Belly Breathing, chest breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, in through the nose, out through the mouth – what’s right? What do we need to know in order to breath efficiently?
In a nutshell, oxygen allows the cells in the body to release their stored energy. That energy is used to keep the body moving and working. Every cell in the body needs oxygen to be a partner in the complex dance of cells that create life. For dancers, efficient breathing patterns are especially important. The elite dancer through efficient breathing patterns can decrease muscle fatigue and sustain a better endurance level for performance.
Our body acts like a pump moving air in and out of the lungs. At rest we breathe 7-15 times a minute, during exercise it may be many times that.
The torso and pelvis can be thought of as two compartments with the diaphragm separating the two spaces by simultaneously being the floor of the thoracic compartment, and the ceiling of the abdominal compartment. The base of the lungs attach to the diaphragm and during an inhalation will ‘lower the floor’ of the upper compartment while the muscles of the ribcage will expand the walls of the room during the inhalation allowing air to fill the lungs. On the exhalation the abdominal muscles contract and the diaphragm moves back up while the ribs gently drop downward, sending the breath out of the body.
As the diaphragm moves downward it creates gentle pressure on the abdominal contents. This is why after eating a large Thanksgiving dinner you don’t feel like you can take a deep breath. You’ve limited the amount of space that the diaphragm can move.
Lie down on the floor on your back with one hand resting gently on your ribcage and one hand on your belly. Notice which hand moves first or farther. Do both hands move? In everyday living we want the movement in both areas to be balanced and even.
Experiment with keeping the ribs absolutely motionless and only breathing in your belly and notice how you feel. Now try keeping the abdominals flat and engaged and again note your body’s response. When you restrict movement in either area you will feel muscular tension and a decreased ability to take a deep breath - which is not desirable.
When the body is at rest, you want centered breathing where the chest and the abdominal area move equally and at the same time. When all parts of the ribcage can move easily it won’t appear as if the chest is lifting much at all. Keeping your hands resting on your ribcage and belly and imagine blowing up a balloon as you inhale. All sides of the balloon will expand and/or contract at the same time.
An important part of breathing is the pause that occurs between breaths. This is when the gases are exchanged and when this pause is rushed, you feel rushed and anxious. Continue to lie down on your back with your legs bent gently to take strain away from the lower back. You’re going to compare the length of your inhalation to your exhalation and the quality of the pause in between.
On your exhale allow your lips to part slightly while you make the softest ‘S’ sound. Listen to where you have tension in your exhale. Does the S sound easily slide away, or do you hear yourself pushing out the sound at the bottom of your exhale. Try slowing your exhale down to be twice or even three times the length of your inhale. (Note: if you begin to feel dizzy, faint or light-headed, stop what you are doing and allow your breath to return to its natural pace. This is the result of increased oxygen levels which your body may not be used to.)
It is easiest to change inefficient breathing patterns by lying on the floor without the concerns of posture. After practicing these patterns lying down you can practice them sitting on a chair with your pelvis all the way to the back of the chair. Remember that your ribs should hang off the spine, and your shoulder girdle area rests on top of the ribs without any effort. Finally, you can work with your breath in the upright position.
An image to use in dance class to describe efficient breathing would be an umbrella. The pole of the umbrella is your spine, and your ribs expand in all directions similar to the cloth part of the umbrella as it opens, and reverses the movement on the close, or exhale. The pole part stays long and straight while you are opening and closing the umbrella.
While the spine does not stay absolutely still like an umbrella, this image helps students to differentiate ribcage motion from spinal motion. Dancers who have a lot of tension between their shoulder blades, or were told to stand up straight by pulling their shoulder blades together are actually decreasing the ease with which the ribcage can move, which in turns influences their breath. Decreasing tension in between the shoulder blades through stretching or massage is a good place to begin to open up the ribcage movement which influences your breathing.
As you imagine your ribs lifting and dropping like the cloth portion of an umbrella pay special attention to the top ribs at the collarbone (or clavicle) area. You might imagine them similar to a heavy necklace and allow them to drop and hang heavily on your exhale. Dancers often lift up those top ribs as an erroneous way of standing up straight. The length of the spine determines how tall you stand, not the ribs.
There are many influences to your ability to breathe properly. Excessive heat, high humidity, and pollution are environmental concerns that are detrimental to easy breathing. It goes without saying that smoking and breathing in second hand smoke severely compromises efficient breathing. Illness and emotions also strongly influence our breath.
We hold our breath when we are fearful, limit it when we are nervous, and increase it when we laugh. It is not the goal of working with your breath to not have your breathing unaffected by life. Focusing on establishing good breathing habits will develop a healthier and more responsive body that will better weather the ups and downs of life.
