Figure 1
Inhale
You’ve seen those ads for antihistamines or air fresheners in which a model spreads her arms wide, twirling in a circle, and, expanding her chest, takes a deep, deep breath, and sighs blissfully. In another scenario, a coach will tell an athlete to breathe deeply. In most cases, the shoulders either move back or up. Unfortunately, this upper chest or Clavicular Breathing is not efficient; it uses only the smaller top part of your lungs, and that means that your diaphragm, which should be your main breathing muscle, is completely still. Bad, bad breathing.
This isn’t really a brand-new skill you have to learn; you used to do it right. It’s just about remembering. Don’t worry; you don’t have to put breathing on that endless list of to-do’s that require breaking down an old habit or painfully reminding yourself daily about a new one. It’s simply about moving your breath down to the lower part of your body, where it used to be. Where it should be.
Now, put one hand on your belly and one hand by your collarbones. Open your mouth, close your eyes, and take a couple of breaths. Notice which hand moves. Is your top hand moving up and down slightly, or is your bottom hand moving forward and back? Maybe you aren’t sure of the direction, but you do know that one hand is moving more than the other. Or perhaps they’re both moving, just a little bit. Ask someone to watch you breathe as you focus on something else. Are they seeing one hand move more than the other? Or is it a combination of belly and upper chest movement?
When you’re breathing through the top of your body, you’re using neck and shoulder muscles that aren’t meant to be primary breathing muscles. Hence, no matter how many massages you have, how many therapeutic pillows or ergonomic chairs you buy, you’ll continue to have neck and shoulder discomfort until you change your breathing back to the right way. The good news: once you change your breathing, your neck and shoulder stiffness will get better, and stay better.
The most important and underappreciated muscle in your body is the diaphragm.25 If you’ve heard about the diaphragm, you may have the misguided idea that only singers use it when reaching for a high “C,” and that’s about it. In fact, this large, pizza-size muscle plays an integral role in respiration. When you’re not breathing with your diaphragm—and consequently not using the rest of your breathing muscles to their full potential—you’re breathing just enough to survive, but not enough to thrive.
In the simplest terms, when you breathe properly—from the belly—your diaphragm flattens and spreads (see figures 1 and 2 on the following page), and your bottom ribs and abdomen push out. Often the tired-can’t-breathe sensation you may have experienced is due to those very muscles fatiguing; however, since the sensation is not as specific as the burn in your calves or biceps when you’re working out at the gym, you don’t recognize it as signaling underdeveloped breathing muscles.
Figure 1
Inhale
Figure 2
Exhale
However, the diaphragm is just one major player in the game plan of breathing correctly. It’s smack in the center of your body, surrounded and supported by the erector spinae, transverse abdominis, and pelvic-floor muscles. Your intercostals are also integral to respiration, while your outer core—the rectus abdominus, quadratus lumborum, and oblique muscles—help control your posture and movement. Strong breathing is a lot more than just the size of your lungs!
When your diaphragm and other specific breathing muscles aren’t as strong as they should be, your breathing suffers. In fact, right now these muscles are probably downright weak. Not to worry, though: I’m going to challenge you to work your diaphragm and core as you never have before—and all without lifting a dumbbell or doing a single crunch.
So how does one go from a perfectly breathing infant to a poorly breathing adult? Well, as people get older, they sit for hours at desks, on sofas, on trains, and in cars—and these sustained postures can lead to bad breathing habits. Being worried, anxious, or scared can affect you, too. Plus, in a quest for flatter abs, many people tend to suck in their stomach, which forces them to breathe from the chest, not the belly. Not to be forgotten are back or shoulder injuries, which can compromise breathing even after they heal.
As you just learned, chest-based breathing doesn’t use all of the real estate in the lungs; moreover, it keeps you from drawing in the oxygen you need for energy, in order to be productive, to heal, and to sleep well at night.
The goal is straightforward: Relearn how to breathe by moving the breathing back down to the lower part of your body, where it belongs. Okay, maybe getting there is not quite so simple, but when you determine which muscles to use and how to make them as strong as possible, you’ll see results quickly. The fact is, the best breathing happens from your chest down. The bottom part of your ribs moves, your belly expands, your sides expand, and eventually, even your back expands.
Belly breathing is the introductory breath that gets you to breathe from the lower part of your body. When you jut your belly out, you discover the sensation of breathing by using your diaphragm. Later, much later, you’ll be able to expand around the bottom of your ribs without pretending you’re Santa Claus.
Don’t worry if you feel silly moving your belly in and out. Once you get more advanced, your middle will simply widen. It will also contract more than before on the exhale. The result: when you do want to suck in your gut for a picture or do anything that involves your core muscles, you’ll be able to do it better, for longer!
Does inhaling and having your middle expand feel completely counterintuitive? Surprise! You’re probably a Paradoxical Breather (described in Chapter 3). You’ve been working against your body for years and have, in effect, been taking in a minuscule amount of air compared to what your body needs. This means that when your diaphragm is trying to flatten and help your lungs pull in more air, you’re fighting against it. Sound exhausting? You’re right, it is. Another good reason to fix this.
Put one hand on your belly and one on your chest, directly under your chin and between your collarbones. Spread your fingers so you can actually gauge movement. Change your breathing so that your top hand does not move at all and your belly expands, almost in an exaggerated way, on the inhale.
For contrast, do the opposite for a breath or two: have your bottom hand stay still, then gaze up and move your shoulders up on the inhale. Become fully aware of these two very different breaths.
All of this should make sense anatomically. When you breathe through the lower part of your body (expanding your middle, sides, and back), your diaphragm flattens out and pushes your bottom ribs out. On the exhale, your diaphragm curls up, narrowing your body as your lungs empty. Be patient with yourself. At first, it may seem as if there are too many pieces of information for you to juggle. Just keep repeating the belly breathing until it feels natural.
The exercises in this chapter will help you relearn how to breathe and will strengthen the right muscles, so that you’ll feel as if you’ve actually done a workout at the gym.
First, tap the bottom of your sternum with the tips of your fingers to bring your attention to that part of your body. Start walking your fingers slowly across the front of your bottom rib. Curve your fingers underneath that rib to bring awareness to the exact place where your diaphragm is connected. Imagine, in your mind’s eye, how large this roundish muscle, which traverses your body from side to side, is. It also tilts back at your spine. Imagine how large your lungs are in the back: they spread to four fingers above your waistline!
Now I want you to go through the four basic exercises that I teach in my class to strengthen all of the muscles involved in perfect respiration. Note that all the breathing exercises should be done through the mouth for the first two weeks.
FAQ: Do I have to breathe through my mouth? Yes, while you’re learning, breathing through your mouth will keep you paying attention to your breath, whereas breathing through your nose has a higher chance of your defaulting to your old dysfunctional way of breathing. Eventually, you’ll definitely breathe regularly through your nose, since nose breathing has many benefits. We’ll talk more about this later.
Rock and Roll
Sit on a chair or cross-legged on the floor. If you’re sitting on a chair, don’t lean back against the chair. If you’re on the floor, make sure that you’re seated on a blanket or pillow to give you a little height. On the inhale, expand your belly as you lean forward. If you’re very thin, you may have to “push” your belly out to get the right posture in the beginning; if you’re heavier around the middle, the sensation is about “releasing” your belly or putting it on your lap. On the exhale, lean back as if you were slumping on a couch: contract your belly, narrowing your waist, and exhale until you’re completely empty.
Right now, do 20 repetitions of this exercise.
Two things that should be kept in mind when doing Rock and Roll are watching and listening to your body. In front of a mirror, watch your middle expand and contract while doing these exercises. Remember that you’re striving to be a Lower-body, Horizontal Breather, so your neck, shoulders, and upper chest don’t move; they stay soft and relaxed. An inhale now means your middle expands, and on the exhale, like a sponge, squeezes in. At first, this may seem like two unrelated movements—breathing through your mouth and moving your middle—but soon they’ll be synchronized and it will feel normal. Remind yourself that this less-than-sexy belly bulge movement will actually strengthen your core and middle and help you lose belly fat in the long run (plus, remember that we’re doing the exaggerated version now while you learn; later, it will be much more subtle).
Listen to yourself so that you aren’t holding your breath at the end of the inhale or the exhale. Keep in mind that every time you move your belly, you’re actually “teaching” your diaphragm (which is right above your belly) to get activated when you breathe. Be ready for the sensation of “I’ve got it! Yes, this feels right!” to wax and wane. It will get to the point where it feels normal. Why? Because you used to breathe this way and your body wants to breathe this way again (that is to say, with the muscles it was given with which to inhale and exhale, rather than with your shoulders).
FAQ: Do you have to visibly rock forward and back? Yes, in the beginning. This movement keeps the breath low in your body, and lets you start doing other things (e.g., talking on the phone, reading) at the same time. The hip movement helps keep you in a Lower-body Breath. Later, the rocking will be very subtle—just a slight, undetectable hip pivot will be enough—but for now, really move back and forth, horizontally, so that the whole concept of Horizontal Breathing sinks in.
FAQ: Why don’t you start by teaching me to breathe standing up first? Standing and breathing is actually more difficult. Plus, right now we sit much, much more than we stand, so learning to breathe while sitting is more useful. The standing breath is one that we’re going to refine in steps, integrating the center of gravity, posture, and pelvic floor. You’ll end up with perfect posture and perfect, healthy, beautiful breathing that will fuel your body and brain.
FAQ: Will these exercises actually strengthen my core? The abs exercises you do at the gym are usually ones related to your developing a six-pack. The muscles you use in exhaling are deeper core muscles. I’ve found that the athletes and gym enthusiasts with the most pronounced abdominals often don’t have good exhale muscles, and even they are surprised when during Exhale Pulsations, an exercise we’ll learn soon, they tire quickly.
FAQ: You said belly breathing “teaches” my diaphragm to move. When did it forget? When you were younger, your middle would expand and contract as your diaphragm pushed your ribs open and closed. When you started sucking in your gut and bracing your middle it got stuck, and yes, even temporarily paralyzed. Right now, we’re “nudging it awake” until you’ll be able to move it on your own.
Lie down on your back. Place a large book (or a small stack of small books) on your abdomen, right on top of your belly button. Gaze toward the books—you should be able to see them at the very bottom of your field of vision. Take a belly breath with the goal of making the books rise, and on the exhale, watch them lower. You might find that your hips rotate slightly as you breathe, your lower back coming away from the floor slightly on the inhale. Bring awareness to and even exaggerate this movement. Go ahead and do 50 repetitions. Don’t worry about your pace or counts right now; focus on getting used to the movement.
FAQ: What do I do if I find that I get distracted but am continuing to do the correct movement? This is good news. It means you’re starting to acclimate to the new information and don’t have to focus as much. Bravo!
As you get better at this exercise, you can graduate to heavier books or use a ten- or twelve-pound weight or kettlebell. When using a weight, hold it with one hand and move it to different parts of your middle: 2 inches above your belly button, to the right, then to the left. Keep holding the weight, but focus on pushing it away on the inhale and letting it drop toward you on the exhale. Really let this idea sink in: when you breathe, your middle moves, in both directions, always. Go ahead and do 20 repetitions in 5 different places on your middle.
FAQ: Isn’t this going to make me gassy? While this is called a “belly breath,” the fact is that air isn’t going into your stomach at all. It’s still going to your lungs, but now going to the bottom of your lungs, closer to your belly. The bottom of your lungs is where the densest, biggest lung tissue is, where the most exchange of oxygen happens.26
Now, let’s look at the exhale part of this exercise. If you’ve really got it and are using a heavy weight, focus on letting the weight fall fully down into your body on the exhale, seeing how far you can narrow your waist. The heavier weight will help you achieve this. (This will make the “push up” that comes with the inhale more challenging, but the focus right now is on the exhale. Be careful not to hold your breath or brace). Remember: Let the weight push your belly button down toward your spine. Put the weight aside and see if, when you sit up, you can keep that hollowed out “C”-shape on the exhale. That’s your goal.
“Exhale” doesn’t mean “brace.” If you exhale and find you’re tensing, and your belly actually pops out, this is wrong. You want to get a scoop (“C”-shape) with your belly, bringing your belly button closer to your spine. More of this later, along with how you can add a Kegel (pelvic-floor contraction) along with the exhale.
FAQ: I’ve heard that my diaphragm contracts—is that on the inhale or exhale? Forget the word “contracts”; it confuses everyone. Right now, just think that on the inhale, your diaphragm flattens and pushes your ribs open, so that your middle should widen. And then the opposite, on the exhale. It curls closed and narrows your ribs.
FAQ: What happens if I really can’t “get” one of these exercises? Am I doomed to be a Vertical Breather forever? Be gentle with yourself. Remind yourself you’ve had the bad habit of breathing vertically for years, maybe even decades, which means you’ve been breathing “wrong” thousands, yes, millions of times. Besides, this method is designed so that you have to find just one exercise that comes easily and work from there—you don’t have to be able to “get” all of them initially. The bright side is that your body “wants” to breathe horizontally, and soon will have moments when it “remembers” doing it when you were young.
Get on your hands and knees to do this movement, often called “Cat and Cow” in yoga. Cat should resemble a Halloween-like hissing cat, with its back arched. Cow is the same, with an all-fours posture, but with your belly relaxed and hanging low, and your head positioned up as if you’re mooing.
Now, exhale audibly and round your back up into Cat. Then exhale more, simultaneously hollowing out your belly and blowing air out toward your belly button. Make sure your head is dropped completely, and you’re stretching the back of your neck. Your tailbone should be tipped under. On the inhale, drop your body, relaxing your belly and letting it expand downward toward the floor. Let gravity help. Your tailbone should now be tipped out. Swivel your head upward as if you’re looking toward the sky.
Do this 10 times right now, synchronizing the movement until it “flows” and you can easily rotate back and forth with each inhale and exhale.
Note of clarification: Your tailbone is your coccyx (it’s where your tail would be if you had one); it should be “tipped out” when you inhale and “tipped under” when you exhale. See if any of the following helps you understand what “tipped under” on the exhale means:
• When you’re sitting slumped on a sofa
• When you’re in the Cat pose portion (exhale) of Cat and Cow
• When you’re “flattening your butt,” squeezing your glutes gently
If it still doesn’t make sense to you, lie on the floor and press your lower back into the floor. Notice the rotation in your hips: you’re tipping your tailbone under!
Your tailbone “tipped out” is the opposite:
• It’s “bumping your butt back” (“selfie butt”).
• It’s the arch in your lower back when you’re squatting at the gym.
• It’s the curve in your lower back away from the chair seat on a Rock and Roll inhale.
When you’re lying on the floor, create space between the floor and your lower back on the inhale. You should be able to slip your hand in between your lower back and the floor on the inhale.
Challenge yourself to relax your belly more with each inhale and narrow harder with each exhale.
FAQ: How do I “let go” of my belly? Make sure you’re relaxing your hips, glutes, and thighs. Really focus on “softening” them. This will trigger your abs to relax so that you can expand better. (You might also try these exercises in a pool or hot tub: holding the side of the pool with your belly pointed downward, use gravity and the weight of the water to help you relax and expand your middle on the inhale.) Now, from Cat and Cow, sit back on your feet for a second and do Rock and Roll seated upright. Notice how the movement is similar!
FAQ: What does “bumping your butt back” mean? When you tip your tailbone out on the inhale, make sure you’re releasing your belly and expanding it at the same time. Often folks will “bump their butt back” and simultaneously suck in their gut—which is not what I want you to be doing. Inhale, pop your butt back, and let your belly go.
FAQ: When on the inhale I focus on really letting go of my stomach, down to the lowest muscles between my hip bones, it doesn’t feel natural and I don’t feel the two extremes. Am I doing something wrong? Check your Cat and Cow position: Your hands should be right under your shoulders; arms (especially elbows) and legs stay at perpendicular stable positions. You should not move back and forth; rather, you should move up and down. Let your head drop on the exhale—really relaxing and stretching the muscles on the back of your neck. On the inhale, stretch the front of your neck up, sipping air above and in front of you (air from the sky). It will take some concentration and practice until you can completely feel the two extremes—a total relaxing on the inhale and a squeeze and emptying out on the exhale. Not only is this a good stretch, but you get a lot of joint rotation that helps keep the joints in your hips and back lubricated and healthy. When you get more advanced, you might add Kegels27 and Reverse Kegels28 to this movement.
Change to a standing position and breathe the same way, but now with your arms at your sides. Make sure your shoulders do not engage in any way. Think of your arms as deadweights, heavy and immobile. This is best done standing sideways at a full-length mirror. Your neck, chest, and shoulders shouldn’t move; only your belly and pelvis should be moving back and forth. As you let your belly expand forward, you should be arching your back a bit (your butt pops back slightly). On the exhale, contract your belly, feel your lower abs tighten, and tuck in your butt (and you might give your glutes a slight squeeze to learn the movement).
Breathing this way is anatomically congruous; Vertical Breathing is not—you’re going against the way your body and organs were built. A Lower-body Breath that expands on the inhale is a healthy breath. Tune in to how you’re feeling; you’ll find it feels right. You’re not imagining it.
Practice these four exercises in a sequence. This whole sequence should take from three to ten minutes.
• Do Rock and Roll 20 times (seated on the floor or on a chair).
• Roll over, lying on your back now, and do Diaphragm Extensions 20 times with a stack of books or with a weight.
• Roll over and push up onto all fours. Do Cat and Cow 20 times. Sit back on your feet momentarily (or come back onto a chair) and do 20 Rock and Roll Breaths again.
• Stand up and do the Perfect Standing Breath 20 times.
• On the inhale, you should be thinking two things: Lower-body Breath and expand. On the exhale think: Lower-body Breath and squeeze/contract. Remind yourself: “Inhale … expand. Exhale … squeeze.”
Now that you know the mechanics, work on the quality. Most people have lazy inhales and even lazier exhales. Put some oomph into the two, and you’ll expand your lung capacity by emptying out better as well as refilling with more air.
In addition, two subtle but very powerful benefits: an internal massage for your organs and a better flush of toxins from your body.
FAQ: I find that I “get it” for a little while, then I “lose it” and feel confused as to what to do. Pause, slowly cue yourself, and do it again. Do this watching yourself in the mirror, then alternate, closing your eyes and seeing if you can do it without a visual cue.
FAQ: This seems so long and drawn out—why don’t you just instruct us to “take a belly breath”? We go through this sequence because just telling you to do a belly breath isn’t going to change your habit of breathing vertically. In order to change something you’ve been doing for decades (you are a complex organism!), your brain has to understand how you got here, why you should change, and actually feel the results. It has to make sense intellectually and kinesthetically.
As often as you can, check your breathing throughout the day and make sure you are still breathing low. Even if you have to correct yourself each time, that is okay. Some people pause and bring their attention to their breath every hour on the hour, or before they look at texts. The more often you do it the better.
FAQ: I get a little dizzy doing this. Is that okay? Enjoy the light-headedness and buzz; there’s no hangover! Think about how much more air is coming in and going out of your body. You’re now using the biggest, densest part of your lungs and really exhaling well. A word of caution: in the beginning don’t do these exercises while driving or running on a treadmill.
At some point, you’ll check yourself and find you’ve stayed in a Lower-body Breath. Hurray! It’s starting to sink in! Don’t forget: your body wants to breathe this way (that’s why you have a diaphragm), and you used to breathe this way when you were a child.
FAQ: What happens when I sleep—do I go back to my old bad patterns? Due to the fact that it’s hard to breathe with an Upper-body Breath (UBB) when you’re prone, most people go to a partial good Lower-body Breath when sleeping. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make up for the long days of bad breathing and bracing (especially since most people aren’t really sleeping as much as they should).
Do the Breathing Sequence twice a day and remind yourself as often as you can throughout the day.
FAQ: Now that I’m used to it, my workout is only a couple minutes a day, but is more better? Yes, ten minutes a day is the minimum. If you’d like to do two sets of ten minutes each, or add a couple of five-minute sessions throughout your day, go for it! As with anything, more practice means you’ll get results faster and it will “sink” in better.
1. activates your parasympathetic nervous system (“rest and digest”)
2. lowers your blood pressure and heart rate
3. uses the lower, bigger, denser part of the lungs (i.e., your breathing is more efficient)
4. helps you avoid constipation, acid reflux, and irritable bowel syndrome
5. supports the health of your back and pelvic floor29
6. detoxifies your body by supporting the lymphatic system
7. balances acidity and lowers inflammation
Contrast the Perfect Breath with the dysfunctional Upper-body Breath (Vertical), which does none of these healthy things. In effect, a UBB creates pain in your shoulders and neck, raises your blood pressure and anxiety, and brings in much, much less oxygen.
Going through the steps below, you’ll push air into parts of your lungs that have been passive. Free divers call this “air-packing,” but they do it more aggressively and with much more experience, so you’ll only be doing a gentle version here.30
First, take a big Rock and Roll Breath. Continue “maximizing” your inhale by taking small sips of air. Do not exhale. You should feel your middle getting taut. Make sure you aren’t bracing and tightening your body. Pause and consciously relax your middle, remembering that in order to take in more air, you have to soften and let your intercostals—the muscles between your ribs—stretch. (We’ll actually do some stretches in the next section that are specifically for these muscles.)
At the top of your breath (and remember, you aren’t really filling up—you are filling out), relax your shoulders again and let the air feel as if it’s settling into your body. Then soften your pelvis (meaning relax your glutes and thighs), and notice the feeling of being more grounded. This should only take two to three seconds.
Your diaphragm can move down about 4 inches (or 10 centimeters) and spread out up to 5!
During inspiration, an estimated two cups of “fresh” atmospheric air enters your body (less if you’re a lazy breather!), but only the first cup and a half actually reaches the alveoli in your lungs. In fact, the remaining half-cup stays in your nose, larynx, trachea, and other airways without alveoli—basically, dead space.
Note where you feel tightness. Is it by your collarbones, armpits, in your back, where you might have an old injury? Gently stretch these places or use heat to heal and make them more flexible.
Now exhale, remembering that the exhale is an enthusiastic squeeze, not just a “letting go.” Notice how long your exhale is now.
FAQ: Aren’t my inhale and exhale just the same mechanism in reverse order? Not at all. Now that you are a Horizontal Breather, your inhale is governed primarily by the flattening out of your diaphragm, which pulls in air. Your exhale is more of a “recoil.”
The next step is to address your lazy breathing. Start by taking a normal breath, that is, exactly like the one you took just before you started reading this.
Don’t make this one “better” because now you’re paying attention! Simply notice how you take in air until you meet some resistance in the inhale and stop; then your exhale is really just a letting go. Notice how passive this is. Imagine how much air you’re taking in. The average is 12 ounces, or a cup and a half. If you had to measure the amount of air you inhale and exhale, what would it be? It might be even less, maybe a half-cup or even a few tablespoons—especially if you’re sitting and concentrating in such a way that you completely disconnect from your body, such as while at a computer or driving. On your next exhale, put some attention into the emptying of air. Tighten your abs in an attempt to really squeeze out all the stale air.
Take five breaths, focusing intently on the exhale. Now bring your attention to your inhale. Notice how, even without trying, your inhale is automatically bigger. It’s a more efficient breath because you’ve emptied out beforehand! Compare this breath to the one before in terms of efficacy. Remember that stale air stays in your lungs unless you consciously exhale it. Just keep training yourself to blow out every last little bit.
Asthma is a disorder related to poor exhales. If you or a loved one has asthma, make sure you see a doctor, but just as important, set up an exhale workout so that you can actually get better and reduce the need for an inhaler. This is the basis of the Russian breathing method called “Buteyko.” The goal is to change your breathing from chronic hyperventilation (breathing too much) to slower, more balanced breathing with an emphasis on nasal breathing.
Then take it up a notch: On your next exhale, squeeze the last bit of air out with your core and ab muscles. And don’t stop at a neutral (flat) stomach. Actually go one step further (to an inverted bowl shape); you might even push your fingers into your stomach and around your rib cage in order to become completely aware of the mechanics of this. Finally, scrunch up your face and pretend you are blowing out of a small straw. Don’t worry if you cough a little.
So now you should understand that better breathing means better inhales and exhales. It’s not just about getting more oxygen into your body; it’s not that you want a bigger inhale. It’s about having a balance of both. Having an imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide can create serious problems related to inflammation and acidity. But without delving into the chemistry, simply know that you need to pay attention to both.
If you’re a Paradoxical (or Reverse) Breather, the exhale is really your friend. Make it a rule always to start your breathing with an exhale. It will remind you to take a Lower-body Breath and you’ll go on to a horizontal inhale, rather than having to correct yourself from an Upper-body Breath over and over. Try it and see.
As you practice these exercises, take comfort in the thought that although you should focus on your belly, I don’t expect you to continue pushing out your abdomen with every single inhale forever. This is just a way to start reconditioning your body so it will do what it should be doing naturally; eventually, this won’t look or feel silly. Focus on the expansion and contraction of your middle without your shoulders moving. Both of these movements work your core, so that better breathing will lead naturally to stronger ab and core muscles.
You’ve heard a lot lately about toxins and how “eating clean,” drinking more water, and having better bowel movements help get them out of your system, but the most important way we get rid of toxins is by breathing—both through the air we breathe out and through the movement of lymph in the body, which is aided by good whole-body breathing. The lymphatic system is a little-talked-about sewer system for your body, taking debris and toxins your cells excrete into your circulatory system through two ducts at the base of your neck. Now, your lymph system doesn’t have a built-in pump; rather it relies on the circulation stimulated by breathing to move all that waste fluid. If you don’t breathe well, you’re going to have a sluggish “drainage” system that doesn’t detoxify you properly.
A sluggish lymphatic system can lead to health concerns over time, including weight gain, muscle loss, high blood pressure, fatigue, and inflammation. But the great news is: improve your breathing and detoxify better! The expansion and contraction of the diaphragm actually stimulates your lymphatic system and massages your internal organs, helping the body rid itself of toxins and leaving more room in the cells for an optimal exchange of oxygen. As you change to being a Horizontal Breather, you aren’t imagining things—you feel better.
FAQ: When I exhale like this, does it count as an abs workout? Absolutely. It’s not just ab muscles that give you a six-pack; in effect, there are more important ones deeper inside that have to do with core and pelvic stability.
FAQ: I feel as if I still have air stuck inside of me—any other suggestions? Try a Lion’s Breath pose from yoga—stick your tongue way out toward your chin on the exhale. Yes, it feels silly but it’s very effective. Notice how much air was left over from your normal lazy exhale as compared to your more attentive one. Think of all the wasted space that you could fill with clean air. Roar!
FAQ: Exhaling and contracting my stomach doesn’t seem natural—is that okay? Yes, it is, because in order to relearn this, cough and see which way your belly goes. I bet you it tightens, right? Keep this in mind as you retrain your body. Be patient.
When you’re on your back, hold a 6-, 8-, or 10-pound weight on your stomach (or, if you feel as if you can handle it, use a small kettlebell), and see how far you can let it fall into your stomach as you exhale. You might want to pick a heavier weight; this is not about raising it, but about seeing how close you can get your belly to your spine, narrowing your middle. Be careful not to bounce the weight. Sit up, seeing how close you can come to keeping that “bowl” shape while sitting and exhaling. After you’ve worked on these expiration muscles for a while, you’ll be able to maintain that concave bowl shape in your middle. When you’re doing Exhale Maximizations, try to mimic the amount of “inward” curve you can get with the weight. You can expect this to be hard. While you’re used to bracing your middle, the “pull inward” is a different set of muscles.
To make Rock and Roll part of my daily routine, I set my phone alarm to vibrate every hour on the hour during the day. That way, no matter where I am, as soon as I hear or feel the vibration, I don’t even pause: I just lean back slightly and exhale, then lean forward and inhale. No one even notices I’m doing it. The slight rock back and forth means I can even go on to do other things, as long as I’m breathing “with my hips” and not my shoulders. —Josephine, age 50
FACTOID: The lungs can hold about 6 quarts in males, 4. 4 quarts in females; the residual volume (what usually remains in the lungs) is about a quart.
Sitting and breathing like this wasn’t working easily, so it was a relief to lie on my back and try it. After practicing like this, I was able to sit up and try Rock and Roll again—and it was easier. Keeping my eyes open and really thinking about how the pile of books should rise if I was inflating underneath them made so much sense it was almost silly. It helps to have a sense of humor when you realize you’ve been breathing wrong for so long. —Monty, age 41
I couldn’t believe I’d been doing yoga for so long and had the breathing with Cat and Cow backward. But fixing it made sense first in my head, so I was able to correct myself. Of course, during Cow I should be inhaling; why it was the same move as seated Rock and Roll—just in another position! —Satchi, age 33
Letting go of my belly was hard. Even when I thought I had totally let go, I found I could relax a little more. Seeing my belly from the side view was humbling, but then I got to exhale and squeeze it—and feeling how strong I’d be able to make it made me feel better. After two weeks, even though I was still chunky, I could see a line starting to form where my abs were working. I’d never seen any lines of any sort on my belly! —Buddy, age 29
I did belly breathing on my side and in the bathtub. I found that if I added positions of my own, it felt completely different, as if I was “getting it” even better. —Nisse, age 26
I work as a customer service rep on the phone, which means I have plenty of time to do my breathing exercises. And it’s true: if I keep doing a slight Rock and Roll I can listen, write, and work on the computer and almost not think about it. —Cooper, 46
I’ve always felt kind of numb around my middle. Moving my breathing down there was weirdly eye-opening. All of a sudden, it just wasn’t my middle and hips—that part of my body got more sensation and became more important. And it made sense. The biggest part of my lungs is above my belly button! And my diaphragm goes all the way around my body! It felt good to understand my own anatomy in a way I never had before. I moved the weight around my middle and inhaled, pushing it away. The very practical, tactile nature really helped get the idea ingrained in my head. —Miranda, age 51
I work at a lighting store, so I got creative and acquired two 8-pound sandbags that are used to hold down supplies. I put them on my shoulders, which made Vertical Breathing hard and made me go back to a Horizontal style. Sure, I had to change to clothes that would let me breathe horizontally, but that was in fact a relief. No more tight waists. I kept reminding myself that breathing this way would actually make my core and abs stronger in the long run. And I also kept in mind that when I’d look down and see my belly (and say ugh!), this was intro breath 101—eventually I’d be able to do a 360-degree Lower-body Breath. —Gabriella, 34
25 For an excellent article on the diaphragm by chiropractor Robert “Skip” George, see: http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=55951.
26 For a brief overview of lungs and their function, with well-defined illustrations, go to http://patient.info/health/the-lungs-and-respiratory-tract.
27 Kegels are pelvic-floor muscle exercises employed to strengthen the pubococcygeal muscle and other muscles of the pelvic diaphragm. The exercises were first described by Dr. Arnold Kegel in 1948. For an easy, step-by-step guide to how to perform the Kegel exercises, go to http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/womens-health/in-depth/kegel-exercises/art-20045283. I talk more about the pelvic floor in Chapter 10.
28 Reverse Kegels is a term coined by Isa Herrera, MSPT, CSCS. “Reverse Kegels are a lengthening and relaxation exercise for the PFMs [pelvic-floor muscles]. Once the PFMs have less tension, more flexibility, and less spasm, they can be strengthened using the typical Kegel exercise. Once the PFMs have had normal function restored, the patient will enjoy reduced pain, improved continence, enhanced sexual response, and improved daily function.” For a full explanation of the role of pelvic exercise, go to her article, “Overcoming Pelvic Pain,” at http://physical-therapy.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Overcoming-Pelvic-Pain.aspx.
29 For more on the pelvic floor, see chapter 10.
30 An interesting and very readable article on air-packing appears on a University of Cambridge website, The Naked Scientists: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/interviews/interview/1000268/.