By: Jodi Pickering
I didn’t learn how to breathe until I was in college when a yoga teacher told me to stop sucking in my stomach with my breath.
Like many twenty-somethings, I assumed she was simply incorrect. I mean, how could I take a deep breath in without sucking in my stomach?
Society had instructed me to suck it in much of my life and besides, sucking it in improved my posture. I know now, of course, that using our diaphragms as we inhale deepens our breath work. I know that “sucking it in” is actually called stomach gripping, and it can do more than just keep you from getting a deep breath. It’s been shown to create back and neck pain and even acid reflux.
Babies naturally use their bellies to breathe because their lungs are still getting stronger. That rise and fall is a beautiful thing to watch. Later in life, however, we can’t just tell people to take deep breaths. We need to teach them how to do so, and doing so is part of our work at 1N5.
With kindergartners, we ask them to put a stuffed animal on their stomachs and to give it a ride with their breath, but getting teenagers to use their bellies proves to be more challenging. We invite them to put their hands on their stomachs to feel it rise as they breathe in through their noses, but few do. In fact, this action is a challenge for many of the educators we train as well. People have a difficult time feeling their stomachs rise and experiencing joy, but they can learn to do it. Breathing takes practice, but when you fill up your diaphragm with the air it deserves, the benefits quickly become apparent. Happy breathing!