What is diaphragmatic breathing?

Breathing driven by the diaphragm, the dome of muscle under the lungs, rather than by the muscles of the neck and upper chest. When the diaphragm contracts it moves down and the belly rises; when it relaxes the belly falls. Belly breathing and abdominal breathing are the same thing. It is how the body breathes at rest when nothing is wrong, and how most adults stop breathing after years of desks, stress and holding the stomach in.

How do I know if I am breathing from my diaphragm?

Put one hand on the upper chest and one on the stomach and breathe normally. If the lower hand moves first and most, you are. If the upper hand rises, the shoulders lift, or both hands move together, the breath is high. Lying on your back with knees bent makes it obvious within a few breaths, which is why that is the position to learn in.

What are the benefits of diaphragmatic breathing?

Slower, deeper breathing with less effort, which lowers heart rate and blood pressure and engages the rest side of the nervous system through the vagus nerve. Trials report lower stress and anxiety, better sleep and lower blood pressure after a few weeks of daily practice, and it is the standard exercise in pulmonary rehab for breathlessness. It is also the foundation of every counted technique: box, 4-7-8, coherent and the rest assume the breath is already low.

How often should you practise diaphragmatic breathing?

Physiotherapists usually prescribe five to ten minutes, three or four times a day, for the first week or two, because the aim is to retrain the default rather than to do an exercise. After that, five minutes once a day keeps it, and the breath stays low on its own for more of the day. It gets tiring at first; that is the diaphragm getting used to doing the work again.

Why does diaphragmatic breathing feel hard?

Because the diaphragm is out of practice and the habit of holding the stomach in fights it. Lie down, put a light book on the stomach and make the book rise; the extra weight gives the muscle something to push against. Keep the breaths small at first, and stop if you feel lightheaded, which means the breaths have got too big, not that the technique is wrong.

Is diaphragmatic breathing the same as deep breathing?

Deep breathing done properly is diaphragmatic breathing; the names describe the same slow, low breath. Deep breathing done badly is a big chest breath, which is the opposite. If you learn one thing from either page, learn to move the lower hand, and the counts take care of themselves.

Is there an app for diaphragmatic breathing?

Braele, for iPhone, paces the 4-2-6 belly breath and coherent breathing with a voice that calls the counts and haptics that mark each phase, so you can lie down, close your eyes and keep a hand on the stomach. Box breathing and the physiological sigh are free forever; no account, no ads, works offline.

Diaphragmatic breathing

Belly breathing · 4 · 2 · 6

Also called belly breathing or abdominal breathing: the breath driven by the big muscle under the lungs instead of the small ones in the neck and shoulders. It is how the body breathes when nothing is wrong, and how most adults stop breathing after years of desks and held-in stomachs. One hand on the chest, one on the stomach, and the timer below; in five minutes you will know which one you have been using.

Tap a pattern and breathe along right here. Free, no download needed.

Step by step

The lying-down drill

1
Lie on your back, knees bent
Feet flat, head supported. One hand on the upper chest, one on the stomach just below the ribs. Lying down takes the postural muscles out of it, which is why the breath drops on its own in this position and fights you in a chair.
2
Inhale into the lower hand, for four
Through the nose, slowly. The stomach hand rises; the chest hand stays as still as you can keep it. If the chest goes first, make the next breath smaller, not bigger. A small low breath is the goal; a big one defeats it.
3
Pause for two
Lungs comfortably full, no strain. It is a pause, not a hold; skip it if you are anxious and it will not matter.
4
Exhale through pursed lips, for six
Slowly, as if through a straw. The stomach falls. At the very end, gently tighten the abdominal muscles to push the last air out; that is the diaphragm's partner, and it makes the next inhale drop low by itself.
5
Five minutes, then sit, then stand
Five to ten minutes, three or four times a day for the first week, is what physiotherapists prescribe when the aim is to retrain the default. Once it is easy lying down, do it sitting; once it is easy sitting, standing and walking. After two weeks, five minutes a day keeps it.

What the diaphragm does

It is a dome of muscle under the lungs. When it contracts it flattens and moves down, the lungs fill from the bottom, and the belly rises to make room. When it relaxes the belly falls and the air leaves. That is the whole design, and it is efficient: a low breath moves more air with less effort than a high one, which is why chest breathing leaves people feeling short of breath even with healthy lungs. Stress, sitting and holding the stomach in shift the work up to the neck and shoulder muscles, and the diaphragm gets lazy. The drill above is how it is taught back.

What it does for you

A low, slow breath engages the vagus nerve on every exhale and moves the nervous system toward rest: lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, less muscle tension. Trials of daily practice report lower stress and anxiety, better sleep and lower blood pressure over weeks, and diaphragmatic breathing is the standard exercise in pulmonary rehabilitation for breathlessness. It is also the foundation of every counted technique on this site: box breathing, 4-7-8 and coherent breathing all assume the breath is already low. The deep breathing page covers the same breath from the other direction.

When it will not click

Put a paperback on the stomach and make the book rise; the weight gives the muscle something to push against and the feedback is unmissable. Breathe out fully before you try to breathe in low; an incomplete exhale leaves no room. Keep the breaths small. Lightheadedness means the breaths have got too big or too fast, not that you are doing it wrong: smaller and slower fixes it. And if the breath will not drop at all when sitting, go back to lying down for a week; the sitting version follows.

Questions

What people ask

What is diaphragmatic breathing?: Breathing driven by the diaphragm, the dome of muscle under the lungs, rather than by the muscles of the neck and upper chest. When the diaphragm contracts it moves down and the belly rises; when it relaxes the belly falls. Belly breathing and abdominal breathing are the same thing. It is how the body breathes at rest when nothing is wrong, and how most adults stop breathing after years of desks, stress and holding the stomach in.
How do I know if I am breathing from my diaphragm?: Put one hand on the upper chest and one on the stomach and breathe normally. If the lower hand moves first and most, you are. If the upper hand rises, the shoulders lift, or both hands move together, the breath is high. Lying on your back with knees bent makes it obvious within a few breaths, which is why that is the position to learn in.
What are the benefits of diaphragmatic breathing?: Slower, deeper breathing with less effort, which lowers heart rate and blood pressure and engages the rest side of the nervous system through the vagus nerve. Trials report lower stress and anxiety, better sleep and lower blood pressure after a few weeks of daily practice, and it is the standard exercise in pulmonary rehab for breathlessness. It is also the foundation of every counted technique: box, 4-7-8, coherent and the rest assume the breath is already low.
How often should you practise diaphragmatic breathing?: Physiotherapists usually prescribe five to ten minutes, three or four times a day, for the first week or two, because the aim is to retrain the default rather than to do an exercise. After that, five minutes once a day keeps it, and the breath stays low on its own for more of the day. It gets tiring at first; that is the diaphragm getting used to doing the work again.
Why does diaphragmatic breathing feel hard?: Because the diaphragm is out of practice and the habit of holding the stomach in fights it. Lie down, put a light book on the stomach and make the book rise; the extra weight gives the muscle something to push against. Keep the breaths small at first, and stop if you feel lightheaded, which means the breaths have got too big, not that the technique is wrong.
Is diaphragmatic breathing the same as deep breathing?: Deep breathing done properly is diaphragmatic breathing; the names describe the same slow, low breath. Deep breathing done badly is a big chest breath, which is the opposite. If you learn one thing from either page, learn to move the lower hand, and the counts take care of themselves.
Is there an app for diaphragmatic breathing?: Braele, for iPhone, paces the 4-2-6 belly breath and coherent breathing with a voice that calls the counts and haptics that mark each phase, so you can lie down, close your eyes and keep a hand on the stomach. Box breathing and the physiological sigh are free forever; no account, no ads, works offline.

Hand on the stomach, eyes closed

Braele calls every count out loud and taps each phase, so the drill works lying down with the phone face down. A reminder and a streak with a rest day built in keep the two weeks going. Box breathing and the physiological sigh are free forever on the App Store.

Downloadon the App Store