Belly Breathing

& Childhood Eczema

Many relaxation strategies to help with childhood eczema symptoms include diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing. The diaphragm is the muscle below your ribs that expands and contacts when you breathe. When you breathe using your diaphragm, this helps to trigger a relaxation response that calms the body.

*Tip: You can test whether you are breathing using your diaphragm by placing one hand on your stomach and one on your chest. If the hand on your belly rises when you breathe in, you are belly breathing. The hand on your chest should not move very much. You can also place a light book on your belly while you practice, to watch it rise when you breathe in and lower when you breathe out.

How to Practice Belly Breathing

  • *Tip: Set a timer for a couple minutes to practice breathing. As you get more comfortable with this type of breathing, you can increase to 5 or even 10 minutes.

  • ✺ Find a quiet, comfortable place where no one will bother you. Lie or sit down, uncross your arms and legs, and close your eyes.

  • ✺ First, exhale all of your air nice and slowly through your mouth, as if you’re slowly breathing out through a straw. Feel your shoulders drop. Let all your muscles relax.

  • ✺ Now, place one hand on your belly. On your next in breath, imagine you are inflating a balloon in your belly. Slowly inhale through your nose and fill your belly with air so it expands.

  • ✺ Hold your breath for a moment and then breathe out slowly through your mouth. Pretend you are emptying the balloon of air, a little bit at the time so your tummy deflates.

  • ✺ Breathe in- 2-3-4 to fill the balloon, and out 2-3-4 to deflate the balloon. Breathe at a pace that feels comfortable for you.

  • ✺ With each breath in, send the air all the way down to your belly. And with each breath out, release the air through your nose.

  • ✺ Breathe in comfort and calm. Breathe out tension and stress.

  • ✺ See if you can complete about 10 relaxed breaths in a row. As you practice, your brain will record this feeling of relaxation. Once you get used to this type of breathing, even a few relaxed breaths will help you feel more calm and comfortable, whenever you need to.

Ideas to help younger children practice belly breathing

Blowing Bubbles:

Take a slow breath in to have enough air to blow a big bubble.  Then blow the bubble – blow it very slowly or it will pop! You can use real bubbles or just imagine.

Hot Cocoa Breathing:

Pretend you have a yummy mug of hot cocoa in front of you. Breathe in slowly through your nose and smell the chocolate. Then slowly breathe out to cool down the cocoa. Remember to breathe out slowly so you don’t spill the cocoa!

Flower Breathing:

Imagine you are holding a beautiful flower. What color is your flower? Breathe in slowly through your nose to smell the flower. Then blow out slowly to send the petals into the air!

Other breathing exercises to try:

5-Finger Breathing

Square Breathing