Diaphragmatic Breathing & Its Benefits

Diaphragmatic breathing is a type of breathing exercise that helps you in strengthening the muscles of your diaphragm. The diaphragm plays a vital role in breathing and works non-stop from the day we are born. It not only fatigues the muscles but weakens them to take a major toll on the respiratory system. 

Diaphragmatic breathing is a way to regularly train the muscles of your diaphragm by implementing the best practices of breathing. As it involves belly or abdomen – it is popularly known as belly or abdominal breathing too. 

Benefits of Diaphragmatic Breathing: Here are some other benefits of diaphragmatic breathing:

• Helps in relaxing and lowering the effects of stress hormone (cortisol) on your body 
• Brings your heart rate to optimal levels 
• Helps you in reducing blood pressure 
• Found highly-beneficial for people coping with post-traumatic stress disorder
• Strengthens your core muscle
• Increases endurance of the body for intense exercise
• Can decrease the energy expend and improve your stamina

Ways to practice abdominal breathing 

There are three ways you can practice diaphragmatic breathing: 

1. Diaphragmatic Breathing Instructions (Basic) 

• Position yourself in a sitting position on the floor or bed. Alternatively, you can choose to lie flat. 
• Relax your shoulders. 
• Place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. 
• Breath in, and during that make sure your stomach moves outward while your chest remains still. 
• Purse your lips like you drink through a straw and press gently on your stomach and exhale slowly after two seconds. 
• Repeat this step several times for the best results.