When I ask my counseling and coaching clients how they’d like to be, they say things like: more calm, more at ease, know I’m capable, have healthier boundaries, be more resourceful and creative, be more accepting of myself, be fulfilled, feel free. Breath and meditation flow together to help us with all of these goals and more.
Breath and meditation have many benefits—like lessening anxiety and depression, improving sleep and digestion, lowering blood pressure, increasing creativity and focus, and regulating our vagus nerve.
Whether you are on a healing journey or a spiritual growth path—or both—breath and meditation should be foundational. When I say meditation, I mean in the broadest sense: any practice that helps you come into the moment in an embodied way with awareness—whether sitting meditation, moving, walking, dancing, doing yoga or Pilates, chanting, or chopping vegetables.
Both breath and meditation lead us into healthier ways. Sometimes, as we breathe consciously, our mind stills, our normal mind chatter slows down or ceases. We relax and are able to enjoy this moment, here now. Simply being—an inner smile suffusing our body.
With these body-centered practices you can reap short term and long term benefits. In a tense or upsetting moment, you can use breath and awareness to calm and center yourself. Over time, if you keep practicing, you’ll develop more equanimity, creativity, and compassion for yourself and others.
Let’s start with diaphragmatic (or belly) breathing, since proper breathing is a key to calming the mind and getting the benefits of meditation. Then I’ll teach you a basic meditation that will help you reinforce the benefits of belly breathing.
Diaphragmatic Breathing: Cultivating an Inner Smile
So often one of the first things I notice in clients with anxiety, stress, or symptoms of depression is breathing primarily with upper chest and shoulders. Upper chest breathing is very common in our technological world, as we hunch over devices for long hours—but actually works against relaxation and instead activates the nervous system for fight or flight. Belly breathing, which I’ll explain and demonstrate, promotes rest and digest mode because then we’re breathing with our body’s natural design.
Breath Check: Are You Working For or Against Yourself?
I’d like to ask you to observe the mechanics of how you are tending to breathe. Most people, when they first come to me, are not breathing optimally, which is what inspired me to post this article, with accompanying videos: one for breath and one for diaphragmatic breathing.
Here’s a quick check you can do—which I also demonstrate in the video below, along with some coaching on belly breathing and how you can take your breathing to the next level.
Right now, where ever you are—sitting or standing is best—put one hand on your upper chest and one on your belly. Take a deep breath! … Which hand moved the most?
If your upper hand moved more, then you are breathing into the upper chest, raising the shoulders. Upper chest breathing reinforces stress instead of helping you to relax! If you’re not sure, try in front of a mirror.
**If your shoulders stayed still, if you can see and feel your rib cage gently expanding and contracting, your belly filling and emptying, you’re good to go, you can watch the breath video or skip down to the belly center meditation.
So, if you are tending to breathe with your upper chest and shoulders, how do you fix it?
Diaphragmatic Breathing for Most Benefit
Let’s start with a quick review of how our body is designed to breathe. The system is complex yet elegant. Along with a host of postural muscles, your spine supports your vertical axis. Your ribcage expands and contracts as your heart beats, nestled with and working in concert with your lungs. At the same time, your vagus nerve responds to natural breath with a healthy relaxation response. None of this would work without your diaphragm…
Below your rib cage, under the lungs, spreads the diaphragm—your horizontal base of support for breath and posture. [I love how the image (above) shows the harmony of lungs and diaphragm.] Your diaphragm looks like an alive, domed pancake.
Below your rib cage, under the lungs, spreads the diaphragm — your horizontal base of support for breath and posture. [I love how the image (above) shows the harmony of lungs and diaphragm.] Your diaphragm looks like an alive, domed pancake. When you inhale, your diaphragm naturally expands downward, making space for your lungs to fill with air and helping your belly expand as well. When you exhale, your diaphragm contracts back upwards, helping you squeeze air out of your lungs, as your belly naturally contracts. As your belly expands and contracts, your organs get a massage, which keeps you and your digestive system healthy and happy.
As your belly expands and contracts, your organs get a massage, which keeps you and your digestive system healthy and happy.
When you consciously breathe, you are giving yourself space for new possibilities—for ease, healing, and creativity.
Watch the first video to see me demonstrate how poor posture causes poor breathing and how easy it is to let your diaphragm do the work it’s designed to do—once you see how—along with some more tips I’ll give you to make belly breathing natural for yourself.
Once you’re comfortable with diaphragmatic breathing, try adding the belly center meditation below:
Belly Center Meditation
A basic meditation practice I teach my clients is the belly center meditation. Hara, lower dan tien, and kath are other names for this center. The practice is ancient, simple to learn, and effective.
Belly center meditation is a practice that encompasses all aspects of well-being—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Belly breathing and belly meditation naturally invigorate each other.
My clients consistently tell me that doing the belly center meditation I teach them (after they are familiar with diaphragmatic breathing) reinforces and deepens their ability to face their fears, find calm and relaxed alertness, sleep better and more.
Good times to practice diaphragmatic breathing and belly meditation are when you first wake up, at a midday break, or before bed—anytime you would be naturally quiet.
By being present and grounded, the belly center supports us to know our heart, to be real and in contact with ourselves and with others. When we’re in touch with our belly, we’re better able to make sound decisions with our minds and take wise action. The belly center is where the physical and the spiritual meet. Grounding in the lower belly helps us respond to physical danger and keeps us safe, because the lower belly is our physical center of gravity as well as our moving center.
Please watch the second video below, where you’ll hear my voice guiding you in a short belly center meditation. The video assumes you’ve set yourself up in the following way. That’s so you can come back to the video, whenever you’d like to reinvigorate your practice.
Set up for lower belly meditation (before you start the video)
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- Context and Container. Be in a safe place emotionally and physically, including having enough time and no external distractions (device on silent). If possible practice at the same time each day (5-7 days/week) for five minutes to start and then build up to 15-30 minutes.
- Posture. Find a comfortable seat where you can put your feet on the floor. Sit as upright as possible. If you’re easily able to do your diaphragmatic breathing, that’s a good posture. Place the tip of your tongue gently on the roof of your mouth as you meditate. NOTE: If you need to practice lying down, make sure to leave a light on or you can hold your forearm up from the elbow to remind you that you’re meditating, not napping!
- Belly center. Gently bring your awareness to your belly center—below your navel and slightly in toward your spine. Some people sense the belly center as a point, others like to meditate on the whole pelvic bowl. Find the way that works best for you.
- Distractions and Kindness. Whenever you get distracted by thoughts, sounds, or other sensations, gently bring your awareness to your belly center. This is the practice—this coming back to your belly center and focussing there. Some days you’ll find this easier, thoughts will naturally cease. Other days, you’ll be more distracted and find yourself returning to your belly center more often. That’s totally normal. Please be kind to yourself.
- I will guide you in the meditation until the Tibetan bowl chime sounds. The chime is a call to mindfulness. To strengthen your practice, continue to focus on your belly center with the chime. You can end the meditation when the chime ends or continue your meditation for longer periods.
Belly Center Meditation (short version)
Hints for a Good Meditation
- Practice being in this moment. Right here. Right now.
- Breathe and feel your body. Let your body be more important than your intellect.
- When you notice yourself thinking, be happy that you are aware and able to return to your belly center!
Reaping the Benefits of Breath and Meditation
As you become more comfortable with these practices, many things can happen.
You may enjoy moments where your sense of the now expands in unity with all that’s in your awareness. Perhaps you’ll notice you feel lighter, calmer, freer. Perhaps you’ll discover your inner smile.
You may notice you are more in touch with feelings you’ve pushed away or haven’t fully dealt with. That’s normal too, since breath and meditation ask us to let go of the known, ego-constructed world we habitually inhabit. After your meditation, when you’ve noticed emotions coming up, you can journal, do some Diamond inquiry, which I describe in a separate post here, and reach out for support.
May your practice go well and be of benefit.