Is diaphragmatic breathing a panacea? May be. Diaphragmatic breathing – fashionable or useful

The simplest definition of this concept is breathing using the diaphragm.

And the diaphragm is a muscle that is located almost horizontally between the chest and abdominal areas, conditionally separating the lungs and the digestive area. It is responsible for breathing and promotes blood circulation.

Such breathing is considered natural for a person; it is with it that he is born. All babies have the ability to inhale and exhale air through the diaphragm. But over time, this habit, like many others, is lost.

Interesting fact: if a person overeats, it is difficult for him to breathe because the excess food causes the diaphragm to rise and compress the lungs.

In general, this is one of the naturally strongest muscles in the human body, but it so happens that we use it little. The fashion for a flat stomach, tight clothes, and sitting hunched over at the table have led to the fact that we began to breathe incorrectly, through the chest. And you have to do it with your stomach! Then the diaphragm works as expected.

During such breathing, you need to try to inflate your stomach, release all the air from your lungs and learn to control your breathing. For this purpose, special diaphragmatic breathing exercises are being developed.

People who have been involved in fitness for a long time or those who have a well-developed sense of their own body can feel the work of this muscle (diaphragm) simply by taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. Moreover, she participates in the work of the press.

Benefits of diaphragmatic breathing:

The body becomes healthier, enriched with the necessary amount of air, which is carried with the blood to all organs and tissues. At the same time, blood circulation improves and metabolism occurs more correctly. The body becomes toned, becomes stronger and more active. Recovery processes are launched. It is believed that such breathing helps maintain homeostasis, that is, internal balance, self-regulation of the body, as a result of which the normalization of health occurs.

The lungs are cleansed, their useful volume increases, gas exchange in them occurs intensively, which is very important in conditions of environmental pollution, especially for residents of large cities. Shortness of breath may disappear.

The functioning of all abdominal organs improves and constipation is prevented. The diaphragm, lowering and rising, acts as an internal massager for the digestive tract (remember: the stomach and intestines also have muscles!), promoting their activity.

Even the female and male spheres have a beneficial effect, the genital organs of both sexes become healthier.

The condition of the nervous system improves. A person becomes calmer and more peaceful, sleeps better at night, and feels rested and refreshed.

Weight is normalized. It is especially good to use this type of breathing for weight loss purposes. As we have already written, its merit lies in improving metabolism. Oxygen is also needed for fat burning. Accordingly, weight loss occurs naturally. Additionally, due to the general calming of the body, stress-eating stops.

The amount of energy increases.

By breathing, you can relieve pain, reduce heartburn and reduce strong negative emotions.

The volume of the abdomen decreases. Many women in labor are advised to practice diaphragmatic breathing in order to get in shape as quickly as possible. It is on this that the well-known exercise for newborns is based, where you need to inflate and deflate your belly like a balloon.

Heart function improves. The diaphragm, when contracting during breathing, promotes blood flow, for which it is called the second heart. Capillaries are also strengthened.

Interesting fact: a course of diaphragmatic breathing is included in the modern training of speakers, singers, actors and TV presenters. This enriches the sound of the voice, making it more expressive, powerful and controllable.

Attention: despite such excellent results and virtually no contraindications, no one cancels a personal consultation with your doctor. Each may have its own individual nuances. In general, you cannot resort to this practice in the presence of mental illness, heart disease, including congenital, and sometimes infections.

Diaphragmatic breathing: exercises

To master it, daily training will be required. Exercises and diaphragmatic breathing will be recorded in the center of the brain each time. Because of this, a reflex will be developed, due to which control of your voice and proper breathing will occur without any effort, by itself. In order to achieve perfection in the science of controlling them, you first need to learn how to properly retain air, and then release it sparingly, stretching the reserve to a logical pause. This well-practiced exercise will make speech breathing quiet, and for stage speech this is very important. Without proper breathing, normal work on intonation is impossible. The exercise must begin in a lying position. Place one hand on your chest, the other on your solar plexus. Take a breath. Notice to yourself how your belly rises and your lower chest expands. As you exhale, notice how your stomach contracts while your chest remains absolutely motionless. Now you can proceed to the next exercise. Stand up, fold your arms in the same way as in the previous exercise. Breathe deeply into your belly, noting to yourself all the sensations that occur in the solar plexus area. This type of breathing can be combined with walking. Diaphragmatic breathing: technique The correct technique for such breathing is that during the period of operation of the vocal apparatus, the air flow rests on the diaphragm. At the same time, it is tense and goes down a little, stretching the lungs in the lower part and drawing in another portion of air. During this process, the lungs fill completely. This creates a supply of air, which is required for the correct pronunciation of words. - Read more at

2. Requirements for the patient
Before the massage session, the patient must take a warm shower, and if this is not possible for any reason, then it will be enough to wash his feet and wipe the whole body with a damp towel.
When massaging the area of the body where the massage will be performed, you need to wipe it with alcohol or cologne.
During the massage session, it is allowed for the person being massaged to wear underwear, but to achieve the best effect, it is recommended that the skin be exposed. If for some reason this cannot be done, or if there is significant hair on the body of the person being massaged (so as not to irritate the hair follicles), the massage can be performed through a thin, clean cloth made of natural fibers.
Areas of skin damage (abrasions, small wounds, scratches) must be treated with iodine, brilliant green or BF-6 glue. During the massage, these areas need to be bypassed.
For some skin diseases (lichen, eczema, etc.), massage cannot be performed.

“Following fashion is funny, but not following is stupid,” as the famous TV presenter and fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev likes to repeat. It turns out that it is easier to appear funny than stupid. But there can’t be two opinions about health: it’s always fashionable to be healthy, but the site has figured out how trendy diaphragmatic breathing is today.

What types of breathing are there?

There are two main types of breathing: diaphragmatic and chest, or lower and upper. Chest breathing, in turn, is divided into clavicular and costal. What is the difference between these types?

At diaphragmatic(or abdominal) breathing, a strong muscular partition is involved in the process - the diaphragm, which, when inhaling, contracts and goes down, and the stomach relaxes and protrudes. When a person exhales, the diaphragm rises upward in a dome-shaped manner, forcefully pushing air out of the lungs. The main advantage of diaphragmatic breathing is better enrichment of the blood with oxygen, since almost the entire volume of the lung is involved in the process.

It is very interesting that a newborn baby breathes with the help of the diaphragm, but very soon his breathing becomes chest breathing, which is physiologically characteristic of an adult.

At chest During breathing, only the upper lobes of the lungs perform an active function. In particular, clavicular breathing as a type of chest breathing is carried out by raising the collarbones when inhaling and lowering them when exhaling. This kind of breathing is typical for older people, when only 20% of the total lung volume works.

Another subtype of chest breathing is costal- occurs due to the intercostal muscles, which ensure expansion of the chest during inhalation and compression during exhalation. It must be said that this is how most people breathe, but costal breathing is not optimal.

Why is diaphragmatic breathing considered correct?

As already mentioned, during chest breathing, only part of the lung participates in the process; a smaller amount of oxygen enters the blood compared to what would have been received with the diaphragmatic version.

By actively enriching the blood with oxygen, breathing with the help of the diaphragm improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, stimulates the functioning of the lungs, helping to get rid of shortness of breath and even quit smoking.

In addition, the diaphragm, when moving, provides a natural massage to the internal organs located in the chest and abdominal cavities. This is the heart sac - pericardium, pancreas, liver, spleen, kidneys and adrenal glands. This massage significantly improves the functioning of these organs, which helps maintain the health of the body as a whole.

Regarding the state of the gastrointestinal system, it is important to note that proper breathing has a beneficial effect on intestinal function, relieving constipation, reducing bloating and calming excessive peristalsis.

When the lungs are not working properly, when gas exchange is disrupted during chest breathing, part of the lung function is transferred to the skin, which provokes the development of skin diseases, the appearance of acne and even premature wrinkles.

Learning to breathe correctly

Diaphragmatic breathing – fashionable or useful?

Learning to use your diaphragm to breathe properly is difficult, but achievable. First of all, you need to be patient, because the first successes will not appear until the sixth lesson, and at first you may experience dizziness and even fear.

There is no need to be afraid of this, because these processes are physiological and are associated with oxygen saturation that is unusual for the body.

So where do you need to start? The most important thing is to choose the right place and time. Experts advise conducting classes either in the morning or in the evening. And the place should be calm and secluded, since for about half an hour no one should distract or interfere with concentration.

There are two main methods of exercise, and here is the first of them:

You need to lie on your back and relax as much as possible;
Place your right hand on your lower abdomen and your left hand on your chest;
Breathe in such a way that the right hand remains motionless, and the left rises as you inhale, this is our habitual breathing;
Then you need to inflate your stomach as you inhale, feeling how your right arm rises and then lowers as you exhale. In this case, it is important that the left hand lying on the chest remains motionless. This is diaphragmatic breathing.

The second technique is called “dog breathing”.

You need to sit comfortably in a sitting position and begin to breathe through your diaphragm, controlling your inhalation and exhalation with your hands lying on your stomach. It’s good if your eyes are closed, this will allow you to fully concentrate on your breathing;
Then you need to get on all fours, completely relax your stomach and begin to breathe strongly and often with your mouth open. This position will allow you to feel the movement of the diaphragm well and learn to control the breathing process. But you should be careful - hyperventilation of the lungs and sudden saturation of the body with oxygen can cause severe dizziness, so this phase of the exercise should not last long;
At the next stage, you need to lie on your back and put a thick book on your stomach, but not too heavy. It will allow you to visually observe correct diaphragmatic breathing without using your hands.

It is important to observe moderation in everything

Everything in the world has its downside: the best intentions can lead to a negative result, an effective medicine can have its contraindications,

Lately, many people have been interested in how to breathe properly. And although there is only one correct breathing for all occasions (link), there are nevertheless different types of breathing, the mastery of which can help you make your life better. In this article you will learn more about what diaphragmatic breathing is, the benefits and harms of it, and how to use it correctly.

Types of breathing

To begin with, briefly about what physiologically, two types of breathing can be distinguished:

1. Chest breathing, which in turn is divided into two types. Clavicular chest breathing occurs with the help of the collarbones. Inhaling, they rise. As they exhale, they let go. This type of breathing is used mainly by older people. The second type is rib. The chest contracts and expands depending on the way you exit and inhale. This type is the most popular, but that doesn't make it the most useful.

2. Breathing with the diaphragm (belly). On inhalation, it is compressed and lowered as much as possible, while on exhalation, the diaphragm tends to rise, thereby trying to push air out of the lungs. The belly is inflated as you exhale. It is thanks to breathing through the diaphragm that the maximum volume of the lungs is used. This type of breathing is considered the most natural and beneficial. Most athletes use it, because for loads you need to use the entire volume of your lungs.

Diaphragmatic breathing

Let us dwell in more detail on the second type of breathing.
It is called natural, since it is through the diaphragm that we breathe from birth. In newborns, when breathing, the chest is absolutely motionless, and only the stomach moves.
But as a person grows older and moves less, he gradually switches from the diaphragmatic breathing inherent in him to chest breathing. This happens involuntarily, unnoticed by the person himself.

But chest breathing often results in some problems, including oxygen starvation, since with such breathing only a small part of the air enters the lungs. This organ works at about 1/5, which cannot be a plus.

The essence of diaphragmatic breathing is slow inhalation and exhalation, which helps the lungs ventilate. With its movements, the diaphragm massages nearby organs. When changing the chest type of breathing, after a few weeks people notice improvements in heart function and blood circulation. General health improves noticeably.

Interesting! Many people believe that women breathe with their chests and men breathe with their diaphragms, but this is not entirely true. The most common type of breathing is mixed in both sexes.

How to do it correctly

The technique of diaphragmatic breathing is very simple; even a child or teenager can adapt to it.

So, in order to learn how to breathe with your diaphragm you need:

Lie on your back on a flat surface, it can even be a bed, and relax.
Place a book on your stomach
Breathe slowly and deeply, causing your belly to rise and fall. The book should move with him. Do not strain your muscles, breathing should be easy and you should feel calm.

This is one of the most popular options for diaphragmatic breathing, but there are also other methods of diaphragmatic breathing exercises.

For example, you can start your workout from a sitting position. Closing your eyes, breathe through your diaphragm, feeling with your body how your stomach contracts and swells. Or try breathing in doggy style. You need to get on all fours and breathe quickly, so you will feel your stomach involuntarily begin to move.

Now we have discussed the question of how to do diaphragmatic breathing, but remember that taking too deep breaths can lead to dizziness or a headache. Be careful and attentive. If you feel pain in the head and a deterioration in your general condition, you should immediately stop training.
The most important thing is not to overdo it. First, start with small training sessions, gradually increasing the time of such breathing. After a few weeks, your body will readjust and calmly switch from one breathing method to another.

Contraindications

Diaphragmatic breathing can be dangerous for those who suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure). Therefore, before switching to such breathing, hypertensive patients need to see a doctor who will allow or prohibit breathing with the diaphragm.

The benefits of diaphragmatic breathing

When switching to this type of breathing, a person may notice an improvement within a few days.
So how do people benefit from using diaphragmatic breathing?

Firstly, a heart massage occurs. As a result, the heartbeat is normalized, nervous tension and stress are relieved, capillaries dilate, and blood circulation improves.
headache decreases or completely disappears;
massage of the gastrointestinal tract, which improves the immune system.
The abdominal organs are also massaged, which helps eliminate or prevent female and male problems.
By also breathing through the diaphragm, a person can recover from problems such as constipation. Doctors say that diaphragmatic breathing is one of the options for saving constipation;
ventilation of the lower parts of the lungs. They are cleaned of various dust that has fallen into them for a long time;
decreased blood pressure;
diaphragmatic breathing helps with severe lung diseases;
shortness of breath stops;
a person loses excess weight;
elimination of insomnia;
Breathing from the diaphragm can even help solve problems such as bad skin and wrinkles.

Such breathing does not cause harm if you do not suddenly try to switch from chest breathing to diaphragmatic breathing. You need to gradually, constantly increasing the time spent on training, change your type of breathing, and then the results will not keep you waiting. If we talk about diaphragmatic breathing, its benefits and harms, then, of course, the benefits will exceed the amount of harm caused by this breathing, because there are no disadvantages.

It is not for nothing that newborns breathe through the diaphragm; this type is inherent in nature.
In some countries, with the help of special diaphragmatic breathing techniques, diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, tracheitis and even pneumonia were treated.

conclusions

So, to summarize, it must be said that diaphragmatic breathing is inherent in our nature, but as a person grows up, automatically, without noticing it, he begins to switch to the chest type of breathing. This is mainly due to a decrease in movement and restructuring of the body. But the breast type negatively affects the entire body as a whole. This breathing leads to a number of negative consequences that are deposited not only on a person’s vital organs, but also on his well-being in general. A person begins to have a headache, blood circulation worsens, and the muscles are in constant tension.

Following from this, a person should switch to diaphragm breathing, which brings many benefits to the body. If we consider diaphragmatic breathing, benefits and harm, then we can say that it does not cause any harm, and the benefits are significant for the human body.
But when switching to such breathing, the main thing is not to overdo it. A sudden transition to this type can lead to negative consequences, so you need to start small workouts that take a little time, and increase the interval over time. Within a few weeks after such training, you will feel a positive result.

Important! Before training, hypertensive patients should definitely consult a doctor, who may prohibit or allow the transition to diaphragmatic breathing.

Interesting Facts:

athletes use diaphragmatic breathing, since it uses the entire volume of the lungs, which cannot be said about chest breathing, which affects only part of the lungs;
some girls specifically do not want to switch to diaphragm breathing, since this requires “inflating” the stomach, and this action may supposedly make it seem that the girl is overweight, which, of course, is not true;

Children under three years of age breathe, advantageously, through the diaphragm. After children begin to explore the world, their body is often visited by overexertion and stress, and therefore breathing switches to the chest type.

Therefore, you should not think that diaphragmatic breathing is something incomprehensible and unnatural. It is inherent in nature, which means it is correct, which is proven by the enormous benefits it brings. With the proper techniques and training, such breathing will return to your life and, even if you have to “cause” it at first, over time it will become a habit.

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, not everyone thinks about the fact that you can breathe in different ways: with benefit or harm to health - through the stomach or the chest. What are the features, benefits and harms of diaphragmatic breathing with the stomach, its difference from breathing with the chest and how to make the natural physiological process become healing for the body is worth finding out in detail.

Types of breathing

All breathing methods can be divided into three main types:

Clavicular, or upper thoracic.

With this method of breathing, the shoulders rise and the ribs protrude forward. It is often characteristic of people with low levels of physical activity and smokers. The reason for this is an incorrect lifestyle: working in a sedentary position, lack of sports or stressful situations. Moreover, it is the harm of upper breathing that can manifest itself over time as diseases of the internal organs and problems of the digestive system, as well as a decrease in the level of stress resistance of the body.

Interesting! In stressful situations, as well as in states of fear, anger or excitement, people automatically begin to breathe from the upper chest.

Thoracic or intercostal.

During this breathing method, the chest tends to rise and expand while the stomach, shoulders and collarbones remain in place. This means that the central part of the lungs is involved in the respiratory process. This way of breathing is more effective, but still limits the movement of the abdominal muscles. It is characteristic of middle-aged men and women with a normal physique.

Interesting! In a dream, all women tend to breathe through the chest.

Abdominal or diaphragmatic.

With this type of breathing, the abdominal wall protrudes forward due to the pressure of the diaphragm. Let's look at this technique and its properties.

What is diaphragmatic breathing

In diaphragmatic breathing, the main working organ is the muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. This muscular partition tends to contract and fall when inhaling, as a result of which the abdomen relaxes and protrudes forward. During exhalation, the diaphragm, on the contrary, rises in the form of a dome and pushes air out of the lungs. The diaphragmatic method is considered the most natural and useful, because to implement it the body expends a minimum of effort.

The benefit of abdominal breathing is that it is when it is used that the body is maximally enriched with oxygen (due to the fact that almost the entire useful volume of the lungs is used), which minimizes the harm of oxygen starvation.

Interesting! In their sleep, men tend to breathe in this way. And the fact that newborn babies also breathe with diaphragmatic breathing speaks in favor of its naturalness and correctness. As they grow older, the child’s body “relearns” and switches to less useful chest breathing.

Benefits of abdominal breathing

The effectiveness of the diaphragmatic breathing method for the functioning of the entire body has been proven, primarily through the elimination of psychosomatic blocks.

With the chronic action of stress factors in the modern world, a person develops a so-called muscle corset, a source of psychosomatic problems, due to constant muscle tension, including the abdomen and pelvis. By relaxing the abdomen, blocks that are harmful to mental health are eliminated.

Abdominal breathing poses virtually no harm to the body, but its benefits can hardly be overestimated, since it:

promotes fat burning: this demonstrates its beneficial properties for weight loss;
due to blood saturation with oxygen, it improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system;
enhances ventilation of the lungs, since it uses almost their entire volume;
benefits the speech apparatus, freeing up its work;
improves the functioning of internal organs - due to their massage with the diaphragm;
has a beneficial effect on the intestines, helping to get rid of constipation, bloating and other problems;
has particular benefits for women: with the help of high-quality belly breathing, you can improve the condition of your facial skin, reduce the number of wrinkles and various inflammatory processes.

Learn more about the features and benefits of abdominal breathing in the video:

The best time to practice diaphragmatic breathing is in the evening, as this technique has a deep relaxing effect.

When performing useful breathing exercises, it is advisable to be in a quiet and calm place where no one can distract or interfere.

People who are overweight may find the beneficial diaphragm technique a little more difficult because they have a harder time relaxing their muscles during exercise.

The first 6 workouts should be completed for approximately 30 minutes.

After the first lesson, there may be unpleasant pain in the area of the diaphragm when breathing or physical activity, but there is no need to worry: they do not cause harm and will soon pass.

You can prepare yourself for training using walking techniques:

for the first 3 days while walking, you need to inhale air every 2 steps, and exhale every next 3 steps;
from day 4, for every one inhalation there are also 2 steps, and an exhalation – for the next 4.

The benefits of this technique will also work directly during the main training period, due to its ability to ensure that the diaphragm is adjusted to the correct breathing rhythm.

Attention! The duration of one breathing exercise is 5 minutes; to avoid possible harm, the increase in time should be gradual.

Technique for performing diaphragmatic breathing

The correct technique of diaphragmatic breathing should train the tension of the abdominal muscles, including those located below the navel.

Important! The benefit will manifest itself precisely when the abdomen is tensed and not retracted, otherwise the respiratory process will return to the upper sections.

It will be useful to teach the muscle to voluntarily relax: in this state, through deepening and equalizing breathing, it has the ability to normalize blood circulation in the solar plexus, reduce anxiety and restore sleep.

Before you start doing the exercises, you need to adjust your breathing correctly, following a simple technique:

To begin with, it is better to wear comfortable clothes that do not restrict breathing.
Lie down or sit on a couch and relax as much as possible.
With your mind's eye, examine your entire body from head to toe.
Then focus on the muscles involved in the breathing process, making sure they relax as you exhale. It is better to keep your eyes closed.
You should inhale the air very slowly.
You need to try to breathe so that the chest does not rise while filling the lungs with air.
Exhalation should be performed more slowly than inhalation. At the same time, the stomach should smoothly retract.
It will be useful to repeat this technique every day for 5 minutes, gradually increasing its duration.

Ideally, you need to achieve a state of control over the work of the diaphragmatic muscle, through maximum sensation and understanding of its work in the complex of the entire respiratory process.

The beneficial properties of diaphragmatic training are maximally manifested when the inhalation to exhalation ratio is 1:4.

For beginners, it is enough to perform 12 - 15 cycles per minute.

The benefits increase with a gradual decrease in the frequency of cycles: in trained people it drops to 3 - 6 per minute. This gives the body the opportunity to increase the content of carbon dioxide in the blood, the beneficial properties of which are manifested in strengthening all organs and systems.

Important! Diaphragmatic breathing should only be done through the nose. Breathing through the mouth changes the movement of the diaphragm in the forward-backward direction, which entails harm to the clamps and interference with the functioning of the lungs, while deep nasal breathing ensures its movement up and down and free operation of the respiratory system.

After mastering the basics of diaphragmatic breathing, you can proceed directly to the exercises themselves.

Exercises to develop diaphragmatic breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing retains its beneficial properties when performed in various body positions. For a training course, depending on the stage and level of training, it is useful to choose the most suitable technique for yourself.

Let's look at the main ones.

On the back

Very suitable for beginners: in this position it is easier to control the entire breathing process.

Lie on your back with your knees bent and try to relax all the muscles of your body as much as possible.
To make it easier, it will be useful to place your left hand on your chest and your right hand on your stomach: this way you can better control the rhythm of your breathing.
In order for diaphragmatic breathing to be correct, monitor the position of the right hand: it should remain motionless, while the left one rises with the stomach as you inhale and falls as you exhale.
The inhalation should be deep, with the belly inflating. Exhale should be done slowly through the nose, pulling the abdominal wall towards the spine.

Advice! To perform well and enhance the benefits, it is recommended to first become aware of exhalation and contraction of the abdomen. After this, keep your focus on inhalation and relaxation after compression. And after consolidating the skill of relaxing while inhaling, begin to train inflating the abdominal press while exhaling.

In a sitting position

The benefits of a sitting position help with deeper development of belly breathing.

You should take any sitting position: in a lotus, on a chair. The main condition: the knees should be located at the level of the pelvis.

The principle is the same:

Close your eyes and relax as much as possible.
The abdomen should contract as you exhale, relax, and only then inflate as you inhale.
Over time, the amplitude of the abdomen when inhaling and exhaling should become more natural: contraction and inflation should occur by itself, not completely.

Dog breathing

With this technique, it will be useful to remember how the dog breathes.

To simulate such breathing you need:

Get on all fours, open your mouth and relax your abdominal muscles.
Now you need to turn on dog breathing: rapid inhalations and exhalations. This position will allow you to better feel the diaphragm and lungs.

Attention! Excessively rapid breathing can cause hallucinatory effects. Their sign may be dizziness or even a headache: in this case, you need to stop.

Gradually increase breathing to 5 – 7 minutes.

Complicated version while sitting:

The pose is standard, half-lotus or on the edge of a chair, the spine should be straight.
Inhalations and exhalations should be sharp and frequent, multi-stage: through the nose - three inhalations, through the mouth with a tube - three exhalations.
At the same time, the stomach must be pulled towards the spine.

Complicated version with cargo

It is a modified lying exercise. Strengthening the benefit will be provided by the cargo: it can be the most ordinary book.

You need to take a lying position, place the book on your stomach.
The inhalation-exhalation technique is standard for diaphragmatic exercises; it is performed in such a way that the book moves in the “up-down” direction.

It will be useful to bring the execution to 15 - 20 minutes.

Belly breathing for weight loss

Breathing through the diaphragm has the ability to effectively influence the body, promoting both its healing and the burning of fat in the body, without causing harm. A beautiful and flat stomach can be achieved not necessarily by strength training.

It’s hard to believe, but with its beneficial properties, diaphragmatic breathing successfully competes with fitness training. During running or any other physical activity, oxygen is distributed much more easily throughout the body, thereby burning fat deposits. The diaphragmatic breathing technique allows you to better distribute oxygen throughout the body in a static version of training. At the same time, the weight comes off smoothly and evenly.

It is important to learn to breathe correctly by changing chest breathing to abdominal breathing. The involved abdominal muscles ultimately massage the internal organs and launch the source of the body's hidden energy. The beneficial result is the burning of fat reserves in the body.

The beneficial properties of diaphragmatic breathing are also considered to be normalizing blood pressure and normalizing metabolism.

To remove fat deposits in the abdominal area, you need to practice the following diaphragmatic exercises:

As you inhale, slightly inflate (round) your belly, and as you exhale, pull it in, pushing out all the rest of the air. It is recommended to practice this technique regularly after waking up.
Lie on your back, bend your knees, relax deeply and inhale as deeply as possible, while drawing in your stomach. Then exhale: the stomach must be inflated. You also need to include your legs in the exercise: while inhaling, you need to lift them up, as when pumping your abs. Thus, the abdominal muscles contract. In total you need to do about 10 - 15 approaches.
Take a lying position on your back, place your arms along your body. Inhale and exhale quickly for 10 seconds. Then you need to pull in your stomach and slowly raise your legs perpendicular to the floor. Grab your legs with your hands and pull them towards you. The buttocks should not come off the floor. You need to stay in this position for 10 seconds, then return to the starting position and relax your muscles. It is recommended to do about 4 - 6 approaches at a time.
Sit on a chair, straighten your back and bend your knees at an angle of 90 degrees. Take a deep breath into your stomach, alternately tensing and relaxing your abdominal muscles. You need to start with 10 approaches, gradually increasing their number. On average, it is recommended to perform 30 approaches at a time.
You need to stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale slowly, raising your arms up, and then, exhaling slowly, lower them back. Repeat the exercise 5 - 10 times.

Contraindications for performing exercises

Despite all the useful properties of the technique, diaphragmatic breathing has its contraindications. You must always remember that excessive stress (including breathing exercises) tends to have both a negative impact on well-being and cause harm to the functioning of the entire body as a whole. All proposed diaphragmatic exercises must be performed in the system, with the support of an instructor.

During the initial period of practicing diaphragmatic breathing, dizziness or fainting may occur - the cause of this is hyperventilation of the lungs.

You should not perform diaphragmatic exercises if there are individual contraindications to the use of this technique.

It is strictly forbidden to use the diaphragmatic breathing technique for people suffering from hypertension or other diseases that cause high blood pressure.

Before performing this type of exercise, it is also advisable to consult a doctor.

Conclusion

The benefits and harms of diaphragmatic breathing continue to be studied by experts. However, today many useful properties of this breathing technique have been discovered - from normalizing the functioning of body systems to improving the quality of life in general. At the same time, you need to practice diaphragmatic breathing with caution, feeling the measure: excessive stress can cause harm to the body.

Let's think about how we breathe and how we tense our abdominal and back muscles.

How to keep a straight back on a “candle”, in a handstand. Breath holding and diaphragm.

When we do friezes, jump on our hands, rotate the “candle”, and with other elements of the break, we involuntarily hold our breath. Unconsciously, the mind requires this from the muscles. As you know, they are best tensed and worked out either while exhaling or holding your breath. But for us, this feature forms a habit and it seems that this way we are more concentrated and focused on the element itself. But another fact is also known: any holding of breath increases blood pressure and creates b O greater stress on the heart (and we further aggravate this by jumping in an inverted state, or, as Denis often did before, we sip Red Bull before and during training). Even while fixing the freezes, you can leave a small exhalation active. One more thing, uncontrollably penetrated into our habits, this is sticking out the butt and arching the back back. Even knowing that this is what often prevents us from turning a couple more turns of the “candle”, I repeat this mistake again and again. This is a natural reaction of underdeveloped muscles of the body, coupled with the habit of simplifying one’s life. As I believe, by arching our back, we stretch the abdominal muscles and it is more difficult to return them to their original state, especially since they are subjected to centrifugal force during rotation. At the same time, the lion's share of the load falls on the spine and therefore it is easy to strain a weak back. Also, I think, that in addition to the weakness of the abdominal muscles and the lack of control over their tension, the matter is aggravated by the desire to maintain the initial inhalation longer.If you keep your back straight, you will have to strain your abs, and with an increased volume of air in the lungs, this will create more pressure on the internal organs. Although their massage is useful, it probably requires preparation and gradualness of such loads. And one more point: in an inverted state, in order to draw even a little air into the lungs with the diaphragm (like we decided to use chest breathing), we need the fibers of the diaphragm muscles not only to compress the internal organs, but also to overcome their weight (after all, now only the lungs are below, but above The diaphragm turned out to be the kidneys, spleen, liver, stomach, perhaps even full of a hearty lunch, intestines - I wonder how much it all weighs, and it all needs to be compressed by the walls of the abs and the diaphragm). In general, it is easier for the body to stop breathing along the way and hold it until better times. It turns out that the weak link is the diaphragm. Let's pump up the diaphragm, sing like in opera, and give up breakdancing...

About the diaphragm and breathing.

There are two main types of breathing: chest and diaphragmatic. The latter is also referred to as “breathing with the diaphragm” or “breathing with the belly”; such breathing is also called “abdominal” and “full yogic breathing”. In fact, we never breathe with our stomachs, but always breathe with our lungs, but air is pumped into them using the diaphragm.

Let's look at the diaphragm as a whole in a drawing from Frank Netter's wonderful anatomical atlas.

Left view from above, right view from below

The diaphragm is a large muscular partition that separates the organs of the abdominal and thoracic cavities. An amazing invention of nature in man! In its normal state, it is concave towards the lungs. When it descends, an area of low pressure is created in the lungs and, according to the laws of physics, air is sucked into them, and the stomach, accordingly, bulges out. When we breathe through the diaphragm, much more air is drawn into our lungs and our body receives more oxygen. This kind of breathing is the most natural and correct for a person. We all begin to breathe correctly from birth, but then, as we grow older, we acquire various complexes, fears, muscle tension, we are tormented by stress... As a result, the diaphragm also becomes clamped and the person begins to breathe through the chest. When we breathe through our chests, air fills only the upper parts of the lungs; there is less oxygen. Our health weakens, our brain begins to work worse. Therefore, it is very important to learn how to breathe correctly again. There are simple exercises for this.

Exercises to develop diaphragmatic breathing.

We just sit down and breathe with our diaphragm. We concentrate on it, try to feel its movement inside us. You can close your eyes to better concentrate on your breathing.
"Breath of a Dog" We get on all fours, relax our stomachs, open our mouths and breathe like a dog - often, often. In this position, it is very easy to feel the diaphragm. You need to be careful with this exercise - it is akin to holotropic breathing, which can cause hallucinations. Do not do this exercise for a long time, stop it at the slightest sign of dizziness.
We lie on our backs and place something light on our stomachs, for example, a book. We breathe through the diaphragm and watch the book move up and down.
Reducing the volume of inhalation and exhalation. We try to inhale and exhale as little air as possible. At a certain stage, we stop feeling the flow of air through our nose and only the sensation of the movement of the diaphragm remains. It is useful to close your eyes when performing this exercise to cut off another source of sensation.

In the first stages, when returning to diaphragmatic breathing, you need to be careful. Do not try to breathe too deeply and too often, this can lead to hyperventilation, dizziness and loss of consciousness. However, if you exercise without fanaticism, but regularly, your body will be very grateful to you.

Always try to breathe from your diaphragm, control yourself, and consciously switch to correct breathing. After some time, this control will go to the subconscious level and you will always breathe correctly, without even thinking about it.

Breathing in yoga. How to learn to breathe correctly and what to do with your abdominal muscles.

You need to gradually switch to proper yogic breathing (with tense abdominal muscles). Gymnastic breathing, when the chest is in a wheel, the stomach is pulled in, is “chest” breathing and only a small part of the lung volume is used. The result of such shallow breathing is the accumulation of stagnant air in the lower parts of the lungs. It turns out that we breathe half, which means we live half. You need to breathe with your stomach, or more precisely, with your diaphragm. Why? The prana entering the body (regardless of how it got there: through the skin, with food or through the respiratory tract) mainly accumulates in the solar plexus. From here, it should be distributed through energy channels to all organs and systems. This process is much easier if the solar plexus area is constantly massaged. The lungs are not able to perform such work; only the anterior wall of the abdomen and the diaphragm can do it. So, when a person breathes correctly (with tense abdominal muscles), he not only replenishes his vital energy reserves better, but also manages it more rationally. First, we learn to breathe simply with the stomach (abdominal breathing, or, more precisely, diaphragmatic breathing) without tensing its muscles. Many people don’t even know how to breathe this way, let alone the correct yogic way of breathing. Usually when describing this type of breathing ( diaphragmatic without tension of the abdominal muscles) are limited to instructions on yogic breathing, although this is not yogic breathing at all; more accurately, it can be called preparatory to correct yogic breathing.

While standing or lying on your back, place your hand on your stomach near the solar plexus. Inhale through your belly, and your arm will rise as your belly rises. The diaphragm - a continuous muscular partition separating the lungs from the abdominal cavity - will descend. The lower it goes, the more air enters the lungs. Now exhale through your belly and you will notice your hand moving down as your belly lowers, with your diaphragm moving up. It will rise even higher if you force your stomach inward, thereby squeezing the air out of your lungs as much as possible.
The main emphasis in Yoga Pranayama is on the activity of the abdominal wall muscles, which determines the degree of effectiveness of the exercises. By controlling the abdominal muscles, the yogi is able to regulate the pressure in the abdominal cavity and chest. The original yoga techniques for performing Pranayama differ from the Pranayama techniques in our Western understanding: for some reason we believe that the muscles of the abdominal wall should remain passive and relaxed during the breathing process. Pranayama without active tension of the abdominal muscles is nonsense.

To understand why with proper breathing, the abdominal muscles should be tense and what is the benefit of this, let’s consider the process in more detail. To do this, compare the body with a cylinder consisting of two compartments, hard - at the level of the chest and soft and mobile - at the level of the abdomen (this mobility depends on the tone of the abdominal muscles). The role of the piston in this cylinder is played by the diaphragm. For some reason, very little is written about the importance of the diaphragm in the breathing process and its effect on internal organs. It is considered to be a rather inconspicuous muscle, but in fact it plays a major role in the breathing process. When you inhale, the piston (diaphragm) moves down, presses on the organs located in the abdomen, and sucks air into the lungs (due to the resulting pressure difference). When you exhale, the piston (diaphragm) rises and pushes the exhaust air out. This is the simple operation of the diaphragm, but this is at first glance. If you carefully consider its function, it turns out that the diaphragm is our second heart. It turns out that the force with which the diaphragm pumps blood through our body is much greater than the force of the heart, because the surface of this ideal pressure pump and its driving force are much greater than the driving force of the heart. This is the strongest muscle in our body. Moreover, it compresses the liver, spleen and stimulates blood circulation in the abdominal cavity and the portal vein system, it pushes lymph into the chest canal, and also constantly compresses, systematically massaging (24,000 times a day), the intestines are the main metabolic center where transformation of nutrients necessary for the proper functioning and construction of tissues and cells of the body. By systematically compressing the liver, the diaphragm facilitates the production of bile and promotes blood circulation in the liver. It is clear that the diaphragm can work effectively if the abdominal muscles are involved in the breathing process, and not flabby and saggy, but strong and elastic. Let's consider what happens in the body when breathing with relaxed muscles of the lower abdomen. And then compare it to what happens when the muscles are tense.

Exhale with relaxed abdominal muscles (Fig. 1).

The diaphragm is located high. The abdominal muscles are simply carried away by the flow of breath, holding the mass of the internal organs of the body. Exhalation occurs effortlessly. The abdominal cavity takes the shape of an egg. The internal organs do not experience noticeable compression, since the abdominal wall is not tense.

Position at the end of inspiration with relaxed abdominal muscles (Fig. 2).

After a diaphragmatic inhalation without tensing the abdominal muscles, the diaphragm moves down and the lungs fill with air. The abdominal cavity now took the shape of a flattened ball, but its volume remained virtually unchanged: the internal organs did not shrink, they simply sank down and moved forward. With such breathing, chronic deformation of the abdominal wall and abdomen occurs. Breathing becomes increasingly abdominal, the adverse effects of which are noted below. Filled with an unreasonably large amount of blood, the organs experience overload, so the biological processes in the abdominal cavity slow down. This method of breathing, even in ordinary life, has a negative effect on people, and in Pranayama it is generally unacceptable; In addition, it blocks thoracic and clavicular breathing.

Exhale completely with tension in the abdominal muscles (Fig. 3).

At the end of exhalation, the tense abdominal muscles push the internal organs back and up, thereby promoting the rise of the diaphragm, which allows all the air to be expelled from the lungs. The previously compressed organs, freed from the rush of blood, take on their natural shape and volume.

Inhale with tension in the abdominal muscles (Fig. 4).

During inhalation with tense abdominal muscles, the diaphragm gradually moves down. At the end of inhalation, it is at the same lower level as when breathing without tensing the abdominal muscles. Despite the fact that when the diaphragm is lowered, the abdominal muscles resist the mass of internal organs, which are pushed back by the diaphragm, the volume of inhaled air does not decrease. Below the navel, the muscles remain tense, but not rigid. Above the navel, muscle tension weakens slightly, balancing the pressure from the internal organs. The abdomen is not deformed, and this volume is considered ideal. Moreover, counteracting forces from the diaphragm and abdominal wall increase internal pressure on the abdominal organs. As a result, the internal organs are massaged and significantly strengthened. All organs are stimulated, and therefore their physiological functions are improved. In addition, only such an inhalation does not interfere with the proper functioning of the thoracic and clavicular areas. The three phases of yogic breathing (inhalation, retention, exhalation) are successfully implemented only when they are performed with constant tension in the abdominal muscles. This is the only way of breathing in which Pranayama becomes highly effective and brings maximum benefit to the practitioner. Inhaling diaphragmatically with tense abdominal muscles balances the abdominal and thoracic phases of full yogic breathing. Active tension of the abdominal muscles is carried out in all phases of Pranayama breathing exercises, but it is especially necessary in the phase of holding the breath with lungs filled with air. It is very useful to become familiar with the structure of the abdominal wall. It consists of several layers of muscles, some of which are located obliquely (oblique muscles), and others horizontally or vertically. For us, the most important muscles are those that stretch from the pubis to the chest - the major recti. They play a leading role in the process of breathing control. The area between the navel and the sternum resists breathing pressure much more than the area below the navel. First, let’s accustom ourselves to diaphragmatic breathing without tension, that is, we breathe “wrongly” - this is the first stage. The fact is that many people have such tight stomachs that mastering diaphragmatic breathing without straining the abdominal muscles is already a blessing. The next stage is strengthening the abdominal muscles by daily performing a very simple set of yoga exercises - asanas. Moreover, the stomach does not have to be flat. You can have a fairly decent tummy, but underneath the layer of fatty tissue there must be strong muscles. Remember that everything does not come to a harmonious state immediately, but the main thing is that it does come.

So, diaphragmatic breathing. Release your lungs as much as possible by drawing in your abdominal muscles to expel the air. Now inhale, relaxing your abdominal muscles, and watch your belly inflate (muscles stretch) like a balloon. This is the main disadvantage of this breathing technique. Now we do it the right way, that is, diaphragmatic breathing with tension in the abdominal muscles. Exhale, pull in the stomach, tense the lower abdomen from the navel to the pubis. Before inhaling, press with your index finger on this area, and with the other finger on the area above the navel. Continue to press down on your abdomen to feel the difference in resistance at different levels, while still holding your breath without air in your lungs. Without removing your fingers, inhale slowly. Keep your lower abdomen contracted throughout the inhalation phase, without preventing the area above the navel from slightly distending. When you breathe this way, the abdominal wall resists pressure from the descending diaphragm, which pushes the organs down and forward. Your fingers will clearly feel the difference in resistance from the abdominal muscles at both levels. Inhalation requires a certain muscular effort, and the compression is transmitted to the abdominal organs, which are vigorously, albeit gently, massaged, which means they are healed and strengthened.

Holding your breath with full lungs.

Hold your breath, tensing your abdominal muscles and following the rules for holding your breath (not exceeding 4 seconds). The increased pressure in the abdominal cavity and chest is most noticeable during the breath-holding phase. At this moment, you have a need to hold air in the chest so that the pressure does not rise above the level of the glottis. This is achieved by performing Jalandhara Bandha. In this case, the blood does not rush to the face, and the pressure in the lungs does not cause any harm, since it is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the pulmonary pleura.

What about normal breathing?

Normal breathing, like yoga breathing, should be accompanied by tension in the abdominal muscles, but in a lighter version (without delays). Whenever you remember this, tighten your stomach, especially the area below your navel. This way, you will avoid the accumulation of fat deposits in the waist area, since a stretched belly fills with a layer of fat faster. This way of breathing will gradually become a habit and will return you to nature, because your goal is to restore this natural breathing.

Tension is often confused with retraction. You can decide that there is a return to gymnastic breathing - chest forward, stomach tucked. This is wrong. Tension of the abdominal muscles does not imply retraction. A retracted abdomen interferes with diaphragmatic breathing. A person with upper (subclavian) breathing, to which a retracted stomach condemns him, is always inflated and tense, his throat is closed, and his solar plexus is compressed into a ball. Such a person usually has poor health, he is cold, suffers from poor digestion and is often extremely thin due to the fact that he does not digest food well. He sleeps poorly and has frequent headaches. Subclavian breathing does not properly ventilate the lungs, reduces the body's resistance to physical and nervous stress, and also shortens life. Asanas can alleviate the condition of such a person, but only yogic breathing in combination with relaxation techniques will provide effective help. First, such a person must learn to voluntarily relax his abdominal muscles. When he becomes less tense, is able to relax the abdominal wall and move the diaphragm, he will be able to get the maximum benefit from the practice of asanas. The ability to relax the abdominal muscles is a necessary prerequisite for activating the diaphragm, which is otherwise blocked in the upper position due to retraction of the abdominal muscles and immobility of the ribs. Relaxing a tense abdomen leads to amazing results: the solar plexus is freed from excess blood, breathing becomes deeper, spasms of the digestive tract go away, digestion improves, feelings of anxiety decrease and disappear, and sleep improves. Therefore, if you are accustomed to gymnastic breathing, first learn to breathe with a relaxed stomach and only then start practicing Pranayama with tense abdominal muscles.

Some people are interested in the question: Is it possible to strengthen your abs with breathing?
- Yes, with proper breathing with tense abdominal muscles below the navel. But understand that it is not the breathing itself that strengthens the abs, but the fact that by breathing correctly, you work the abs. And this strengthens him. Excess fat deposits will go away. Practice pranayama by tensing but not drawing in your lower abs. Well, exercises to pump up the abdominal muscles - various crunches - have not been canceled.

Diaphragm in belly dancing.

- From a belly dance point of view, the diaphragm is used by shaking it, which is quite effective. Shaking of the diaphragm is performed due to it, and not due to the abdominal muscles. One of the exercises that can be useful for developing the diaphragm: exhale the air from the lungs, draw in the upper abdomen. You should feel as if the “underbelly” area is being pulled towards the spine (although this is probably a strange comparison). Without exhaling, throw out the upper abdomen and pull it in again, and so on several times, gradually speeding up the pace. Irina Itsi, beledi.ru forum

Exercise “uddiyana bandha” (or “abdominal pump”, as the Russian yogi Andrei Sidersky calls it).

- Stand straight, place your feet as comfortably as you like, preferably directly under your shoulders. Bend your knees (knees should not go forward behind your feet when bending), lean forward from your hips, keeping your back STRAIGHT, rest your palms on your hips above your knees. Try to relax your back! Take a deep, slow breath and exhale the same slowly (the air must be completely exhaled from the lungs). Holding your breath, pull in your stomach so that it sticks to your spine. Stay in this position as long as you can. If you feel discomfort, gently release your stomach and ONLY THEN inhale smoothly. Remaining in this pose, restore your breathing and then repeat. 4-5 repetitions are enough, otherwise you can overdo it! Once you have mastered this exercise, you can move on to the next stage.
Now, holding your breath and drawing in your stomach (the same pose), begin to push it down and pull it in again. For yogis, this is performed with force and maximum amplitude, again, no more than 4-5 times, it is quite difficult. In oriental dances the task is simpler. You need to pull your stomach in and out so as to achieve a “rinsing” sensation. This movement will allow you to feel your diaphragm. The abdominal muscles should be relaxed, the tummy hangs freely. When you feel the need to breathe, gently release your stomach and ONLY THEN inhale smoothly. Remaining in this pose, restore your breathing and then repeat. Don't go fast! Find your own rhythm in which you feel comfortable. Over time, you will feel that you can freely control the movements of the diaphragm and increase the pace. Be CAREFUL and MODERATE! Any breathing practice is serious work and a big burden for the body, especially an untrained one. Be sure to rest between rinses, taking deep, calm breaths. Go for it! 3-4 minutes a day - and after 2-3 months you will be able to shake the diaphragm in a vertical position. Raisha, forum beledi.ru