Diaphragmatic breathing is a breathing exercise that engages your diaphragm, an important muscle that enables you to breathe.

Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique that helps you focus on your diaphragm, a muscle in your belly. It’s sometimes called belly breathing or abdominal breathing. By “training” your diaphragm to open up your lungs, you can help your body breathe more efficiently.

Diaphragmatic breathing has many benefits that can affect your entire body. It’s the basis for many meditation and relaxation techniques, which can lower your stress levels, lower your blood pressure, and regulate other critical bodily processes.

Let’s learn more about how diaphragmatic breathing benefits you, how to get started, and what the research says about it.

If you have a lung condition, talk with a doctor before trying breathing exercises.

The most basic type of diaphragmatic breathing is done by inhaling through your nose and breathing out through your mouth.

Diaphragm breathing basics

Here’s the basic procedure for diaphragmatic breathing. It may be easiest to practice while lying flat on your bed or the floor when you first start.

  1. Sit or lie down on a comfortable, flat surface.
  2. Relax your shoulders, shifting them downward away from the ears.
  3. Put a hand on your chest and a hand on your stomach.
  4. Without straining or pushing, breathe in through your nose until you can’t take in any more air.
  5. Feel the air moving through your nostrils into your abdomen, expanding your stomach and sides of the waist. Your chest remains relatively still.
  6. Purse your lips as if sipping through a straw. Exhale slowly through your lips for 4 seconds and feel your stomach gently contracting.
  7. Repeat these steps several times for best results.

Rib-stretch breathing

The rib stretch is another helpful deep breathing exercise to help you expand your breath into your rib cage. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Stand or sit upright.
  2. Cross your arms over your chest and place your palms on either side of your rib cage.
  3. Without straining or pushing, breathe in through your nose until you can’t take in anymore air.
  4. Feel your ribs expand into your hands as you do so.
  5. Hold your breath for 5 to 10 seconds.
  6. Breathe out slowly through your mouth. You can do this normally or with pursed lips.

Numbered breathing

Numbered breathing is a good exercise for gaining control over your breathing patterns. Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Sit or stand upright and close or relax your eyes.
  2. Without straining or pushing, breathe in through your nose until you can’t take in anymore air.
  3. Exhale until all the air has been emptied from your lungs.
  4. Keeping your eyes closed, fully inhale again.
  5. Keep the air in your lungs for a few seconds, then let it all out.
  6. Count that as breath one.
  7. Inhale fully again.
  8. Hold for a few seconds, then let it all out.
  9. Count that as breath two.
  10. Repeat a full inhale, hold, and then exhale.
  11. Count that as breath three.
  12. Repeat these steps until you’ve reached 10 breaths.

Feel free to count higher if you feel comfortable. For an additional mindfulness component, you can start over again from 1, noticing if you accidentally count beyond 10.

Lower-back breathing

Lower-back breathing or kidney breathing can help you train yourself to breathe spherically rather than simply out and in.

  1. Place your palms on your lower back with your thumbs touching the top of your hip bones. Your hands will be roughly parallel with your kidneys.
  2. Inhale slowly through the nose, focusing on “sending” the breath into your hands at your lower back.
  3. You can very slightly contract your belly to emphasize the movement in your lower back.
  4. You may feel an almost indetectable movement in your lower back, or you may feel no movement at all.
  5. Exhale slowly through your nose or mouth, allowing your belly and sides of your waist to naturally contract.
  6. Inhale again and focus on expanding your lower back into your hands.
  7. Exhale and release the breath completely.
  8. Repeat the process for 10 cycles.

Note: You can’t actually breathe into your back or belly. You can only breathe into your lungs. This exercise involves using the expansion of your lungs within the body to help stimulate sensation and movement in the lower back.

Try it

See lower-back breathing video instructions on Healthline’s Instagram.

Box breathing

Box breathing is also known as square breathing. This is because each of the four steps involves breathing or holding the breath for 4 seconds, creating a 4×4 effect.

  1. Sit or stand upright.
  2. Slowly exhale through your mouth, getting all the oxygen out of your lungs.
  3. Inhale as you count slowly to four in your head, filling your lungs completely without strain.
  4. Hold the breath while counting slowly to four.
  5. Exhale and release the breath slowly to the count of four.
  6. Hold the breath out for the count of four.
  7. Repeat the cycle 5 to 10 times.

4-7-8 breathing

The 4-7-8 breathing practice is based on an ancient yogic technique called pranayama. It was developed by Dr. Andrew Weil.

  1. Let your lips part slightly. Make a whooshing sound, exhaling completely through your mouth.
  2. Close your lips and inhale silently through your nose as you count to four in your head, filling the lungs completely without strain.
  3. Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
  4. Make another whooshing exhale from your mouth for 8 seconds.
  5. Repeat for 5 to 10 rounds.

Creating a routine can be an excellent way to get in the habit of diaphragmatic breathing exercises. Try the following to get into a good groove:

  • Do your exercises in the same place every day. If possible, choose somewhere that’s peaceful and quiet.
  • Don’t worry if you’re not doing it right or enough. This may just cause additional stress.
  • As much as you can, clear your mind of the things that are stressing you out. Focus instead on the sounds and rhythm of your breathing or the environment around you.
  • Do breathing exercises at least once or twice daily. Try to do them at the same time each day to reinforce the habit.
  • Try to arrange your schedule so you can do these exercises for about 10 to 20 minutes at a time.

Talk with a doctor or respiratory therapist if you’re interested in using this exercise to improve your breathing if you have COPD, asthma, or another lung condition.

Diaphragmatic breathing may help relieve some symptoms of anxiety, lung conditions, and stress-related conditions, such as IBS. Still, it’s always best to get a medical professional’s opinion to see if it’s worth your time and if it will have any drawbacks.