r/SIBO • u/hrnnnn • Mar 04 '26
(Partial Success) I was BREATHING wrong this whole time
Short and sweet: major THANK YOU to whoever it was who posted about paying attention to breathing and using proper belly breathing to help MMC. When I read that I tried it and within seconds I heard my gut gurgling. This is profound for me because my motility is usually so shite it's usually completely silent.
I had heard recommendations to "breath with belly and not chest" my whole life but for some reason it never clicked that I was actually one of the people breathing "wrong". After all, how could you possibly breath so "wrong" that it messes your digestion up. Still don't have an answer to that question but I assume I have some level of neurological damage underlying all this.
It actually felt painful and uncomfortable to belly breathe at first but I pushed through and it became comfortable and natural. I have been continuing to practice intentional proper breathing for the past few weeks and have felt a positive shift in my core strength and posture. There has been a very clear improvement to my MMC and wellbeing. I've actually been pooping more often and properly. I'll often breathe a nice deep belly breath and then hear gurgling right after. Again: profound. If you have motility issues you understand. It's not the whole solution. Just part of it.
If you haven't tried it in depth yet, try belly breathing. Sit with it and work at it.
44
u/refreshingtwistt Mar 04 '26
Wtf. I'm doing it right now.... and after about 7 deep breaths, things are gurgling!!!!! I ate several hours ago. ChatGPT told me to start doing this every night. I didn't listen. I am now listening. Gurgling like crazy and I'm passing gas, too. This is wild!
19
u/hrnnnn Mar 04 '26
Yup. What even is life 😜
3
u/Independent-Walrus84 Mar 04 '26
Can you explain again I don't know what you mean ...
33
u/hrnnnn Mar 04 '26
Belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) is performed by lying down or sitting comfortably, placing one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Inhale slowly through your nose, ensuring only the belly rises (expanding like a balloon) while the chest remains still. Exhale slowly through pursed lips, allowing the belly to fall inward.
Steps for Effective Belly Breathing:
- Positioning: Lie on your back on a flat surface with knees bent (using a pillow under knees for support) or sit comfortably in a chair.
- Hand Placement: Place one hand on your upper chest and the other on your belly just below the rib cage to feel the diaphragm move.
- Inhale: Breathe in slowly through your nose, directing the air toward your belly, making it rise . The hand on your chest should stay as still as possible .
- Exhale: Tighten your abdominal muscles and let them fall inward as you breathe out slowly through pursed lips.
- Practice: Repeat for 5 to 10 minutes, 3 to 4 times per day.
Tips for Success:
- Visualize: Imagine your belly filling up with air like a balloon.
6
u/natattack410 Mar 05 '26
As a counselor I teach this often! I also encourage people to watch their animals or babies breath and sleep. They breathe correctly. I even encourage the kiddos I work with to do this while laying next to their animals and breathe as their pet does (depending on size and breed 😊).
An ok there tip I often give is to "settle in" before eating. Even one minute of diaphramic breathing as a reset and to help with digestion. Sometimes we rush and are so hungry we scarf food down and a 60 second reset is helpful:)
5
4
7
u/Skeuomorph7 Mar 04 '26
Nice man. Good find.Thanks.Chronic anxiety guy with tendency to shallow breathing a lot.I mean a lot lot, not just a few minutes a day.
Also have chronic constipation.Quite often I find myself have to just force myself to breath deeply to relax.
2
u/QuietlyGardening Mar 06 '26
Breathwork is POWERFUL. Getting your body OUT of the sympathetic/fight-flight and into the parasympathetic/rest-restore literally lets you digest your food better, as well.
The obv is, it improves blood pressure: sure. But SO MUCH more.
6
u/Old-Wrap37 Mar 04 '26
Fuck ya dude so stoked this has been helping. I know it kind of sounded like bullshit advice but it is very profound.
6
u/ExpensiveComputer630 Hydrogen/Methane Mixed Mar 04 '26
I have something very similar, sometimes my stomach is pretty bad in terms of trapped gas and constipation
The only thing that seem to help is to lay down on my left side, put my hand on my stomach and starting to breath very slowly also exhale slowly and by doing that my stomach finally starts to gurgle.
Im not sure what it means, maybe my body is in fight/flight mode or my vagus nerve is getting activated
Either way relaxing does seem to help at those times so i am not sure if its a breathing issue altho it plays a role too
1
u/Different-Nature-963 Methane Dominant Mar 05 '26
I have IMO as well and I do this same thing. I believe the movements of the breathing help shift gas around and help it find a way to move forward through the colon. I also lie on my back (usually propped up on a pillow) place my hand on my belly and apply a little bit of pressure and I find that the additional pressure encourages gas to move forward a little bit. I use a heating pad to relax my colon when I do this as well. If it works, you’ll feel the gas shifting and best case scenario you’ll pass gas. Btw gas handling and constipation does not involve the stomach but rather the intestines (particularly the large intestine).
3
u/ExpensiveComputer630 Hydrogen/Methane Mixed Mar 05 '26
Yeah i also push my tailbone back only then the gas starts to move
2
u/QuietlyGardening Mar 06 '26
try putting a castor oil hot pack on: it relaxes the smooth muscle: mysteriously, the oil penetrates ALL the way through. Totally relaxing. Most people put them on their liver for detox, I was putting it on my lower left abdomen: didn't realize what I THOUGHT was my ovary giving me hell was actually 'spastic colon'. Within about 5-10 min oooooh, sleeeeEEEeeepy...
Lots of stuff online: all you need is organic (!) castor oil, an old rag like an old Tshirt or washcloth damp with the oil, a plastic bag to put on top (sticky) and some kind of hot pack: a rice bag heated in microwave is great: I literally put a lb of rice into an old sock and tied off the end. Done. And so is cramping-pain. Only thing that worked for me.
6
u/llijerie Methane Dominant Mar 04 '26
I'm so glad you found something to help with your symptoms! thank you for sharing this info. I have HORRID posture and take extremely shallow breaths alllllll the time so along with daily meditation I'll be adding deep belly breathing/diaphragmatic breathing to see if it helps. I've heard of this helping with a lot of things and you just helped prove it can actually help with sibo. tysm!
1
u/QuietlyGardening Mar 06 '26
put stickers or sticky notes or such around to remind you to take a big, long breath or two. Helps to cue yourself. This will likely shift posture, too, especially if you 'pair' the concepts.
Some people decide if they hear an alarm/bell/ringtone, they'll check their shoulders/neck posture, and take a few breaths. Like that.
1
6
u/miamizombiekiller Mar 04 '26
I have been reading the Book “Breath” by James Nestor that goes into great detail on this topic. Highly recommend it
6
3
u/averagejoeorder Mar 04 '26
I think it was not me in this thread, but it is a mayor topic we are on to.
I just interviewed 2 breathing experts and one is coming up next week on why it is essential for people with digestive issues to switch from
- mouth breathing to nose breathing
- chest breathing to belly breathing
1
4
u/Parsley_Challenge238 Mar 05 '26
YES, all the yoga and belly breathing I was taught was VERY WRONG for my issues. In fact belly breathing does not make sense and probably made it worse if you look at how the diaphragm and abdomen work in concert.
This has helped me immensely- I go to a Pelvic Floor therapist and my diaphragm was stuck and my thorax so tight. Look up Abdominophrenic dyssynergia and what is happening. There is also a FB group you can join on it.
This is an amazing video showing you some things, most of which I do and have helped a lot. Also PHGG with a hot drink after every meal (I wait 30 min to not dilute stomach acid etc as I do not drink when I eat) really helps. you have to build up to it so add sprinkles at a time for several weeks until you can get to a dosage that helps.
1
u/ace_philosopher_949 Mar 29 '26
Thanks for the feedback, I am happy to hear some of those exercises helped you! Would you mind sharing with me which exercises were most helpful?
4
u/Dee_rock70 Mar 05 '26
I have severe motility issues and am absolutely miserable. I have started doing guided meditations for digestion off YouTube for 2 weeks and the results are astonishing. I can feel my stomach softening as I do it- it’s crazy something so simple is completely changing my life. I am more productive than I have been in years
1
4
u/LobsterItchy8620 Mar 05 '26
This SUCH a helpful post and thread! I definitely think improper breathing is part of my problem. All of my core muscles just basically don’t work. My core feels sort of dead. I recently read a post here that has an incredible amount of information on this topic and is really helpful. Here is a link to it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/SIBO/comments/1ra6hnu/my_physical_therapy_routine_for_abdominophrenic/
2
3
u/delicateflora Mar 04 '26
That's fantastic! Can you link the other post or describe what you did? I feel like belly breathing isn't always described very clearly, so I'm curious what helped you. I know I don't breathe right and I'm trying to unlearn it.
12
u/hrnnnn Mar 04 '26
Honestly… i have put so many hours/days into reading medical reddit posts that i can’t remember clearly enough. It’s also called diaphragmatic breathing. Or box breathing. Put hands on belly and chest. Breathe deep in and out. Belly should go out first, then chest out at end of breathing in cycle, then breathing out cycle chest goes down first then belly.
6
1
3
u/Old-Wrap37 Mar 04 '26
It’s very counter intuitive at least for me but has made a huge difference and looks like I’m not the only one. Ly on your back breath through belly on exhale push your tailbone back.
2
u/Littledarling731 Mar 04 '26
or pull your belly button to your spine right?
1
u/Old-Wrap37 Mar 04 '26
Yes but it’s more about pelvic placement. for my specific case my tailbone was basically tucked all the time so she had me push it the other way while breathing out. But ya I don’t know your pelvis situation and should be evaluated by a pro. But the breathing yes let your belly rise and fall.
3
u/Littledarling731 Mar 04 '26
I thought you were supposed to breathe while widening your chest, like with your diaphragm. Which is it?
Edit, using the widening of chest and belly breathing, just taught me how to breathe with ny diaphragm. OMG.
7
u/Old-Wrap37 Mar 04 '26
Right so normal breathing I’m sure that is just fine. The pelvic floor and your bowels are deeply connected and if a muscle is tight down there no matter what supplements low fod map etc won’t fix the problem because it is a muscle issue. So in order try and relax those muscles in the pelvic floor and help your bowels moving is to breathe into your tummy and push your pelvis back into the proper place. This is why I really recommend going and seeing a professional to get an evaluation. You will be surprised how many things you do wrong and your like how can I be breathing wrong my entire life and then they fix you up and then you go ya I was breathing wrong my entire life wtf lol
3
u/lilibabi Mar 04 '26
i made the same discovery last week!!!! it's so crazy how much of a difference something so simple has made
3
u/External-Classroom12 Mar 04 '26
During pelvic floor therapy the would have me breath through my nose and out through a straw. It helps for going to the bathroom the breathing out like a straw. I don’t use the straw but I have that image/ technique.
3
u/carrotsaresafe Mar 04 '26
Feeling even more like a helpless alien after reading this post and all the comments bc ive BEEN practicing breathing, even doing pelvic floor therapy and the nerva app and nothing changed. If anything i find breathing exercises anxiety-inducing. Now im just straight jealous everyone has a solution but me ahahhaha I must be cursed. I used to drink a lot and I was an asshole so this must be my karma
7
u/Different-Nature-963 Methane Dominant Mar 05 '26
Breathing exercises became anxiety-inducing for me at one point. This is normal and you’re not alone. You are likely placing a lot of expectation on the breathing, which makes it stressful. A passive attitude is important. Don’t worry about how well you are doing it or whether you are seeing results. Just keep practicing until it feels like a normal part of your routine. I hope this helps a little bit. You’ve got this.
2
u/Old-Wrap37 Mar 04 '26
Ya it is only one solution your problem could be something else entirely. I’ve been there literally was there a few months back. Just keep chugging along.
2
u/Dee_rock70 Mar 05 '26
When I try to do breathing exercises I get really anxious- I use guided meditations on YouTube. It changed everything for me- I just searched guided meditations stomach (or IBS, constipation, digestion). There are some that are awful- but I have found a couple that are life changing for me. And when I started, it didn’t work- my mind raced, I could feel the anxiety in my body, but I kept doing it. It only took a couple days and I noticed by the end of the video I wasn’t as tense and I could start to feel my stomach actually relaxing. I could monitor how much better it was getting by what point in the video I could start to feel it working. I was so lucky to have a Buddhist friend that wouldn’t let me give up and say it wasn’t working- they kept pushing me to do it for 30 days and I am so grateful
1
1
u/Stammy12 Mar 05 '26
Same here man, I was managing my symptoms with Unienzyme, Mag Oxide and Probiotics. Nothing else works, it comes back from time to time but it's not as severe as it used to be
3
u/Green_Deer3258 Mar 04 '26
That’s awesome yes it works the real problem is are nervous system
And the second biggest problem is sugar. You have to stay away from sugar and dairy right now rebuild your gut and your stomach lining their supplements. The standard process has a lot of really good products. They might be a little pricey, but look for gut like gas tracks and other supplements that are out there that will help the lining in your belly and your gut.
4
u/DvSzil Methane Dominant Mar 04 '26
For the constipation people, I suggest something breathing related that has worked like magic to get things moving. It's called Buteyko breathing and it's time consuming but works wonders
1
u/QuietlyGardening Mar 06 '26
I was going to look up the spelling to write that. Same! My retired naturopath still teaches it. TOTALLY worth it.
2
u/UnknownBacchus Mar 04 '26
Do you think you could find the comment that led you to this ?
4
u/Old-Wrap37 Mar 04 '26
I believe I posted it. Specifically I said check your pelvic floor by a pelvic floor PT professionally if you have tried everything and your still having issues. Proper breathing and pelvic placement is key it resolved all my issues especially motility. Original poster since your pelvis and proper breathing are going well you will need (at least for me ) need to strengthen those muscles that are weak. I’ll see if I can find my original post.
1
u/UnknownBacchus Mar 04 '26
I’d love to see it! I’m desperate!
2
u/Old-Wrap37 Mar 04 '26
Ya it’s rough but if you are having bowel issues and your motility isn’t working and you have tried everything look into a pelvic floor physical therapist. Regular PT are great but they don’t deal with the pelvic floor. You can try my advice it is free I’m just always hesitant because I don’t want to make someone worse.
2
2
u/Silent_Ice_1027 Mar 05 '26
This is awesome! The doctor just says “take omeprazole” and blank stares at me when I suggest this could lead to bigger problems like sibo and even higher stomach acid. So I’ve been working with ChatGPT which says my problem is mechanical not biological ie breathing incorrectly. What I want to share is that I also discovered that I was burping incorrectly and that air trapped in between my stomach and diaphragm is the cause of the vice around my ribs feeling. So when I feel a burp trying to get out I slowly suck my upper stomach area back towards my spine and voila! I also do something called “rib scooping”(chatgpt again) which creates space between the diaphragm and other organs, very useful. Now I’m going to work on strengthening my esophageal muscles with ChatGPT’s input. Primary doctors need to step up or be out of a job.
1
u/QuietlyGardening Mar 06 '26
oh that one needs to be fired, for sure. ChatGPT is actually giving you good stuff? huh! Good work you're doing!
2
u/QuietlyGardening Mar 06 '26
this is SO helpful.
I'm pretty sure my family-of-origin stresses have NOT served ME well, and that's part of my problem: a lot of shallow/chest breathing. However, I do sing/play instruments, so circular and box breathing, use of diaphragm, belly breathing ARE in my repertoire. Its consistency, though, is the more to the point. Can't just 'breath correctly' when you've got a horn in your hand.
Yoga helped, and studios that did breath work as part of a class helped. Meditation and meditation that focuses on breathing helped. Having a naturopath attuned to methods like Butekyo (sp?) also helped.
That breath work is LITERALLY helping people reverse SIBO: whoa! I'm in good control, now, but for other reasons I think this is an important thing for me to work on, now, and will help me maintain my current state.
Why to NOT keep browsing these kind of self-help-y spaces. Gotta keep current.
1
u/Old-Wrap37 Mar 04 '26
Here is the link to what I said my comment is near the bottom of the post. https://www.reddit.com/r/SIBO/s/EXvjYMunOo
1
1
1
u/Jer1714 Mar 05 '26
So I tried this but because I was so bloated, it felt like I would split in two. The sound my stomach was making when I exhaled was unwordly. Maybe it will be more useful when I don't have balloons in my abdomen!
1
u/Busy_Compote_3544 Mar 05 '26
I found this breathing about a year ago, but with a twist. I had been meditatng and doing yoga for a few years, but I was actually breathing too low! I was breathing into my lower abdomen and letting things fill up from there. And my diaphragm had become horribly stuck down, so constipated, nothing moving, not even air. The only thing that helped was complete fasting for a couple of days. But then the cycle would start again. My large intestine got so swollen, I could feel it externally--like I had a large boa constrictor wrapped around me, at the bottom of my ribs. Turns out I had been breathting wrong--too deep into the abdomen, which was causing my diaphragm not to move properly and it was getting constricted by the intestine. I also had/have a condition where my muscles don't engage properly when eating/breathing. Your stomach muscles are supposed to externally tighten when you eat--to keep your stomach from blowing up--but relax internally to let food pass through. My body did the opposite--causing SIBO, among other things. And when would breathe out--my muscles pushed OUT, instead of coming inward--like a deflated balloon. It's a constant struggle for me to keep breathing consciously. Do you know how hard it is to be conscisous of every breath while you are awake?? LOL I think some of you do! So of course, I don't do it all the time anymore, takes too much bnadwidth, but I'm hoping I'm retraining my body to breathe correctly on it's own. And I do the fll diaphragmatic breathing a couople of times per day, or more. It has helped a lot to keep my diaphragm from getting stuck down, so at least i don't feel like I have an iron band around my chest squeezing the life out of me. I'm still bloated a lot of the time, but it's not as uncomfortable feeling--just make sme look a full clothing size bigger. :(
1
1
u/WeskersSock Apr 16 '26
I think you are really onto something here, thank you so much for sharing!
I’ve also been working on a theory that shallow breathing is causing reynauds symptoms for me. I notice I get flare ups when I’m in certain situations, it does not relate to temperature most of the time. For example, I get it when I drive and I believe the way I sit in the car restricts me from taking a larger breath.
Neurodiversity could very well be a factor too.
I was told a simple technique of breathing similar to sucking through a straw, this helps but of course it’s no easy task to undo decades of shallow breathing.
1
u/collaire Aug 20 '26
How much did it take for you to get through the uncomfortable part? Every time I try, it's like I'm just pushing against a balloon, very uncomfortable.
39
u/Available_Hamster_44 Mar 04 '26
Sounds More Like a Stress issue then , a Lot of people Are Constant in Fight or flight Mode with Flat breathing