Belly breathing is popular in Yoga as it aids in deep breathing and relaxation. Some people naturally are belly breathers. Deep breathing is recommended but to accomplish it with only belly breathing is just half the picture. In this blog post I will discuss why repetitive belly breathing is not healthy for the pelvic floor and diastasis healing. I will also mention a better alternative to belly breathing.
The anatomy of breathing
Breathing is a subconscious act. We never really pay attention to our breathing unless we stress it with a high demand activity like running. Also certain medical conditions can make breathing more labored and hence noticeable.
Now let’s break down how our body moves when we breath.
When we take a deep inhale our lungs expand down and out to fill up with air. Our rib cage does the same. Our diaphragm moves down. Our pelvic floor also moves down (1). Our chest, belly, back and sides should also expand outwards. Our shoulders and neck should not rise.
On our exhale everything should come back to the starting position. The lungs recoil back and the diaphragm and pelvic floor come back up (notice how the pelvic floor and diaphragm move together).
Unfortunately, the majority of us are stuck in a shallow breathing pattern. A lot has to do with poor posture and habitual. How many times a day do we think about our breathing? If we can just commit to 10 minutes a day to breathing meditation it will help us break out of this shallow breathing habit. The more you practice correct breathing patterns the more likely it will be rewired into your brain as being normal. So it takes time but is rewarding!
Now there is a difference between belly breathing and diaphragmatic breathing.
Belly breathing is an expansion of the belly while engaging the front of the diaphragm. Diaphragmatic breathing is engaging the diaphragm in general during an inhale. To be really good at diaphragmatic breathing you want to learn how to engage the whole diaphragm, front to back and side to side. Equally is important to fully relax the diaphragm during an exhale.
So here are a few reasons why belly breathing is not effective breathing practice.
Belly breathing does not expand the lungs fully. The lungs are 3 dimensional. Belly breathing only targets the lower frontal expansion of the lungs. This is not maximal utilization of our lungs and hence makes it ineffective breathing.
Belly breathing does not engage the diaphragm fully nor correctly. Only the front of the diaphragm is engaged with belly breathing. There is still the matter of if the diaphragm is rising or falling during a deep inhale. Remember the diaphragm should fall during an inhale and rise back up during exhale. For many, the diaphragm moves up during the inhale which causes dysfunctional breathing.
Belly breathing does not fully empty the lungs. If the diaphragm is not contracted correctly during the inhale, it won’t be able to fully empty the lungs. You need a really good inhale with the diaphragm to get a good and effective exhale. A good exhale is equally important for functional breathing.
Belly breathing puts lots of pressure on the pelvic floor. If the diaphragm doesn’t move effectively down during the inhale the pelvic floor doesn’t move either. If the pelvic floor doesn’t move down during an inhale, there is an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. This increase in pressure can contribute towards pelvic floor dysfunctions and prevent diastasis healing. See this post where I explain pressure regulation and its effects on the pelvic floor.
Belly breathing also puts a lot of pressure on the core. If you plan to heal your diastasis, belly breathing is not the way. In fact all the frontal expansion will hinder the healing of the muscles. When you are belly breathing, your abdominal muscles dome outwards putting them in an disadvantageous and vulnerable position. This also causes an increase in intra-abdominal pressure which again contributes towards pelvic floor dysfunctions.
Should your chest move?
Of course! Do you have lungs in your chest cavity? Yes! Remember lungs move in all directions to expand during an inhale. The chest should naturally rise. However it should not be just the chest rising. It makes sense for the chest to rise slightly instead of just forcing all the air into the lower part of the lungs. However majority of the movement should be coming from below the chest.
Should your shoulders rise?
No. That is what we call shallow breathing, which unfortunately most of us are stuck in. When our shoulders begin to rise during an inhale the diaphragm also rises instead of dropping. That's the opposite of what should happen. Less air comes into the lung and it becomes an ineffective breathing pattern. This itself can cause a list of health problems due to poor oxygen being delivered to our tissues. This paradoxical breathing pattern also contributes towards pelvic floor issues.
So what’s the correct way to breath?
Instead of 'just' belly breathing you also want to expand the side of your ribs and the back. This is called 'umbrella breathing'. Place your hands on the bottom of your ribs with your fingers in the front and thumb at the back of your ribs. Take a nice deep inhale and feel both your hands move outwards like an umbrella opening up. You should also feel some expansion in the front and back of the ribs. Now breath out and feel your hands collapse back in. Make your exhale last for 6-8 seconds to get all the air out of the lungs. Now take another deep inhale. This time you will notice more movement of your ribs as they expand with the inhale.
Be mindful of your pelvic floor and make sure it relaxes and drops with the inhale and comes back up with the exhale. No bearing down during the inhale where you start feeling pressure in your pelvic floor. The pelvic floor should just naturally move down during the inhale. This gets easier with practice and awareness.
Is belly breathing always bad? Should you always avoid belly breathing?
No. There is always a time and place for belly breathing. For example during singing or heavy Olympic lifting where belly breathing helps stiffen and protect the spine. Belly breathing can be made safe if the pelvic floor and diaphragm work in sync. I would hold off on belly breathing until the pelvic floor symptoms clear up and/or diastasis recti is fully healed.
Belly breathing has a time and place for its effectiveness. However, we should all strive towards perfecting diaphragmatic breathing with umbrella breathing. Mindfulness and awareness is the key to mastering diaphragmatic breathing.
References
Bordoni B, Zanier E. Anatomic connections of the diaphragm: influence of respiration on the body system.J Multidiscip Healthc. 2013;6:281-291. Published 2013 Jul 25. doi:10.2147/JMDH.S45443