“Chest Breath” vs. “Belly Breath” — What’s the deal?

Danae Moore, 2015

Breathing practices, called pranayama, are an important part of any yoga practice. So if you
attend yoga classes, you’re guaranteed to hear the teacher instructing students to control the
breath in a variety of ways, some more complicated than others. The most common
instructions that I’ve encountered while taking yoga classes are “breathe into your belly” and
“breathe into your ribs.”

When I started doing yoga, I found myself confused about the mechanics of these two different
actions, which never get fully explained during class (through no fault of the teacher — there
simply isn’t time). Rather than simply experiencing the breathing exercise the teacher was
offering, I often found myself thinking:

How? How on earth can air move into my belly? Air only goes in and out of the lungs, which are
in the rib cage last I checked. What am I missing?

It turns out the answer to that question is pretty simple.

Simple, that is, once you understand some basic principles of breathing, which can get very
complicated very quickly. I’ll walk through some of these basics here in order to explain the
difference between a “chest breath” and a “belly breath.” Stick with me! And don’t hesitate to
ask questions.

The Breath is Both Physiological and Experiential

First, it’s helpful to distinguish two ways that we can evaluate the concept of breathing.

1. The breath as a physiological process.

2. The breath as something we experience.

Sometimes these viewpoints align and sometimes they don’t — which can create major
confusion.

Take this common instruction for example: “Breathe into your belly.”

From an experiential standpoint, this phrase makes sense and may even feel very intuitive.
Most of us can feel the abdomen rising and falling while we breathe. Focusing on drawing the
breath down into the belly can help some individuals breathe more deeply, smoothly, and/or
consciously — all things we generally want to encourage in yoga, which is why this phrase gets
used so often.

On the other hand, from an anatomical and physiological perspective, the instruction “breathe
into your belly” is a little fuzzy and potentially misleading. As I mentioned, when I started taking
classes, I found myself wondering: If air only moves in and out of the lungs, how can you breathe
into your belly? What am I missing?
The Difference Between “Air” and “Breath”
One of the things I was missing is the distinction between the concept of air and that of breath.
Air is the invisible gaseous substance that moves in and out of the lungs through the bronchial
tree during breathing (to be precise). While breath, according to Leslie Kaminoff, “can mean
any type of movement . . . that accompanies respiration.”(1)

So even though air doesn’t move into the belly when we breathe, the breath does. This just
goes to show how important precision of language is while teaching... At least when you have
literal thinkers like me in your class...

OK, so that clears it up somewhat but why exactly does the belly move when we breathe? To
answer that question, let’s look at the diaphragm. We’ll get its anatomy out of the way first.

Anatomy of the Diaphragm

The principal muscle of breathing is the diaphragm. It is shaped like a parachute or jellyfish and
sits below the lungs. It is tucked under the rib cage and it divides the torso into the thoracic and
abdominal cavities.
The outer edge of this “parachute” attaches to the sternum, the base of the rib cage and the
front of the lower (lumbar) spine. Together, these points of connection are referred to as the
muscle’s origin.

At the top of this “parachute” is a flat surface called the central tendon, made of non-contractile
fibrous tissue. This means that it does not contract on its own like a muscle. It can move but
only when the muscle fibers that attach to it contract. The central tendon is referred to as the
diaphragm’s insertion.

The Diaphragm Contracts on Inhale and Relaxes on Exhale

When the diaphragm contracts, it changes the shape and, more importantly, increases the
volume of the thoracic cavity. This increase in volume results in a decrease in pressure within
the cavity. This decrease in pressure causes air to flow into the lungs. This is an inhale.

When the diaphragm relaxes, the lung tissues and thoracic cavity spring back to their original
shape and volume, expelling air out of the lungs. This is an exhale.
In a relaxed breath (like when we sleep), the exhale is passive — meaning it occurs because
muscles relax. That is not always the case when we change or control our breathing while
performing physical activities or pranayama (yogic breathing) techniques.

The Movement of the Diaphragm

The muscle fibers of the diaphragm are primarily oriented vertically (up and down).

This means that when it contracts, shortening its fibers, it pulls the central tendon (the
insertion) and the base of the rib cage (the origin) toward each other. The “parachute” starts
to flatten itself out.

The movement of the breath is directed around the torso based on which part of the diaphragm
(the origin or insertion) is stabilized and which part is left free to move. This is the distinction
between a “chest breath” and a “belly breath” that you’ve been waiting for!
Chest Breath: The Central Tendon is Stable and
the Rib Cage is Mobile
When the central tendon is held in place and the ribs are free to move, the base of the rib cage
is lifted toward the central tendon when the diaphragm contracts. This causes the rib cage and
thoracic cavity to expand to the sides, front and back. This is thought of as a “chest breath.”
Belly Breath: The Rib Cage is Stable and the Central Tendon is
Mobile
When the rib cage is held in place and the central tendon is free to move, the central tendon is
pulled downward toward the base of the rib cage when the diaphragm contracts. This presses
down on the abdominal cavity.

We’ve already established that the thoracic cavity changes in shape and in volume during
breathing, which is how air is drawn into and expelled out of the lungs. The abdominal cavity,
however, only changes in shape during breathing.

Leslie Kaminoff compares the abdominal cavity to a water balloon to make this point.(2) When
you squeeze one end, the other end bulges. The shape changes and the contents are shifted
around but the volume stays the same. (Note that the abdominal cavity can change in volume
in other ways not associated with breathing, like when you eat a big meal or become pregnant.)

When the diaphragm presses down on the abdominal cavity, making room for the thoracic
cavity and thus lungs to expand, the organs are essentially pushed out of the way and the belly
bulges like a water balloon. This is thought of as a “belly breath.”
Every Breath is a Diaphragmatic Breath
So there you have it. Once you understand the diaphragm as a muscle that can be stabilized on
one end and allowed to move on the other, the “why” behind chest and belly breathing
becomes pretty straight-forward.

It’s helpful to note that the scenarios described above are the two extremes. They can happen
independently or they can both happen at the same time to varying degrees. It depends on the
activity of two groups of muscles called the accessory muscles of respiration and the postural
stabilization muscles in the torso.

One last thing I’d like to emphasize is that the diaphragm is always acting when we breathe.
You’ll sometimes hear belly breathing referred to as “diaphragmatic breathing,” implying that
you’re not using your diaphragm if you breathe into your ribs, but in fact every breath is
a diaphragmatic breath. One’s breathing pattern might be efficient or inefficient, but it always
involves the contraction (on inhale) and relaxation (on exhale) of the diaphragm.
Summary
The diaphragm’s main function is to draw air into the lungs by increasing the volume of the
thoracic cavity. It does this in two ways:

1. The diaphragm lifts the base of the rib cage and sternum, expanding the rib cage to the
front, sides and back, creating a “chest breath.”
2. The diaphragm presses downward on the abdominal cavity, which bulges forward,
creating a “belly breath.”

For more information on this and other misconceptions about breathing, check out the articles
linked below.

1. Leslie Kaminoff, “Breath Flow in Yoga Practice.”

http://www.yogaanatomy.org/2001/breath-flow-in-yoga-practice-3/

2. Leslie Kaminoff, “What Yoga Therapists Should Know About the Anatomy of Breathing.”
http://www.yogaanatomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Anatomy-of-Breath2.pdf