I started belly breathing because I learned it in Ayurvedic school. Belly breathing is when you inhale slowly through your nose and let your belly expand, then exhale fully and let it soften so the belly should be moving, not the chest.
What I didn’t realize at the time was how shallow my breathing had become day to day. Everything lived in my chest. Quick inhales. Short exhales. A body that was always slightly braced, even when nothing was wrong.
Once I started paying attention, I couldn’t unsee it.
Breathing into my belly changed how my digestion felt almost immediately. Food stopped feeling like it just sat there. Gas moved instead of building. My stomach felt warmer, softer, more willing to do its job. Nothing was being forced, digestion just had the conditions it needed to work.
The nervous system piece surprised me the most.
Slow, deep belly breaths send a very clear signal to the body: you’re not in danger. When that message lands, everything else follows. My shoulders drop. My jaw relaxes. My abdomen softens instead of gripping all day.
I didn’t realize how much muscle tension I was carrying until I felt it release.
Belly breathing also strengthened my lungs in a way I didn’t expect. Breathing felt fuller and more supported, not strained. My breath had somewhere to go. It wasn’t just about taking in air, it was about allowing space.
There’s a steady kind of energy that comes from breathing this way. Not stimulation. Not adrenaline. Just a grounded alertness that comes from being regulated instead of wound up.
What I appreciate most is that belly breathing doesn’t override the body. It doesn’t suppress symptoms or chase outcomes. It supports the systems that already know what to do when they’re not under constant stress.
It helps digestion move.
It helps gas release.
It relaxes muscles without collapsing them.
It strengthens the lungs without force.
It calms the nervous system without dulling it.
And it’s available to everyone.
No supplements. No tools. No perfect posture. Just awareness.
Sometimes I do it before meals. Sometimes after. Sometimes when my thoughts are racing. Sometimes when I realize I’ve been holding my breath for no reason at all.
It’s not a ritual. It’s a relationship.
And once your body remembers how to breathe this way, it starts asking for it on its own.
You don’t need to turn belly breathing into a practice or a routine. Just notice your breath once in a while. Let it drop lower. Let your belly soften. See what shifts. Sometimes the most supportive things aren’t dramatic, they’re the ones the body already knows how to do.
Honestly, Vanessa 