Quick Tip: How (and Why) to Practice Belly Breathing

Here’s a short how-to on belly breathing, or what is also called diaphragmatic breathing, and why this type of breathing technique can be helpful for reducing stress.

To get right to it, this type of breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the part of the nervous system that initiates relaxation and decreases the stress response.

As you might know, the stress response is also known as the fight-or-flight response. It’s when our body is activated to respond to a perceived threat or danger in the environment.

Some people refer to it as the emergency alert system of the body because it’s meant to keep us safe.

The stress response is not meant to run forever, though, or for long periods of time because it can contribute to chronic or sustained states of stress, which can take a toll on the body, the mind and our emotional wellbeing.

So by using a technique like belly breathing, we’re able to regulate the nervous system or calm the body, which will no longer be on high alert for potential danger.

And when the body feels more relaxed and generally at ease, the mind will typically follow.

Racing or worrisome thoughts will decrease. Thinking usually becomes more clear and focused. You might get new insight into a problem you’re trying to solve or you might just get relief from intrusive, bothersome thoughts.

A calmer mind will also help to reinforce a calmer body because we’re not being bombarded by thoughts that something is going wrong or we should be doing something to avoid a potential danger.

So it’s a cycle: calming the nervous system helps to calm the mind, which helps to maintain a calm nervous system, and on and on it goes.

Also, the calmer our nervous system is overall, the easier we can handle stress when it does pop up because the stress response is less likely to become quickly elevated or we can work to reduce it faster.

Here’s How to Try It

First, place one hand on your belly or stomach and another on your chest.

Many of us breathe into our chest, especially if we’re feeling stressed, but it’s a shallower form of breathing and we’re not getting as much oxygen into the body and therefore we’re less able to stimulate the relaxation response as effectively.

Once you’ve placed your hands on your stomach and chest, start breathing in through your nose with the intention of inhaling the air into your belly area. You should notice the hand placed there should extend more than the hand that’s placed on your chest. Again your hands are there to help you notice whether you’re breathing into your belly or into your chest area.

When you exhale, try and breathe out through your mouth.

Continue in this way, breathing in through your nose with the intention of filling your belly area and exhaling the breath out through the mouth.

Once this process feels more natural and comfortable, you can even pause between the inhales and exhales. So breathe into the belly, hold the breath for a few seconds and then exhale, pausing again for a few seconds before you inhale another breath.

Continue this practice for as little as a few minutes or as long as you need to until you start noticing your body relax.

You can also use this technique proactively, so even in times when you don’t feel particularly stressed or overwhelmed. It can help you to get into the practice of using your breath to calm your nervous system, and it might just help you feel calmer overall.

*Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast is for the sole purpose of being informative and is not considered complete.