Many of the chronic problems wind instrumentalists and singers encounter with breathing are due, in part, because of misconception.

In particular, misconception of the structure, function and coordination of the mechanisms involved in both natural (passive) and extraordinary (as in playing or singing) breathing.

I’d like to address and clarify a very common misconception here in this post: the size and location of the lungs themselves.

Let’s start by some of the things some musicians think they are doing with their air:

“I’m putting the air down there in my belly.” Or, “I’m placing the air down into my diaphragm.” And other ideas to this effect.

I won’t digress here about why it’s impossible to “place the air down in your diaphragm”, other than to say that the air you inhale never goes directly into your diaphragm.

It enters into your lungs. Simple as that.

The primary function of your diaphragm is to assist in changing the size and shape of your lungs to facilitate inspiration and expiration. It does this in concert with your intercostal muscles (the muscles between your ribs), as well as with other auxiliary muscles.

So where are your lungs, exactly?

Well, they’re higher up and further back in your body than you might have thought. Here’s a simple, animated video from the DVD entitled, Move Well, Avoid, Injury, to help you get a visual on all this:

As you can see, the air doesn’t actually go into your “belly”. The three-dimensional movement of your abdominal area is largely on account of the displacement of the abdominal content, because of the movements of the diaphragm and ribs (and other structures, as well.)

So what’s the possible downside of trying to “put the air down there in your belly”?

Well, in the simplest sense, by trying to do the impossible, you’re most likely also interfering with your natural, optimal breathing coordination.

Whenever I see a wind instrumentalist trying to “put the air into the belly”, I typically also see a stiffening up of the neck and shoulders, accompanied by a downward compression of the head on top of the spine, and a narrowing, or hollowing, of the lower back.

All this tends to prevent the ribs from moving freely enough to sufficiently (and efficiently) transform the internal dimensions of the thoracic cavity (the part of your body including, and inside of, your ribs) that facilitates the movements necessary for full and dynamic breathing.

So take a good look at the video I’ve posted here. Notice the size and the specific location of your lungs, along with the range of movements the lungs go through via the actions of the ribs, diaphragm, and other muscles. By clarifying this misconception, you might very well discover a new freedom, flexibility and fullness with your breathing that had been eluding you in the past. Enjoy!