If you have been to a yoga class you probably have heard the cue of "breath with your belly", "expand your belly to activate your diaphragm for deeper breathing" or some similar wording. This is not how you "belly breath", you do not want to learn to press out your belly when breathing, its not a good practice.

"be careful of what you practice, you might get really good at the wrong thing" - Tony Blauer

When you inhale fully your belly should actually go inn. Because the core muscles (transversus abdominis in particular) need to work to expand your chest. By keeping the core tight, almost like a mild brace in preparation for a punch, it allows for the diaphragm muscle to expand downward and to the sides and thus give more room for the lunges to fill with air. Your rib cage should expand out to the side and to the back. Anatomically your lungs has most expansion potential outward to the side and toward the back, allowing for optimal air intake. The way you breath should reflect that. By expanding your belly you will loose core tension making it difficult to perform any tasks or exercise while also taking deeper breaths.

You want to keep tension, core activated on both inhale and exhale, learn to do it right 😀
Important to note, this is not a technique, this is how we are designed to breath.

#Breathing #Diaphragm #Bellybreathing
Have You Been Diaphragmatic Breathing WRONG?! (do this instead)