Slow breathing with the diaphragm (abdominal or belly breathing) is free, takes minutes to learn, and helps several common gut problems. Here is how to do it and when to use it.
The diaphragm is the dome-shaped muscle under the lungs. It is also part of the barrier that stops stomach contents coming back up, and it works closely with the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. Breathing slowly with the diaphragm, rather than with the upper chest, calms the nerves that link the brain and gut.
It is a skill that improves with practice. Dr Chia often teaches it to patients alongside other treatment.
How to do it
- Sit upright or lie on your back. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your upper abdomen, just below the ribs.
- Breathe in slowly through your nose for about 3 to 4 seconds. Let your abdomen rise under your hand. The hand on your chest should hardly move.
- Breathe out gently through slightly pursed lips for about 4 to 6 seconds, letting the abdomen fall.
- Aim for about six breaths a minute. Keep the shoulders relaxed and do not force the breath.
- Practise for 5 to 10 minutes, two or three times a day, until it feels natural. Then use it whenever you need it.
Where it helps
- Regurgitation and rumination: in rumination syndrome, food comes back up into the mouth effortlessly soon after eating, often without nausea. Abdominal breathing during and for 15 minutes after meals is the main treatment, because you cannot breathe this way and regurgitate at the same time.
- Excessive belching: much frequent belching is air drawn into the food pipe and pushed out again, without reaching the stomach. Slow abdominal breathing, especially when you feel the urge to belch, breaks this habit.
- Acid reflux: regular practice strengthens the diaphragm around the lower food pipe and can reduce reflux symptoms, alongside other treatment (see acid reflux and heartburn).
- Bloating and visible swelling: in some people the abdomen swells because the diaphragm pushes down while the abdominal wall relaxes after meals. Breathing retraining helps reverse this pattern (see IBS and bloating).
- Bowel urgency: when a sudden urge to open your bowels comes, stopping, sitting if you can, and taking slow abdominal breaths often lets the wave pass and gives you time to reach a toilet.
- Straining and constipation: breathing into the abdomen and gently bulging it outwards while sitting on the toilet helps the pelvic floor relax, instead of holding your breath and straining (see chronic constipation).
- Nausea, abdominal pain and stress: slow breathing calms the gut-brain connection, which helps irritable bowel syndrome, functional indigestion and anxiety that makes gut symptoms worse. It can also help in the warning phase of cyclic vomiting syndrome.
Tips
- Practise when you are calm first, so the skill is ready when symptoms come
- Link it to routines, such as after each meal or before sleep
- If you feel light-headed, slow down and breathe less deeply
- It works best alongside, not instead of, the right diagnosis and treatment
New symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, vomiting, bleeding or weight loss should be checked by a doctor rather than managed with breathing alone.
General information only. Reviewed by Dr Chia Chung King, 2026-11-07. Book a consultation.