Obviously the lungs are higher up than our stomach, so how come our bellies get bigger when we take a diaphragmatic breath?
How is it that I can control the balloonness of my belly even while holding my breath?
Thanks in advance!
In: 2
There are three types of breathing: Diaphragmatic breathing, intercostal breathing and clavicular breathing.
Diaphragmatic breathing involves pushing the diaphragm down. That pushes out your belly.
Intercostal breathing (intercostals are the muscles between your ribs) pulls your ribs up and outwards.
Clavicular breathing is the last. This involves expanding your lungs by raising your shoulders. This usually just assists the other two methods, although people with certain types of paralysis can learn to manage on just clavicular breathing for shorter periods of time.
The reason you can push your gut out while holding your breath is because:
* Air can expand. You can still push your diaphragm down even if you block the entry of new air into your lungs. This creates a bit of negative pressure inside your lungs.
* To some extent your intercostal muscles can compensate by giving in a bit. So compressing your chestcage to push out your gut.
P.S: If you’re a practiced singer or play a brass instrument you might notice that if you’re holding your breath it’s much easier to push your gut out if you’re not trying to keep your chestcage expanded at the same time (allowing you to increase your true waist measurement another few centimeters)
Latest Answers