The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Then I invite all of the participants to gather around so I can show them a few simple points: 1) Although inhaling and exhaling are the work of the lungs, and take place in the chest area, the stomach area also plays a role. The stomach rises with the filling of the lungs. At the beginning of the breath the stomach begins to push out. But after inhaling about two-thirds of the breath, it starts to lower again. 2) Why? Between your chest and stomach there is a muscular membrane, the diaphragm. When you breathe in correctly the air fills the lower part of the lungs first, before the upper lungs fill with air, the diaphragm pushes down on the stomach, causing the stomach to rise. When you have filled your upper lungs with air, the chest pushes out and causes the stomach to lower again. 3) That is why, in former times, people spoke of the breath as originating at the navel and terminating at the nostrils.