Belly Breathing vs. Abdominal Opposition - BETTER Way to Breathe for Health and Performance (2021)

This is one of the many concepts we cover in my new group movement coaching program.

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Belly Breathing vs Abdominal Opposition

A lot of people have misconceptions in regards to Diaphragmatic Breathing. Quite frequently I will work with someone who believes they know how to leverage their diaphragm effectively because they learned how to do Belly Breathing in a yoga, meditation, or singing instruction.

While well-intentioned, the instruction to allow the belly to move forward during inhalation actually prevents effective coordination of the diaphragm and abdominals and robs us of the following benefits:

1. Circumferential expansion of the rib cage and abdominal cavity
2. Improved symmetry of movement of the diaphragm
3. Control of the center of mass
4. Posterior spinal decompression
5. Thoraco-abdominal pelvic stability
6. Dynamics of the thorax and pelvis

During Belly Breathing, the downward force of the diaphragm and conscious relaxation of the abdominals promotes the following:

1. Movement of the guts forward, down and out
2. Shifting of the center of mass forward
3. Ineffective recruitment of deeper abdominals and pelvic diaphragm
4. Decreased thoraco-abdominal pelvic stability
5. Increased asymmetry in the movement of the diaphragm(s)
6. Increased demand on the anterior pelvic diaphragm
7. Decreased dynamics of the thorax and pelvis

[sriharshacv]

Folks please understand the principle He is targeting posterior expansion with anterior opposition. In other words, back should expand and the belly should pretty much stay still (to support the expansion). The belly would nevertheless expand mildly and it is fine. This can be done even while sitting as long as you are aware of what part of the body you are expanding with each breath. Thank you very much Chaplin for this video.

[WatchClock]

As a brass player I've been belly breathing for 10+ years and this is the first time I've heard of abdominal opposition breathing and it makes so much sense.

[fainamorozov]

One of the most natural action for a human is the yawn. When we yawn the diaphragm opens with the jaw. Thus creating the diaphragmatic breathing! Everything is simple if just pay attention to what our body does naturally!

[travisfox]

I have been struggling with pain when breathing during exercise for YEARS and I just want to say thank you as this is a huge help!

[gabriellaftothyoga]

Still amazed how much accurate and helpful information you can pack into 3 short minutes! WoW! Very professional. And the content of it is SO relevant and important for all people who want to access full capacity of their breathing. I also completed your short breathing course and it was really helpful too! Highly recommended!

[luizalouyoga]

Yoga instructor here and I am definitely going to look up more information on this technique. I liked it because it sort of explained why I felt unconfortable many times while doing belly breathing. Great video!

[cavinnn]

I'm an avid yogi and I realize that while teachers do say belly breathing, they really do try to point us in the right direction. But for ppl like me, I just didn't understand or maybe I wasn't listening. It really effed up my body and I'm still recovering, only thanks to a yoga teacher who teamed up with a trainer who really got specific with it. Still working on improving and relaxing as much as possible though, so thanks for this vid!

[yecats]

This has given me instant relief from hiatal hernia discomfort. Thank you!

[wayderyt]

I think the exhale is more important. Think how you exhale when you are being intimate with someone or when getting a massage. The stress release is in the exhale. Remember breathing out with a sound when you are suddenly relieved of a stressful situation. Exhaling is the key.

[meditationsongs]

Thanks a lot! You have hit Bull’s eye. Like me a number of fellows must be suffering. So called Belly (not diaphragmatic) breathing if not able to utilise diaphragm can cause a no of difficulties like bladder problem & incomplete breath, structural unbalance etc.
Really grateful to you.
One thing I learnt from mistakes was that I could easily correlate & identify the mistake once I saw your video. God bless you!

[kraigosu]

Thank you very much for this video. It has helped clarify what I felt was wrong with belly breathing. I’ve had considerable anxiety and have been trying to manage it with belly breathing but it only made me more anxious because it never felt right. Your explanation helped me better understand the anatomy of proper breathing and now I’m more relaxed and less concerned with whether the rise and fall of my belly is at an appropriate level. Thank you again

[amynbale]

Finally an explanation and one that makes sense. Thank you

[ecaterinadonscaia]

Absolutely amazing video! Thanks for sharing! ❤

[magii_v]

Thank you so much! I've been learning more contortion recently and this helped so much!

[melissas]

I appreciate this video and explanation! This is actually the same basic thing my physical therapist has been teaching me…but after hearing about diaphragmatic breathing and watching videos, the concept of belly breathing, which I was attempting to do, really threw me off (as it has in the past when I tried it)…it causes me to have very insufficient breaths leading to heart palpitations. So thankful for another way to conceptualize and practice getting an entire/full breath!

[yvonnemariane]

It isn't just yoga folks but all KINDS of body practitioners and even 'mainstream'. I think the error happens because we aren't simply reminded of how the diaphragm moves down to draw in air, instead we're told what to do to "pull it down" like jam the tummy out. If we think deeper, we would be more likely to us the stomach to help the air moves evenly. Thank you

[robyn_birb]

Oh my God this actually helped change where I was breathing- I'm gonna start noticing this more and hopefully I will stop feeling so dizzy when exercising my midsection. Thank you s o much

[KnowoneHFRC]

Thank you for this video! I am a yoga instructor who has taught that kind of breathing but you are giving me some pause here.

[neeruprashar]

Thanks for posting this. We were always told in yoga training in India not to do that. It's a misconception that you get more oxygen from bulging the belly out and the research was done around 100 years ago in India.

[Shubhankar]

Try to not push air into the belly but just to the lower part of lungs then the diaphragm will push towards the belly and the belly will rise snd fall . As long as you do it the right way you are more than fine