How can you tell if you're a chest breather or if you breathe from your diaphragm?
Chest breathing, in general, is something you want to avoid. It causes increased tension in your neck and chest muscles, it makes for shorter and more shallow breaths, and actually increases tension and anxiety.
When you put one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly when you breathe, does the hand on your chest move more or the one on your belly? If you answered chest, then you are a chest breather.
Have no fear! There is an easy way to learn how to begin breathing from your diaphragm again.
We like diaphragmatic breathing, because that's where you really get the benefits of "taking a deep breath". You have increased anxiety, lowered blood pressure, decreased stress and tension in many muscle groups, and overall improved well-being.
If you have trouble getting the hang of it sitting up, don't worry you're not alone. I like to teach patients by having them lie on their stomachs - we call this gator breathing. When you lie on your stomach, the pressure from the floor or bed gives you resistance for your stomach, and it makes it much easier for your stomach to go out as you inhale and relax as you exhale. I also will do this as an exercise when I'm meditating or to de-stress!
Once you've mastered this, flip onto your back, put one hand on the chest and the other on the belly, and perform this same breathing. Stomach goes out as you inhale, relaxes as you exhale and the chest stays relatively quiet.
Try these out and see if you notice a difference in relaxation, muscle tension & stress and your heart rate. Start out with setting a timer for 5 minutes and gradually work your way into 5-10 minutes at a time.
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