Breathing low and slow
A plain guide to belly breathing and pursed-lip breathing: where to put your hands, what to notice, and how gentle it should feel.
Belly breathing and pursed-lip breathing are two of the simplest practices on this site. Both are about where the breath moves and how slowly it leaves. Neither asks you to count.
Belly breathing
Sit or lie down so your back is supported. Rest one hand on your chest and one on your belly, just below the ribs.
Breathe in slowly through the nose and let the hand on your belly rise. The hand on your chest can stay fairly still. Then let the breath out slowly and feel the belly fall.
American Lung Association teaching describes it this way: a slow breath in through the nose while the belly rises, and a longer breath out through pursed lips.
Pursed lips
Pursed-lip breathing shapes the out-breath. Breathe in through the nose, then breathe out through lips held as if you were about to whistle, slowly and without pushing.
The same teaching counts the in-breath as two and the out-breath as four. On this site the screen keeps that count, so you can pay attention to your hands instead.
How it should feel
Easy. The breath should be quiet, and your shoulders should stay soft. Bigger is not better here; a small, slow breath is enough.
If your mind drifts to whether you are doing it right, bring it back to the hand on your belly. Rising, falling. That is the whole practice.
Stop if
Stop and breathe normally if you feel dizzy, light-headed, or short of breath, or if anything hurts. If attention on the breath itself feels uncomfortable, open your eyes, look around the room, and choose a practice that rests attention somewhere else.
Sources
- American Lung Association teaching describes belly breathing as a slow breath in through the nose while the belly rises, and a longer breath out through pursed lips. Breathing Exercises
- American Lung Association teaching counts a slow inhale through the nose as two and a breath out through pursed lips as four. Breathing Exercises