Breathing from the Diaphragm?

Can you "breathe into the diaphragm" or "breathe from the diaphragm?" Yes, and no... Here's an introduction to how the diaphragm works and the basics of breathing in air:

Does this prompt another question? Lemme know!

----------------

Breathing into Your Diaphragm

I wanted to clear up something somebody was asking me about the idea of breathing from the diaphragm. So I want to clarify what that means.

It's kind of not accurate, and it's also it's got some accuracy to it.

Your Diaphragm

So your diaphragm is a muscle at the base of your ribs. It's attached around the base of your ribs. So it's like a a billowing parachute, and it's attached around the base of your ribs, and then it goes just slightly down your spine as well. So it's sort of like an overturned ladle or it's like a billowing parachute. But it's got a little bit of a descending part on it.

How Your Diaphragm Works

What happens is that when you breathe in, the diaphragm works. Muscles only work one direction. So your diaphragm works in this direction for the in breath, which is what draws air in. You've created an imbalance in the vacuum of your lungs, and air rushes in to fill that space, blah blah blah.

Your diaphragm is working for the in breath, and is potentially releasing for the out breath. So this is its relaxed position.

Now it can also be stretched beyond that, but the diaphragm isn't pushing. The diaphragm can't push. Muscles work one direction. So it's going that way because it's either releasing or because the abs are working, which are pushing the organs in such a way that they create pressure and the diaphragm is forced upward.

So the diaphragm works for the in breath, and can release for the out breath, though it's also possible that it works a bit during the out breath as well, as it's creating, as it's creating this balance in the work between the abs and the diaphragm. And that's what I like to call breath control, when you are dealing with how much pressure do the abs give for breath support, in relation to what the diaphragm is doing. So that's the whole "breathe into the diaphragm" thing.

The only other thing I want to add is that it's not just your diaphragm, and in fact some people, when they really focus on the diaphragm and the belly moving, because the diaphragm is descending pushing on the organs that push the belly outward, some people get so fixated on that that they actually start to sort of freeze their ribs in place. And your ribs should be mobile as well.

Your Ribs When Breathing

In fact your ribs have to brace slightly for your diaphragm to be able to create this pull on them when it contracts. So your ribs do need to expand as well. You should really be looking primarily at expansion lower in the ribs instead of higher. This kind of shoulder breathing, clavicular breathing, your clavicle, this clavicular breathing doesn't tend to serve you very much. Your lungs are much smaller up here. There's much less flexibility in your ribs on this upper side.

There's much more cartilage when you get down to lower ribs. There's so many reasons why breathing deeper, in general, is what people need to do. But at the same time, don't lock your ribs in place.

You should be using those external intercostals that will be lifting those. Your costals are your ribs. So the intercostals are between the ribs, and you've got internal and external intercostals, and one set raises your ribs and the other set lowers your ribs, or squeezes them when you have to squeeze out all of your last breath. It can actually bring them inward.

So there you go. That's a little bit on that concept of breathing into the diaphragm. You're really breathing into your lungs.

Or your lungs are being breathed into because the vacuum is shifted... Now we're just getting scary. So be aware: breathe into your diaphragm is only partially accurate.