let” on the inhale and “go” on the exhale! I am going to practice that
Thanks.
I do this every night when winding down. Not only do I find it relaxing, but it relieves pressure on my core after a day of sitting/standing upright and soothes my tummy.
I absolutely love belly breathing! And it has come in handy when I feel myself getting stressed out. I simply tell myself to take a breath and it calms me down and allows me to refocus!
I’m trying this tonight!
Belly breathing was first introduce to me doing teacher training and I now I use it all the time. Just like Elizabeth, I use to suck it in and probably still do on some occasions. But now when I’m truly aware of my breathing and body I focus on how I breathe and I notice the difference in my stress levels. Especially when I have a lot on my mind before I go to sleep, I just breathe deep down in my belly and exhale all that mess out of my head.
I have taken Shavasana with the knees over a bolster before to release the low back. The combination of the bolster under the knees and the belly breathing is very relaxing. Thank you for the tip.
This is my new favorite. I’ve done it before but never with the intention to just breathe. I was using the breathing portion just to get to the rest of the yoga. Its like a new discovery to me.
I posted on another blog that I almost fell asleep reading the blog. It was a blog about sleep. Anyway, now I can say that i almost fell asleep watching this one. Sign me up.
Thanks a lot Wade! Your parasympathetic dominance is my reward.
Belly breathing has given me a totally new perspective in my own breathing and how I teach my students about their breath and breathing habits. It is amazing when you start paying attention to your breathing habits, how much you learn about ” where your breathing” resides, you may catch yourself breathing at the Clavicular level,Thoracic or Abdominal. I definitely have developed a new relationship with my “Breath” since I’ve learned about Belly Breathing.
I just like that now I have a great excuse to love my belly in all its glory.
Fill it up with Prana baby and feel how Yama it is!!!
Abdominal breathing is like a massage for the nervous system. I loved to watch my 7 month old nephew sleep when he was here for a visit. It was calming for me just to watch his belly lift and lower.
Oh yea! One occasion where the bigger my belly gets the better! A great way to get in touch with the breath and to calm and unify. This is good training for any singer too!
This article resonates with me because in addition to being a yogini I am also an opera singer! We are nothing without our breath support!!! As an opera singer you are constantly told to ’support your vocal phrase’ which leads to a controlled even tone. As with abdominal breathing seen in this video clip opera singers are experts at drawing full low breaths and letting it out slowly so as to extend the vocal phrase. I’ve been taught that as you breathe you use your abdominal muscles to ‘resist’ the ascending diaphragm and the inward collapse of the ribs. I often think of ‘pushing out’ against the collapse. The opposite of this would be when we sigh and let all our breath out at once and we see the collapse in our rib cage. The exercise of placing a foam block on your belly and watching the rise and fall of the block is a good low breathing indicator. As a singer I would use my abdominal muscles to keep the block from falling so as to use to the full extent of my breath and control my air.
This rhythmic exchange of breath is not only calming to the nervous system, but so nourishing to our bodies blood flow. It’s a place we can go to feel the calm we so often desire. What a gift!
Living in a stress city like New York it is imperative to take a moment to breathe. I focus a lot on breathing when I teach. I am always looking for new ways for my students to connect with their breathe and to repeat RISE – FALL… what a most natural, easy thing
THIS REALLY DOES WORK…TONE OF VOICE, CUES ARE SO IMPORTANT.
I’m always so amazed how fast you can quiet yourself just by breathing and listening to the breath.
Our breath is our best tool, best friend, ally in our daily life. Because it also happens without having to do anything about it, we tend to forget about it so much…
This instruction shows that less is more -whoa belly rise/belly fall is profoundly relaxing.
I also enjoyed reading the posts here- also experienced the pain of losing a parent with emphysema… The sense of helplessness that goes on leaves it’s impact on our breathing. Namaste
I have several clients with sleep problems. I posted this on my Facebook page sometime ago for my clients whom I am Facebook friends with. I received great feedback. The instructions are simple and the routine is short.
whenever i teach this i’m always amazed at how many need to reboot and relearn the body’s natural breathing pattern. for some it can take a few classes before they realize that they have continued clavicular breathing instead of diaphragmatic…
so simple, yet so important… it’s a wonder that our “education” systems don’t teach us things like this that could actually serve our long term well being… oh well, here’s hoping we can continue reaching more and more of the population in yoga classes.
I love breathing
I was able to use this technique today in my car, before taking an exam. It truly calms the mind. No matter where you are, this is the best “on the spot” relaxation technique. Todd is right, it should be tought in school at an early age.
I love belly breathing for relaxation. I always make sure to have my students practice this either before the class to get centered or after to release or both. I never feel as if this technique can be over used. At the end of a yoga class I always remind my students that relaxation is only a breath away.
i love this breath esp with my legs propped up on a bed or couch, seems to soften the belly more. also when my breath is really shallow, i focus on lengthening the exhale more.
I wish I can always remember to use belly breathing; however, I am fortunate to always have this breathing technique in my back pocket. It is there when I need it.
this type of breath helps me stay present and focus and I love practicing it before going to be and I feel like I leave everything from my day behind.
I heard it said that” breathe is the key to life” I can see and understand why belly breathing is a big part of that key. Breath awareness, stress free life…………….
Thank you for the tipa. I am a runner and mostly stuck breathing in chest rather than belly.
*tips
Great video of a simple and short mediation that can make a big difference in our day. When I am in the midst of something tough, whether it be a pose, a situation, studying for an exam, etc. I find myself stopping to take one big belly breath. Including this video practice into my day would make a huge impact. This is also a great method to teach and relax students, friends, family. It is so simple, but so useful. By focusing on the breath, it makes quieting the mind easier as well, even for beginners.