Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise for Meditation
What is diaphragmatic breathing?
Diaphragmatic breathing simply means breathing using your diaphragm muscle.
The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle below your lungs.If you ask a person to take a deep breath, you’ll notice that their chest will expand.
But when you breathe with the diaphragm your chest doesn’t rise at all.
How to do diaphragmatic breathing
Sit upright in a straight-backed chair.
And place your hands in your lap.
Allow your shoulders to drop down and relax.
Now, without moving your shoulders or chest, take a slow, deep breath in.
Imagine that there’s a balloon inside your belly. When you breathe in, the balloon expands outward. And when you breathe out, the balloon collapses in toward your spine.
If you have trouble with this breathing method you’ll find it easier to practice it lying on the floor on a carpet or a folded blanket.
Raise your head off the floor by using a stack of books. If your head isn’t high enough you won’t be able to relax your neck and upper back properly.
Whilst lying on your back, breathe normally and you’ll find that you’ll naturally breathe with your diaphragm which causes your belly to expand and contract.
Concentrate on the movement of your belly rising and falling.
Now, when you try it sitting up, you should find this breathing method much easier.
Why should you breathe with the diaphragm?
Because it promotes greater relaxation than normal breathing.It can increase your lung capacity.
You can use diaphragmatic breathing with the simple meditatation for beginners.
No comments