For some beginners of yoga, the belly breath is a doozy. The belly breath, or deep belly breathing, can be elusive at first. Most people only utilize the top portion of their lungs for breathing. If you ask someone to take a deep breath, you'll see their chest expand and rise. This “deep breath” only uses about one-third of the lungs' total capacity. Ask people to bring their breath into the belly, and you may as well be asking them to put their legs behind their neck on day one—not going to happen. It takes a little explanation and basic understanding of anatomy to fully grasp deep belly breathing.

One hindrance of the belly breath is the tendency of people to hold in their abdominal muscles. Especially in women, sucking in the belly becomes second nature. The first step to the deep belly breath is to release those abdominal muscles. Let the belly be soft. Placing the hands on the belly at this time will help the person connect with how it feels to let the belly go.

Next is needed clarification about what deep belly breathing really is. More specifically, it's diaphragmatic breathing. The diaphragm is the muscle extending across the bottom of the rib cage. It separates the upper chest cavity (the thoracic cavity) from the lower cavity (the abdominal cavity). Upon inhalation, the diaphragm pulls down, creating room for the lungs to expand with air. The depth of the breath will determine how far the diaphragm will move. Shallow breathing barely pulls on the diaphragm at all.

Diaphragmatic breathing, or deep belly breathing, involves releasing the belly so that the diaphragm can pull down, which pushes the belly out. This allows the breath to fill the lower and outer portions of the lungs first, allowing for a much fuller, much deeper, and much more oxygenating breath. All cells that make up the body require oxygen. Breath is prana—it is life. Deep belly breathing is like drinking in life.

In yoga, we must relearn to breathe as we did during infancy—without holding back. Watch the belly of an infant as she breathes. You will see she is a master of the deep belly breath. It is a natural form of breathing that we “unlearn” as we age, in response to the fast-paced, stress-induced, distracted lives we lead. Relearn this live-giving breath. Fill your lungs with prana as if it were life itself, because, in essence, it is.