Rickson Gracie
Usually people breathe only puffing their chest and using only the upper part of the lungs. Doing this, you are leading the air only to the apex of the lungs without exercising the diaphragm. Therefore, the lower part of the lungs reduces the amplitude of respiratory movements and consequently diminishes our vital capacity that it is the average global capacity of a person to inhale and exhale.
In diaphragmatic breathing, or commonly known as belly breathing, when you inspire, the abdomen tracks the movement of the air inlet dilating gently; and when you expire, it contracts so slow and gently while the air outlet. Ideally, you should try to make this work using only the nose and breathing calmly. Move only your abdomen. Chest stays still.
You can use this technique to start and end your workouts and before the competitions. It is also a form of meditation because from the moment that we are always thinking about something, when you focus on your breathing, you will stop thinking about your problems. Try to observe that when the breath is calmed the mind also becomes calm, reducing anxiety, and giving you a sense of well being and relaxation.
This interestingly shows the effectiveness of this breathing technique, but only with continued practice you may notice changes in your daily lives and also in your performance on the mat by improving your physical conditioning, combating anxiety before competition and speeding up recovery both during and after training or competition. This technique will help you physically and mentally, being an important factor in health and quality of life.
By Prof. Alvaro Romano
