Breathing 101: how to do it.

[Asif]

Breathing???
Everybody does it. We all know how to do it. Don't we???
No. We do not.
Westerners barely breathe at all. We are never even conscious of our breathing until some effort makes us feel out of breath.
Well: if you ever want to become fluent, you had better start taking breathing seriously.
We all get irritated at people who tell us to "slow down and breathe". Easy for them to say, and anyway, it doesn't help.
Have you ever heard of a "diaphragm"? Do you know what it is? Do you know WHERE it is?
Probably not:)
Well: your diaphragm contracts to give your lungs room to fill.
It expands to force air out.
Most of us think breathing is purely a lung-thing. We expand our chests and call that breathing.
If you ever want to actually BREATHE, you must excercise your diaphragm. So start doing that.
End of Breathing 101.
If anyone wants to know more, reply for Breathing 102:)
Asif.

[Gary1450]

Good Post Asif - Deep Breathing helps me on the phone a lot.

Now give us Breathing 102.

[Asif]

OK: here we go...
Breathing is automatic for most of us.
But for the rest of us, it is only automatic in that it will barely keep us alive unless we make a conscious effort to breathe more deeply.
We have to learn all over again how to do it.
There is a point about two inches below the navel (belly-button:))
And about two inches inside the stomach.
Put your attention there now. Don't make a big thing of it, just imagine your mind there. Keep it there.
In martial arts, this is called the "one spot".
It is your centre.
If you learn to live in that spot, your balance will greatly improve and your crazy thoughts will diminish.
But better, you will FEEL yourself breathing.
Practice putting your attention there throughout the day.
Practice being there as you fall asleep at night.
Feel your stomach move as you breathe.
This takes a while, but sooner or later you will feel as if you are not so much BREATHING as BEING BREATHED.
When you feel this, you are on the way to becoming part of the universe again, instead of an alienated, sorry soul who has no control over his or her life.
The best way I have found to practice breathing is to kneel on the floor or carpet, insteps flat on the floor, back straight, but relaxed. This is difficult at first for western bodies, but gets easier over time.
If you are old like me, a cushion between your buttocks (bum:)) and the backs of your calves helps a lot.
Now what?
Breathe. Slowly.
Notice how your breaths are shallow and jerky on the exhale.
And each breath is an effort.
Keep breathing.
Slower and deeper.
Control will increase.
With practice you will take one breath every 30 to 40 seconds.
When you can do that, you will notice how calm you have become.
It may help to make a sound on the exhale, like "ummmm" or "aummmm" or "ahhhh".
And before you know it you will be meditating like a buddhist monk :)
But remember, this is a breathing excercise, not a journey into awareness.
Awareness-expansion is something best left alone if you live in a city: or you will start noticing things that will not help your calmness one bit.
So that's it. Looks easy, but takes a lot of practice.
I do guarantee, though, that if you persevere in this, your speech will improve greatly.
End of Breathing 102:
Asif.

[jackfate]

hi Asif
Your threads are very informative. I am surely going to try breathing excercises you suggested. Thanks

[ysy]

Sorry, as an Asian who knows quite a bit about martial arts, I don't really follow 101 and 102. When I searched for "diaphragmatic breathing" on Google, websites only say things like "keep the upper chest stationary and breathe solely by the abdomen".

Is this the same thing as what you are describing in Breathing 101 and 102??? They don't really look the same...I'm confused...

[Asif]

Well...
I don't cl to be an expert, but:
In martial arts you would not want a lot of air in the upper chest.
In meditation it may be beneficial in being able to control the in/exhalation.
Filling the upper chest after filling the abdomen is a way to squeeze a little more air in, thereby allowing you to slow down your breathing rate, per minute.
Truth is: breathe any old way you want to, but if any of this advice helps, then that is good :)
Asif.

[ysy]

breathe any old way you want to, but if any of this advice helps, then that is good :)
Asif.

But from what I have gathered the "consensus" seems to be that there is some proper way of breathing. Many people call it diaphragmatic breathing. Apparently when we inhale the abdomen is supposed to expand and move in when we exhale. My question is, what is then the wrong way of breathing? I need something to contrast this "diaphragmatic breathing".
Also, Asif, and everybody else please, have you ever heard of a McGuire Programme originated in the UK? Apparently this McGuire guy is teaching people the opposite, saying that we should breathe solely by ribs expansion/ contraction and never with the abdomen.
Who's right? What do you think??? :confused: Many thanks :)

[Asif]

Well: the IMproper way to breathe is to barely breathe at all. This is what most westerners do. Watch them: can you detect any breathing taking place?
As I said: I am not an expert, but, I found after several months of conscious breathing while deep in meditation, I was able to speak 95% fluently. Maybe even 99%.
My voice deepened and softened. I spoke much more slowly. I was confident and filled with a new-found appreciation of life. Words seemed to just roll out like liquid. It was nice :)
I have little of that now: I moved back to London from the Mexican desert, and the change has not been especially good for me.
Anyway: beware of anybody bearing advice.
Try it yourself and see if you make any improvement.
I never met any two stutterers who stuttered in the same way.
Asif.

[Matthias]

what is exactly 101 and 102 ?

[jackfate]

what is exactly 101 and 102 ?
see post #1 & 3 by asif

[Matthias]

my speach terrapist tells me to take 30 very deep breaths and concentrating

[nate]

Diaphragmatic breathing is exhausting. Mebbe i not doing it right:confused:

[bathaluman]

i am not aware how i breathe...
this thing seems complicated for me.after i read this one and before actually posting here i tried to consciously breathe but when i inhale its my shoulders that move...(they rise when i inhale and they fall when i exhale)

[Derek181]

diaphramic breathing is so important in fluency ... without it i start having blocks and stuff...