can someone help me get the picture what my teacher means that I should “breathe through my navel”?
I have learned nothing else than breathe through my lungs 
and I do try to breathe deeply when whistling but seem to run out of air after about 12 to 16 beats depending on the tune.
is this normal.
berti
I think what your teacher may be refering to is your diaphram.
When you take a breath, mentaly focus on lowering your diaphram rather than sucking air through your lips, it is a technique that I believe singers use.
I have used it at work as part of a relaxation therapy designed to reduce tension/anxiety that I sometimes teach.
Whoa, evolution is happening faster than I thought!!! Just don’t choke on all the lint… 
You play ‘New age’ music I presume? 
(joke).
Put one hand on your belly and one on your breastbone. Breathe normally. You will probably notice that your chest moves and your belly doesn’t when you breathe in and out. Now breathe in a way that your belly moves and the chest doesn’t. This is probably what your teacher means.
Sonja
i agree with sonja, but with a proper body position, you’ll always breath right,
you don’t have to worry if you follow the link below.
I think there is a mistranslation there. I believe they meant something else besides “navel”.
so what is meant here by breathing through the diaphragm, is that you concentrate on breathing there instead of concentrating on the “normal way” of breathing by taking air through the mouth?
so you push the diaphragm down and your lungs fill all by themselves???
“Push with your diaphragm” is a common phrase, usually told to students to get them to “support your tone”. In other words, use your diaphragm muscles to keep constant support. Supporting your tone is the difference in have a “presence” in your tone, and just playing notes.
(I’m pulling on experience from my brass playing years, where support, escpecially in the early years is a vital concept)
Yep. Your stomach should move in and out, and your chest and shoulders should not rise. Keep the chest relaxed, and the lungs will fill and empty by themselves as the diaphragm moves down and up.
This works best when standing or sitting with your torso vertical. It’s difficult to do when slumping over.
I learned this originally in martial arts study. It’s also very important in singing. Once you develop your diaphagm, you’ll have more lung capacity and much more power and control on the exhale.
Correct! If you want to get technical - or even biological - that is how the lungs work.
The diaphragm moves down.
A vacuum is created around the lungs.
The lungs then expand by drawing air down the wind pipe.
You breath!!
This is why if you recieve a punch to the upper stomach area and hit the diaphragm it will temporarily stop working properly and you will be ‘winded’
I read once that “abdominal” (i.e. diaphragm) breathing is more natural for male humans than for women. The latter would tend more often to breath “with the elbows”, or pectorals. This would be consequential to an adaptation to pregnancy, where the diaphragm is compressed.
Any comments?
grow up zub, and breath through your ears :roll:
i blame those high heels.