How can I find out if I’m breathing well?
You can start by counting the number of breaths you take per minute. A healthy adult should be taking 12-20 breaths per minute.
When inhalation is finished during the pause before exhalation, do your lungs feel full? Slow deep breaths have the additional advantage of increasing the oxygen uptake by being in the lungs for longer.
Has anyone ever told you that your mouth is open or have you seen it on pictures of yourself?
That could mean that you are breathing through your mouth, if so try to make an effort to inhale and exhale through your nose. This can also help with snoring and other nocturnal breathing patterns.
To see if you are using your diaphragm to breathe, put your hand on your abdomen and see if the abdomen inflates and gets bigger when you inhale. If it doesn’t that is a good way to start learning abdominal breathing.
Take notice if your shoulders are lifting and your ribs are moving excessively while breathing. To change this habit that leads to increased tension in your upper chest, relax your shoulders and direct the airflow to the lower part of your thorax.
