Breathing Exercise 1: Breathing 101

This is an exercise to test and correct your breathing.

1. Stand up straight, lie down on your back, or sit with your back straight. Make sure you are comfortable and able to relax.
2. Rest one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach just below your ribs. Breathe as you always do and notice whether your chest rises and falls or if your stomach rises and falls.
3. If your stomach rises while your chest remains still, you are breathing correctly.
4. If your chest rises more than your stomach, correct your breathing by keeping your chest still and letting your breath fill your stomach first. Practise breathing in and out while you keep your hand on your stomach and ensure that your chest stays still. Take a deep breath and count to five before exhaling.
5. Keep doing these exercises so that you can learn to breathe this way all the time. This type of breathing will eventually become natural to you and won’t require mental effort.
6. Use every opportunity to practise breathing – for example, while waiting in line somewhere, when you are on hold on the phone, or while you are at work, at your desk, or stuck in a traffic jam.