Deep Breathing, Do-Anywhere Exercise for Your Stomach Muscles

Singers and yoga lovers know this trick well. It’s simply diaphragm breathing. Breathing in to your diaphragm instead of your chest cavity allows for deeper, longer breaths and enables this quick do-it-anywhere exercise:

Breathe in slowly through your nose, filling your belly, instead of your chest. (it may help to place your hands on you stomach, to guide the air and feel the expansion)

Now- exhale this breath in short strong bursts through your nose (don’t do anything painful :).

Pull your stomach in through your belly button to propel each outward breath.

Your stomach should look like it’s jumping!

This exercise takes very little commitment and no preparation. The stimulation of these lower digestive organs and exercising your stomach muscles is invigorating. Plus, this activity draws awareness back to your breath, allowing you to focus solely on the circulation of air in and out of your body.

What are your favorite do-anywhere exercises?

Comments

I'll definitely use this exercise because it appears to be something I can do anywhere, anytime.

I find this breathing exercise very relaxing. When I first start, I become aware of how shallow and fast my breathing is, which is often a mirror of my thoughts. As I slow down and deepen my exchange with the earth and my environment, I find my thoughts becoming deeper, truer and calmer too.