Belly breathing
Breathe low and slow, so the belly moves and the shoulders stay still.
When we hurry, we breathe high in the chest, with the shoulders. Belly breathing moves the breath down: the belly rises as you breathe in and falls as you breathe out, and the chest stays almost still.
It is the same low breath that singers and speakers use, and the base of the Articulation lessons in Speak English.
The steps
- Hands on (Easy seated pose): Sit tall. One hand on your chest, one on your belly.
- Breathe low (Easy seated pose): Breathe in through your nose so that the lower hand rises and the upper one barely moves. Breathe out slowly through your mouth.
- Rest (Easy seated pose): Let the breath go back to its own rhythm. Notice how it feels.
Tips
- Lying on your back with a book on your belly makes it easy to see.
- Make the out-breath a little longer than the in-breath.
Related
- Breath and support, in Speak English
- Box breathing: a guided meditation
- The double sigh
- Alternate-nostril breathing
- All the calm lessons
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