Part of these sets

This exercise rarely works alone. It appears in the following routines, where it is sequenced alongside the others that support it.

The Postnatal Foundations Set

What it works

Primary muscles

Diaphragm

Also involved

Pelvic floor, which lowers with the inhale and recoils with the exhale
Transversus abdominis, gently active on the exhale

Equipment: None. A mat or bed to lie on while learning.

How to do it

1
Lie on your back with knees bent, or sit tall in a chair. Rest your hands on your lower ribs, fingertips wrapping around the sides.
2
Breathe in gently through the nose and direct the air into your lower ribs, so they expand sideways into your hands and slightly backwards into the floor. The belly rises a little; the chest and shoulders stay quiet.
3
Let the exhale leave without effort, and feel the ribs settle back in.
4
Continue for eight to ten unhurried breaths. Comfortable and quiet matters more than big.
5
Once that feels natural, on some exhales gently draw the lower abdomen inward, roughly a three out of ten effort, feeling the midline stay firm rather than doming. This is a gentle connection, not sucking in.

How much to do

8 to 10 slow breaths

2 to 3 times a day

Little and often builds the habit. Tie it to something you already do several times a day: feeding, the kettle boiling, sitting down in the car.

Stop and get assessed if

Stop and get assessed if adding the exhale draw produces doming along the midline or a feeling of pelvic heaviness, which means the pressure system needs checking rather than more repetitions. Dizziness or chest pain during simple breathing practice is not normal either.

Common mistakes

Pushing the belly out as far as it will go: The name belly breathing misleads. The target is the lower ribs widening sideways; a forced belly push just drives pressure downward onto the pelvic floor without training the diaphragm.
Breathing up into the chest and shoulders: Rest one hand on your breastbone: it should barely move. Chest-first breathing recruits the neck and shoulder muscles instead, the same ones that ache after a stressful week.
Taking huge, forceful breaths: Bigger is not better, and light-headedness means too much too fast. A gentle, unhurried breath trains the pattern; effort just rehearses tension.
Holding the stomach in while trying to breathe low: A gripped abdomen blocks the diaphragm from descending. Constant stomach-holding is one of the habits this exercise exists to undo, so let the belly be soft.

Making it harder

Practise sitting, then standing, then walking. The positions you live in are where the pattern needs to work.
Make the exhale connection the default: on each exhale, the gentle three out of ten draw with the midline staying firm. This is the bridge into dead bugs, side planks and the rest of a programme.
Use it under load: exhale with the effort during your other exercises, which is where the coordination pays off.

Diaphragmatic Breathing