Deep Breathing Success Steps

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​Does your breathing change throughout the day?
Perhaps it does if you were suddenly surprised, or anxiously waiting for an answer to your hopes or concerns. Most of us have not considered what our normal breathing pattern is until something jolts us with sensations of rapid breathing.

To determine if you are using diaphragmatic breathing or upper clavicular breathing (mainly in your neck and shoulder area), simply stand in front of a mirror and take a deep breath. If your shoulders rise, then you are not breathing with the diaphragm.


Face your mirror again:

• Gently, place one hand on your stomach area just below your lower rib cage, and place one hand on your upper chest area just below your chin
• Take a deep breath and watch which hand moves out when you inhale, then returns when you exhale

If your stomach hand moves and your shoulders do not rise, then you are breathing with the diaphragm!
Your diaphragm allows you to take in more breath whenever necessary whereas your clavicular breathing area is shallow, limited to your space between your shoulder and collar bone area. Anxious quick breaths in the upper chest area can spiral out of control leading to severe emotional panic attacks

There are advantages if your everyday breathing method is using your diaphragm!
Although clavicular breathing is often used to catch a quick breath; your diaphragmatic breathing method has flexible multi-tasking of your overall deep breathing to help you:

• Prevent breathlessness
• Reduce stress levels and relax
• Stop panic attacks
• Eliminate toxins in the body
• Support a fuller tone while speaking
• Give you more energy

Achieve deep breathing success by using your diaphragmatic breathing daily:

• Each morning smile, stretch, and take in several diaphragmatic breaths
• Throughout the week consciously breathe with your diaphragm
• Take three deep diaphragmatic breaths slowly to immediately calm yourself
• Inhale using the diaphragm, exhale as if blowing out several birthday candles
• Repeat until you can breathe throughout the day using your diaphragm always

The way you breathe could be life changing!
If you are interested in more deep breathing exercises, please take a look in my published book: “Breathe...Just Steps to Breathtaking Speeches.”   I’m here to help you achieve your best breathing method.

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