Belly Breathing

The average adult takes about 16 breaths each minute; 23,000 breaths each day; over 8 million breaths each year; and almost 1 billion breaths in a lifetime. With all of that practice, you would think that breathing would come as naturally as, well, as breathing. But the truth is, most adults have never learned how to breathe effectively. Effective breathing involves long, slow, even breaths to the belly, but most of us take rapid, shallow breaths.

What are the benefits of effective breathing? When you breathe, you bring oxygen into your lungs. As your blood circulates through the lungs, it picks up the oxygen molecules and then delivers them to the rest of the muscles and tissues in the body so that they function better. So, on a physical level, by practicing long, slow, deep breathing you are giving your body more oxygen, resulting in more overall energy. Even better, those long, deep breaths also cause a relaxation response in the body. So, practicing long, slow, deep breathing will help you release muscle tension, reduced your blood pressure, and give you increased tranquility and clarity of mind. And, finally, any personal trainer will tell you that by learning to exhale during the hard part of an exercise, you will improve your performance.

If you are a rider, improving your breathing will give you all of these benefits, and then some. Improving your breathing will help deepen your seat. Breathing deep into the belly acts like ballast weighting you down into the saddle. And, the relaxation response that deep breathing triggers in you will also be transmitted to your horse. So, the next time your spooky horse sees a monster behind a bush, try some long, deep breaths. You’ll both relax and get past that bush with less effort. And, like other athletes, if you can learn to coordinate your breath with your aids, those aids will be more effective. For example, by deeply inhaling during a half halt, you activate your core muscles making the half halt more effective.

So, how do you know whether your breathing is effective or not? As you read this, take a deep breath and notice which parts of your body move. Chances are, when you took that deep breath, your shoulders rose up toward your ears and the upper part of your chest expanded. If so, then you were breathing in to your chest, not deeper into your belly. So, let’s start learning how to breathe deep…

First, find a comfortable position and relax. In the beginning, you will find it easier to feel belly breathing if you lay down or recline. Place your right hand on your abdomen, 2 or 3 inches below your belly button; place your left hand on your chest over your sternum (the flat bone just below your throat). Close your eyes, let the tip of your tongue rest lightly behind your teeth (later blogs will talk about why…) and breathe gently in and out through your nose. As you breathe in, breathe to the back of your throat, rather than up your nose, and let each breath travel all the way down to the bottom of your belly. Focus on feeling your right hand gently rise up as you breathe in and float down as you breathe out. At the same time, focus on keeping your left hand still. Keep your mind focused on your breath and your hands. When the voices and stray thoughts pop into your head, just let them drift away and bring your attention back to your breath and your hands.

From observing students who are new to belly breathing, I have learned that a common early reaction is a kind of panicky feeling that you’re not getting enough air because you are not getting your air from your chest. If you are feeling this, then go ahead and let your chest rise on the in breath – but only after your belly has expanded fully. Breathing this way will feel like a wave moving through your body. Your right hand will rise, then your left hand will rise; your right hand will fall, then your left hand will fall. If you prefer a visual picture, imagine a big water balloon inside your chest and belly connected to a water faucet. As you breathe in, the water leaves the faucet, flows to the bottom of the balloon, and only fills the top of the balloon once the bottom is full. To empty the balloon, start at the bottom, pushing the water out.

Once you feel comfortable with belly breathing from a reclined position, practice in a variety of different positions, including sitting, standing, walking around, doing the dishes etc… The more you can make belly breathing a habit, the more likely you will be able to continue with this effective form of breathing in the saddle. In BalancedRiderTM Tai Chi classes, we practice belly breathing from the very first lesson, and work to incorporate this form of effective breathing into all of our standing and moving exercises both on the ground and on the horse. Once you incorporate BalancedRiderTM Tai Chi into your routine, your riding instructor will never need to say “ Try that again, but this time breathe!”