Diaphragmatic breathing, or “belly breathing,” engages the diaphragm, intercostal, abdominal, and pelvic floor muscles. This means actively pulling the diaphragm down with each inward breath.

“If you breathe diaphragmatically, just using the diaphragm and the external intercostals, your cost of breath is minimal,” he says. But if you recruit more of the secondary breathing muscles ...

Specific devices that create resistance during inhalation or exhalation can strengthen the diaphragm and intercostal muscles by up to 30% in consistent users. Research indicates that this type of ...

Air gets drawn into our lungs (inhalation) by the intercostal muscles contracting causing the ribs to move up and out. At the same time, the diaphragm contracts and pulls down. This causes the ...

The elastic recoil of the lungs provides the necessary acoustic energy, while the diaphragm, intercostal muscles, and abdominal muscles manipulate how that air is released through the larynx, a ...

Breathe in. In that one simple motion, your diaphragm tightened up and moved down. This made your chest cavity bigger. Your intercostal muscles between your ribs tightened up, too. This made your ...