My therapist says to breathe with your diaphragm. Doing so will releax the chest/throat muscles and help the TOS.

i am trying it and i gotta say it is so far hard to get used to. i did lay in bed last night and forced doing it and my hands felt like they had a pool of blood going in to them (which they always lack blood) so i think there is something there for sure.

I was sent to a psychologist for biofeedback a few years ago. She recommended I always breathe through my nose and never my mouth while learning diaphragm breathing. Apparently, breathing through the mouth engages the scalenes.

i really need to breathe through my nose more when sitting up

i used to think this diaphragm stuff was overrated but its definitely not


if you catch yourself exercising and not breathing through your diaphragm (in my case) the tspine gets locked up, sets off neck muscles/neck breathing

Diaphragm breathing has worked wonders for me. At first you start with 20 minutes twice a day while lying down with knees bent and feet on the bed . Actually at the end of the 20 minutes, you can really feel the hands warming up. ( This was Edgelow's promise to me and in my case, and it works like magic)
After doing it for almost 2 years, it has become an involuntary habit for me. It has helped me with my circulation and I don't have the extremely ice cold hands anymore. It has also helped me a lot because I don't have anymore anxiety and tightening of my chest muscles.

The "natural" type health websites often mention a very strong full exhale helps to expel the toxins/gases from the blood/lungs.
Perhaps the yoga websites mention it too.

i did it mostly today and i did notice i was more calm, i was more solid in my standing, and i was "slower"....meaning i sort of didn't feel a need to rush around like crazy mad. i felt more grounded. i also feel very light headed almost or HIGH on something. too much oxygen maybe.

i do feel like i don't get enough air in my nose and so i force it constantly....but maybe i need to slow it. dunno. i will try the 20 min thing. that sounds neat.

I am a vocalist and have breathed through my diaphragm since age 8 or 9...it's my natural breathing pattern after almost 20 years.

This past year, the TOS has flared so badly (I assume that's what's going on) that my lungs are being strained. I am naturally reverting to lung breathing!

It's been very difficult to force myself to breathe through the diaphragm at all. Almost like I'm having to retrain myself due to my body's new format. It's worth it, though.

I am a vocalist as well and I'm having the same problem. Diaphragmatic breathing was just second nature to me. I never had to think about it or try to do it. One thing that you can usually do that makes you automatically breath with your diaphragm is lay on your back. However, that doesn't work for me any more. I'm just so tight it seems impossible! I'm hoping that as I heal from surgery and get into PT that it fixes things.

I have to think so hard about it now that I have flashbacks to voice classes and my vocal coach holding a hardcover book to my stomach and saying "make it MOVE, girl.. it has to MOVE"! The muscle workout I have to do when I'm forcing it makes my sternum/chest tighter...

It's a cycle! I hope you find relief as you recover from your surgery!

im proud of myself,been breathing thru my nose more.

i get self conscious tho about people hearing me breathing


yeah lying down i can breathe thru my diaphragm great