360 Breathing: The Most Effective Core Exercise

When most people think about core exercises, they picture planks, crunches, or other moves that “make their abs burn.” But one of the most effective core exercises has nothing to do with how long you can hold a plank. Instead, it has everything to do with the way you breathe.

That’s because the way you breathe not only affects how your deep core muscles work together, but it also impacts every system in your body – including your nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, muscular, skeletal, immune, and more.

This is why we refer to 360° Breathing as the #1 most effective core exercise for any person, especially those who are pregnant or postpartum.

Read on to learn:

1. What 360° Breathing is and why it’s so effective
2. How to perform 360° Breathing
3. How to incorporate 360° Breathing into movement

Quick Answer: 360° Breathing is the most effective core exercise because it activates the deep core muscles — diaphragm, transverse abdominis, and pelvic floor — and gets them to move together as a coordinated system. This not only helps manage intra-abdominal pressure (critical during pregnancy and the postpartum period), but also produces systemic benefits throughout the body, such as enhanced immunity, improved digestion, increased energy and focus, and even a healthier fetal growth environment.

What is 360° Breathing and Why is it So Effective?

360° Breathing is a breathing technique that activates your deepest core muscles, which we refer to as the Core Canister. These are the deep core muscles that form the shape of a canister — with the diaphragm at the top, the pelvic floor muscles at the bottom, and the transverse abdominis (your largest and innermost abdominal muscle) wrapping all the way around the sides.

360° Breathing gets the Core Canister muscles to move in synchrony as a unit. This creates a dynamic “pumping” action that helps manage intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), thereby mitigating diastasis recti. Beyond that, it activates the body’s parasympathetic nervous system (or “rest and digest” system), creating systemic benefits such as enhanced immunity, improved digestion, increased energy and focus, and even a healthier fetal growth environment. Learn more about how 360° Breathing impacts your health.

How to Perform 360° Breathing

Find a comfortable chair and practice along as you read. You can also watch the video demonstration below.

1. Sit up tall with your ribs stacked over your pelvis, your neck long, and your shoulders relaxed. Place your hands around your lower rib cage with your fingers in front and your thumbs in back.
2. Inhale through your nose, sending the air into your rib cage so that it expands 360° and pushes into your hands in all directions (front, sides, and back). Keep your shoulders relaxed and down.
3. Exhale fully through pursed lips — extending your exhale for as long as you can so that no air is left in your lungs — feeling your navel draw toward your spine as a result of your exhale. It should feel as if you are tightening a girdle around you.
4. Repeat for several slow breaths. The exhale should take longer than the inhale.

Watch the Video Demonstration

Two Important Technique Points:

1. Keep your shoulders relaxed and down. The expansion should be in your rib cage.
2. Ensure the expansion is not just forward (in your belly). Pushing your belly outward could create excessive pressure on your core. Focus on the lateral and posterior expansion (sides and back) and your belly will naturally expand with it.

How to Incorporate 360° Breathing into Movement

360° Breathing isn’t just a standalone exercise. The goal is to integrate 360° Breathing into your movements. This dramatically improves the effectiveness of every move you do, while also protecting your core. We incorporate 360° Breathing into movement by “exhaling on the effort.” This means that you…

• Inhale on the easier portion of the movement, like lowering down into a squat or extending your arms for a bicep curl or row.
• Exhale to perform the more challenging portion of the movement, like standing up from the squat or performing the bicep curl or row.

Exhaling on the effort creates stiffness in the core — which allows you to generate the necessary force for a movement — while decreasing pressure in the core. This is especially important during pregnancy because the growing belly increases the pressure in the core. So, exhaling on the effort helps manage that pressure to mitigate issues with diastasis recti and pelvic floor dysfunction.

Also, keep in mind this important principle: The greater the intensity, the stronger your exhale should be. For example, if you are just bending over to pick up a light object, you can inhale on your way down and comfortably exhale. However, if you are performing a heavy deadlift, you will need a much stronger exhale to generate the necessary force.