You Already Breathe 20,000 Times a Day. Imagine What Happens When You Do It With Intention.

Last week we talked about everything that makes up your core, and one of the muscles on that list was your diaphragm. That got me thinking that it was a great time to talk about the importance of breathing. Given that we breathe about 20,000 times a day, breathing could be seen as our most practiced core exercise. The question is whether we are getting the most out of it.

What Is Diaphragmatic Breathing, and Why Is It Worth Your Attention?

Your diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that sits at the base of your lungs. It is the primary muscle of respiration, and when it is working well, it naturally coordinates with your deep core muscles, your pelvic floor, and the stabilizing muscles along your spine. Together, they create a pressurized, stable system inside your abdomen.

That system has a name: intra-abdominal pressure, or IAP.

Intra-abdominal pressure is a good thing. It is what gives your spine and pelvis the support they need to move comfortably and safely, whether you are picking up a bag of groceries or doing a deadlift. The goal is to let your breath help regulate it, which is exactly what it was designed to do.

When we learn to breathe with more intention, we give that system a chance to work the way it was built to. And the effects show up everywhere: in how your core feels during exercise, in how your lower back holds up through the day, in how your pelvic floor responds under load. It is a quiet kind of strength, but it is foundational.

What Breathing Patterns Look Like

Take a breath right now. Just notice where the movement happens, without judgment.

If your chest and shoulders rise, that is a chest breathing pattern. It is extremely common, and many people live here without even realizing it. This pattern tends to keep the nervous system a little more activated, which can translate to more tension, more shallow breathing, and less connection to the deeper core.

If you tend to hold your belly in as you inhale, that is sometimes called inverse breathing. It shows up a lot in athletes, dancers, and people who have been trained for years to "keep the core tight." The intention behind it is great. But it can limit how fully the diaphragm expands, which means the breath never quite reaches the depth where all the good stuff happens.

If your belly pushes forward with each inhale, that is belly breathing, and it is often taught as the goal. It is closer, and the awareness is there, but there is a more nuanced version that does not require forcing the belly outward.

Diaphragmatic breathing is subtler than all of these. It happens primarily in the ribcage. As you inhale, your ribs expand laterally, out to the sides and into the back. There is a gentle rise in the belly toward the end of the breath, but nothing forced. Your pelvic floor softens downward naturally. On the exhale, everything recoils. The pelvic floor lifts. The deep abdominals draw lightly inward. The diaphragm returns to its dome shape.

This is the cycle your body already knows how to do. We are just bringing it back online.

What Becomes Available When the Breath Is Connected

When diaphragmatic breathing is part of how you move, several things start happening on their own.

Your deep core activates naturally. The transverse abdominis, which wraps around your trunk like a corset, contracts and releases with every breath. You do not have to chase it or force it. It becomes a byproduct of breathing with more depth and awareness.

Your pelvic floor stays balanced. A pelvic floor that gently lengthens and rebounds with every breath is a pelvic floor that can handle load, impact, and pressure far more effectively. This matters whether you are postpartum, working through recovery, or simply wanting to stay strong and comfortable as life keeps moving.

Your nervous system gets to settle. Diaphragmatic breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest and digest side of your body. When that system is online, your body has more capacity for recovery, digestion, hormonal balance, and repair. It is one of the simplest ways to support your overall well-being without adding a single thing to your schedule.

Your posture has more ease. When the diaphragm is doing its job, the surrounding muscles in your neck, chest, and shoulders are free to do their jobs instead of picking up the slack. That shift alone can change how you carry yourself through the day.

How This Shows Up in Your Workout

Every time you lift something, brace for impact, or move through a challenging exercise, your body is managing pressure inside your abdomen. When your breath is connected, your deep core and pelvic floor are already part of that process. When the breath is not part of the picture, other structures compensate, and over time that compensation can show up as tension, discomfort, or patterns that feel hard to shift.

Connecting your breath to your movement is really just developing enough awareness that the exhale happens on the effort, the inhale happens on the recovery, and your body is not holding its breath through the hard parts. Let the breath lead the movement. The rest tends to follow.

A Simple Place to Begin

You do not need to overhaul anything. Just start with noticing.

Where does your breath go right now? Does your chest rise? Do your shoulders lift? Does your belly move? All of that is useful information, and none of it is a problem. It is just where you are starting.

When you are ready to explore a little more, try this. Lie on your back, knees bent. Place one hand on your side ribs. Take a slow inhale and see if you can feel your ribcage expand outward, like an umbrella opening to the sides. Let your belly stay soft. On the exhale, let everything release. Do this for five minutes and just pay attention to what you feel.

That is enough for now.

Key Takeaways

• Your breath coordinates your deep core, pelvic floor, and spinal stabilizers automatically when you breathe with depth and intention.

• Intra-abdominal pressure is something your breath helps regulate, and that regulation supports everything from lifting to posture to pelvic floor function.

• Diaphragmatic breathing happens primarily in the ribcage and is subtler than belly breathing or chest breathing.

• Bringing more awareness to your breath is one of the most accessible and far-reaching things you can do for your body.

• It takes curiosity and consistency, not perfection.

The CRF Approach

At Core Rooted Fitness, breath is the foundation of everything we do together. Every session includes breath awareness, intentional exhales during effort, and an ongoing conversation about what your body is telling you. Come in and we will explore it together.

Ready to explore what changes when breathing is part of the practice? Book your session today and let's find out together.