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What the Heck Is Breathing
“from” the Diaphragm?

The short answer is “low breathing,” which is different from how most people breathe.  The diaphragm is a wide flat muscle that sits at the base of the rib cage.  It is the relaxing and contracting of the diaphragm muscle that causes us to breathe at all.  You cannot take a breath in without the diaphragm creating suction and pulling in air.  However, most breathers have tense abdominal muscles, which forces all the breath up into the upper chest.  Take in the biggest breath you can take and notice what your shoulders and upper chest do.  Do you now have “simulated football gear” forced up around your shoulders and neck from taking in a big breath?  If the answer is “yes,” you are not breathing low.  So when singing teachers and chorus directors keep saying to you “sing from the diaphragm” or “breathe from the diaphragm” they are wanting you to breathe down low into your abdominal cavity with a relaxed torso, rather than the stiff breath that forces your lungs and chest up toward your neck.

For more information and lessons on how to learn the low breathing technique, visit www.sing-in-tune.com for the “HOW TO BREATHE FROM THE  DIAPHRAGM WITH EASE” course.

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