Fran DiDomenicis, Ph.D.

Abdominal Breathing/ Diaphragmatic Breathing

The Anatomy of Breathing

The diaphragm is a large dome shaped muscle located between the chest and the abdomen. When it contracts it is forced downward causing the abdomen to expand. This causes a negative pressure within the chest forcing air into the lungs. The negative pressure also pulls blood into the chest improving the blood return to the heart. This leads to improved stamina in both disease and athletic activity. Like blood, the flow of lymph, which is rich in immune cells, is also improved. By expanding the lungs and improving the flow of blood and lymph, abdominal breathing also helps prevent infection of the lung and other tissues. But most of all it is an excellent tool to stimulate the “relaxation response” that results in less tension and an overall sense of well being.

Shallow vs. Deep Breathing

In the lowest portion of the lungs reside many small blood vessels that are instrumental in carrying oxygen to cells. Shallow breathing impairs the diaphragm’s range of motion and deprives these small blood vesselsfrom getting a full share of oxygenated air. That can make you feel short of breath and anxious.

Deep abdominal breathing encourages full oxygen exchange -- that is, the exchange of incoming oxygen for outgoing carbon dioxide. Not surprisingly, this type of breathing slows the heartbeat and can lower or stabilize blood pressure.

You can see if you are a chest breather by placing your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your abdomen. As you breathe, see which hand rises more. If your right hand rises more, you are a chest breather. If your left hand rises more, you are an abdomen breather.

Breathing, Stress, and the Nervous System

We can consciously use breathing to influence the involuntary (sympathetic nervous system) that regulates blood pressure, heart rate, circulation, digestion and many other bodily functions.

During times of emotional stress our sympathetic (“fight-flight”) nervous system is stimulated and affects a number of physical responses. Our heart rate rises, we perspire, our muscles tense and our breathing becomes rapid and shallow. If this process happens over a long period of time, the sympathetic nervous system becomes over stimulated, leading to an imbalance that can affect our physical health, causing inflammation, high blood pressure, and muscle pain to name a few.

Chronic stress leads to a restriction of the connective and muscular tissue in the chest resulting in a decreased range of motion of the chest wall. Due to rapid, shallower breathing, the chest does not expand as much as it would with slower deeper breaths and much of the air exchange occurs at the top of the lungs, towards the head. This results in "chest" breathing. Chest breathing is inefficient because the greatest amount of blood flow occurs in the lower lobes of the lungs, areas that have limited air expansion in chest breathers. Rapid, shallow, chest breathing results in less oxygen transfer to the blood and subsequent poor delivery of nutrients to the tissues.

The breath can be used to directly influence these stressful changes, causing a direct stimulation of the parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) nervous system resulting in relaxation and a reversal of the changes seen with the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. We see how our bodies know to do this naturally when we take a deep breath or sigh when a stress is relieved.

How to Do the Abdominal Breathing Technique

Breathing exercises such as this one should be done twice a day or whenever you find your mind dwelling on upsetting thoughts or when you are experiencing pain.

  • Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen, below the navel. When you take a deep breath in, the hand on the abdomen should rise higher than the one on the chest. This insures that the diaphragm is pulling air into the bottoms of the lungs.
  • Slowly exhale through your nose to a count of 8. As all the air is released with relaxation, gently contract your abdominal muscles to completely evacuate the remaining air from the lungs. It is important to remember that we deepen respirations not by inhaling more air but by completely exhaling it.
  • Inhale slowly through the nose to a count of 4, causing the abdomen to expand, and keeping the chest and shoulders as motionless as possible. Put all the action into the abdomen.
  • Repeat the cycle four more times for a total of 5 deep breaths and try to breathe at a rate of one breath every 12 to 15 seconds. At this rate our heart rate variability increases which has a positive effect on cardiac health.

The use of the hands on the chest and abdomen are only needed to help you train your breathing. Once you feel comfortable with your ability to breathe into the abdomen, they are no longer needed. In general, exhalation should be twice as long as inhalation. Also, after a while it’s fine to relax into a natural rate of breath, keeping the breathing “in the abdomen”. When you first start, 10 minutes of breath focus is a reasonable goal. Gradually add time until your sessions are about 15 to 20 minutes long. And of course, you can use conscious abdominal breathing at any time in an informal way while driving, at a meeting, walking, etc.

You may also want to incorporate words that can enhance the exercise. As you inhale, try saying this phrase to yourself: “Breathing in peace and calm.” And as you exhale, say: “Breathing out tension and anxiety.” The idea being to bring in the feeling/emotion you want with inhalation and release those you don't want with exhalation.

Abdominal breathing is just one of many breathing exercises. But it is the most important one to learn before exploring other techniques. The more it is practiced, the more natural it will become.

Alternate Nostril Breathing Technique

A beautiful breathing technique that helps keep the mind calm, happy and peaceful. A few minutes of Alternate Nostril Breathingwill de-stress the mind and release accumulated tension and fatigue. In yoga terminology, the breathing technique is named Nadi Shodhan, as it helps clear out blocked energy channels in the body, which in turn calms the mind.

How to do Alternate Nostril Breathing

  1. Sit comfortably with your spine erect and shoulders relaxed. Keep a gentle smile on your face. Keep your eyes closed throughout.
  2. Place your left hand on the left knee, palm open to the sky. Relax.
  3. Place the tip of the index finger and middle finger of the right hand in between the eyebrows, the ring finger on the left nostril, and the thumb on the right nostril. Use the ring finger to open or close the left nostril and the thumb to open or close the right nostril.
  4. Press your thumb down on the right nostril and breathe out gently through the left nostril.
  5. Breathe in from the left nostril, then press the left nostril gently closed with the ring finger.
  6. Removing the right thumb from the right nostril, breathe out from the right.
  7. Breathe in from the right nostril, press your thumb to close it then exhale from the left. After every exhalation, remember to breathe in from the same nostril from which you exhaled.

You have now completed one round of Alternate Nostril Breathing. Continue inhaling and exhaling from alternate nostrils. Continue taking long, deep, smooth breaths without any force or effort. Complete 9 such rounds by alternately breathing through both the nostrils.

Benefits of Alternate Nostril Breathing

  • It calmsand centers the mind. The mind has a tendency to keep regretting or glorifying the past and getting anxious about the future. Alternate Nostril Breathing brings the mind back to the present moment.
  • Works therapeutically for most circulatory and respiratory problems.
  • Releases accumulated stress in the body-mind and effectively relaxes it.
  • Helps harmonize the left and right hemispheres of the brain, which correlate to the logical and emotional sides of our personality.
  • Helps purify and balance the subtle energy channels, thereby ensuring the smooth flow of life force through the body.
  • It maintains body temperature.

Points to remember while practicing Alternate Nostril Breathing

  • Do not force the breathing; keep the flow gentle and natural. Do not breathe from the mouth or make any sound while breathing. Place the fingers very lightly on the forehead and nose. There is no need to apply any pressure.
  • In case you feel dull and are yawning after practicing Alternate Nostril Breathing, check the time you take to inhale and exhale. Your exhalation should be longer than inhalation.
  • Alternate Nostril Breathing helps relax the mind and prepares it to enter a meditative state. So it is a good idea to do a short meditation after doing it.

To view an example of Alternate Nostril Breathing, visit

Bellows Breathing Technique (The Stimulating Breath)

If practiced over time, the abdominal breathing exercise can result in improved energy throughout the day, but sometimes we are in need of a quick "pick-me-up." The Bellows breathing exercise (also called, the stimulating breath) can be used during times of fatigue that may result from driving over distances or when you need to be revitalized at work. It should not be used in place of abdominal breathing but in addition as a tool to increase energy when needed.

This breathing exercise is opposite that of abdominal breathing. Short, fast rhythmic breaths are used to increase energy, which are similar to the "chest" breathing we do when under stress. The bellows breath recreates the adrenal stimulation that occurs with stress and results in the release of energizing chemicals such as epinephrine. Like most bodily functions this serves an active purpose, but overuse results in adverse effects as discussed above.

How to Do Bellows Breathing

  • Sit in a comfortable up-right position with your spine straight.
  • With your mouth gently closed, breath in and out of your nose as fast as possible. To give an idea of how this is done, think of someone using a bicycle pump (a bellows) to quickly pump up a tire. The upstroke is inhalation and the down stroke is exhalation and both are equal in length.
  • The rate of breathing is rapid with as many as 2-3 cycles of inhalation/exhalation per second.
  • While doing the exercise, you should feel effort at the base of the neck, chest and abdomen. The muscles in these areas will increase in strength the more this technique is practiced. This is truly an exercise.
  • Do this for no longer than 15 seconds when first starting. With practice, slowly increase the length of the exercise by 5 seconds each time. Do it as long as you are comfortably able, not exceeding one full minute.
  • There is a risk for hyperventilation that can result in loss of consciousness if this exercise is done too much in the beginning. For this reason, it should be practiced in a safe place such as a bed or chair.

This exercise can be used each morning upon awakening or when needed for an energy boost. This yogic technique can be used to help stimulate energy when needed. It is a good thing to use before reaching for a cup of coffee.