Reduce Stress with Diaphragmatic Breathing
Take a moment to notice how you’re breathing:
Can you feel your breath?
What is the quality of your breathing pattern?
Where does your breath initiate?
Where do you feel your breath the most?
What is the pace of your breath?
Are your inhalations and exhalations of equal duration?
Our breathing patterns can follow the fluctuations of our lifestyle. When we’re stressed, our breath might be more shallow and chest-focused. Diaphragmatic breathing is a breath that utilizes the most important breathing muscle; your diaphragm. In yoga, we use a breathing exercise called the Three-Part Breath or Dirga Pranayama as a way to find your most expansive breath and utilize your diaphragm muscle.
Diaphragm
Your diaphragm is your main breathing muscle that assists your lungs in its’ intake and release of oxygen. It is located between your abdomen and your lower chest, situated at the base of the lower ribs.
When you inhale, your diaphragm contracts and flattens downward to allow your lungs and ribs to expand. When this happens, your belly will naturally expand outward.
When you exhale, your diaphragm expands and rises upwards as your chest, ribs and low belly soften.
When we breathe in this manner, we increase the oxygen in the body and reduce stress.
In yoga, we cue a low belly breath as a means to direct your attention. Anatomically, your lungs breathe and your diaphragm assists your breath. To find your fullest expansion of your breath, direct your breath beginning at your low belly, and expand it upwards towards your ribs and chest. You’ll feel the sensation of your breath inside your entire torso as you breathe.
Diaphragmatic breathing helps you find your fullest breathing capacity, calm the mind, de-stress, find internal clarity, and ground you energetically.
How to Practice Dirga Pranayama (Three-Part Breath)
To begin, find a comfortable seated position and elevate your hips onto a cushion or prop
Alternatively, you can do this lying down on your back with your knees bent
We’ll break down the breath into components before layering in the Three-Part Breath that you’ll commonly use in your yoga practice
To begin, place your palms on top of your abdomen and exhale all your air out
Inhale, inflate your breath into your belly like you’re inflating a balloon
Exhale, allow your belly to soften
Do this a few more times really feeling the expansion and softening of your belly
Now, place your hands to your ribs and exhale all your air out
Inhale, expand your ribs outward into your hands
Exhale, soften your ribs in
Do this a few more times feeling your ribs expand outward as you inhale and hugging inward as you exhale
Now, place your hands to rest on your chest and exhale all your air out
Inhale, softly lift the center of your chest
Exhale, allow this area to soften
Do this a few more times
Now, let’s combine all 3 parts together
Place your left hand onto your chest and your right hand on your low belly
Inhale 1/3 of your breath into your low belly expanding your belly out
Keep inhaling 2/3 of your breath up into your ribs
Then inhale all the way up to fill up your chest to your collarbones
Slowly exhale all your breath out from you chest, to your ribs, and all the way down allowing your navel to soften inwards towards your spine
Continue to follow the path of your breath for a few cycles
See the full tutorial on YouTube.