Lower back and upper back

Diaphragmatic Breathing: Dirga Pranayama

Slow belly breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system, helping to reduce pain sensitivity and calm your body before or after movement.

How to do it

1. 1

   Lie down with your knees bent, or sit supported in a chair

   Lying down makes this easier to feel, which is why it is usually where people start.

2. 2

   Rest one hand on your belly

   The hand is feedback rather than decoration. It tells you where the breath is going without you having to guess.

3. 3

   Breathe in and let the belly rise under your hand

   The movement is low, under the hand, rather than high in the chest and shoulders. Slow rather than deep.

4. 4

   Breathe out and let the belly fall

   Unforced. You are letting the breath out rather than pushing it out.

5. 5

   Continue for three to five minutes

   Good at the beginning of a session to arrive, and at the end to settle.

What to watch for

Lifting the chest and shoulders on the in-breath. If the belly is not moving, make the breath smaller rather than bigger until it does.

Ways to adjust it

• Supine position
• Hand on belly for feedback
• Seated on chair

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

• Extended Exhale Breathing

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.