The most important muscle for breathing is the diaphragm.
Actually, the diaphragm is a sheet of tendon with muscle around the edge. It is a kind of dome with two extensions that separate the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity.

During inhalation, the diaphragm moves downwards: the dome flattens into a kind of inverted saucer. This stretches the lungs downwards and allows air to flow in. The diaphragm makes space from within. But not just by moving downwards: imagine the dome flattening out. It gets wider too. The diaphragm is encased by the lower ribs, so they move sideways, and also by the sternum. There’s actually not that many places where the diaphragm is restricted, which makes it flexible in shape.

At the same time, there is also a downward movement from the centre of the diaphragm that flattens out. Your organs are gently pushed down, causing your abdomen, flanks and back to expand. This is a natural massage for the organs. The movement also helps your heart function (the centre you see between the two domes is connected to the pericardium via a central tendon) and there are also other benefits to using your diaphragm.

There are many forms of breathing. When we want to learn to use the diaphragm, we often think of the abdomen. The abdomen expands as the organs are gently pushed down by the diaphragm. However, you might only be moving your abdomen in this way, while your back, flanks and chest are not expanding. The best approach is to let your entire torso move in a relaxed way at the same time.

Also have a look at this great video to see the expansion of the lungs while the diaphragm (not seen by itself but is below the lungs) moves downward.

In the image above you can see the extensions of the diaphragm. You could say that these crura are the deepest elements of the diaphragm. When you start a breathing movement from this centre of your body, your entire torso will move too, simply because everything is connected there. This happens without you having to think about all the different parts of your body. So you don’t have to think about inhaling low and then letting the breath come up to your chest.

To change your breathing from belly breathing to a more optimal way you want to learn how to breathe from this centre of your body, or you could also focus on your lower back.
Many people suffer form a stiff lower back so it can take some time to make space for the breath.

The online course Effortless breathing for musicians helps singers and wind players to use the diaphragm in an optimal way, through various Feldenkrais exercises. These exercises help you to become more aware, get rid of tensions and create more space for the breath.

When you start a breathing movement from the centre of your body, your entire torso will move, simply because everything there is connected. You could imagine that centre of your body (where the crura and lumbar vertebrae are connected) as the button of an umbrella. As soon as you keep your focus on that during inhalation, the spokes of the umbrella (ribs) open sideways and upwards.

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Our thoughts are connected to our emotions, and the breath mirrors how we feel. Every emotion affects our breathing. Discover this for yourself: when you see something exciting, your breathing immediately goes up. You catch your breath or you inhale quickly. Then think of a beautiful moment in your life for which you are grateful, and your breathing immediately drops and slows. There is room to breathe. Breathing is actually a processing of what you’re feeling.

But sometimes the processing doesn’t go well, for example because you’re holding your breath in. Or because the stress response no longer stops and on a long-term basis you’re breathing too much. The breath is then the simplest way to let the entire system rest.

In summary: our thoughts and emotions affect our breath, but the same also applies the other way round.

When playing a wind instrument or singing, the breath is the bridge to sound. We as musicians work with the breath to have control over our sound through breath support. But technique alone is not the way to musical magic. Just like learning a new musical piece; technique and practice is required but just as important is the next step of surrender in order to pave the way for the music itself to shine through. When you can’t let go it results in tension and your breath will mirror that.

So in order to develop or improve breathing technique it is necessary to be aware of your whole body and emotions and to be open to what your breathing is telling you. In that way the breath is showing you where you are. It becomes a constant process of becoming aware, letting go of tension, acknowledging how you feel, focusing on the music and work together with the breath to create the music.

In my online course Effortless breathing for musicians (available on my website and on Udemy) I give exercises that will help you to become aware and discover the power of breathing, combined with knowledge about the physical aspects of breathing, breath support and the influence of breathing on our health.

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