Posture for breathing: chair, floor or bed

What matters in any position

• A long back, not a stiff one. Think of growing taller from the crown of your head, without puffing out your chest.
• Loose shoulders. Away from your ears. If they rise when you breathe in, you're breathing high.
• A free belly. Loosen your belt or any tight clothing. The UK's National Health Service (NHS) includes that in its instructions.
• Soft jaw and hands. Teeth apart, hands resting.
• Comfort. If something hurts or goes numb, shift. A position you have to work to hold takes room away from your breathing.

In a chair

It's the most practical option and the one you can repeat anywhere. The NHS recommends a chair that supports your back, your arms on the armrests, and both feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart.

Sit all the way back in the seat so the backrest supports your lower back. If your feet don't reach the floor comfortably, put something under them. If the chair has no armrests, rest your hands on your thighs.

Avoid hunching over the desk or your phone. Sitting that way closes off the very area you want to move.

On the floor

Sitting cross-legged on the floor is the classic image from yoga and meditation traditions. It isn't required, and it isn't better than a chair.

If you choose it, sit on a firm cushion or a folded blanket so your hips are higher than your knees. For many people that makes it possible to keep a long back without effort. If your knees hover in the air, prop them on cushions. Another option is to kneel with a cushion between your heels and your hips.

If your legs go numb or your back aches after a couple of minutes, move to the chair. The practice is the breathing, not the pose.

In bed or lying down

Lying on your back makes it easier to feel your belly. Cleveland Clinic suggests it as the easiest way to learn to breathe with the diaphragm: on your back, knees bent, head supported and, if you like, a pillow under your knees. One hand goes on your chest and the other below your rib cage, so you can tell which one moves. Once you've got it, the same guide suggests moving on to a chair.

The NHS describes a variation: arms a little away from your sides with palms up, and legs straight or with knees bent and feet flat.

Bed has one advantage and one drawback, and they're the same thing: you fall asleep. It's perfect for breathing before sleep. It isn't if you want to finish with a clear, awake head.

What the studies say

Posture changes how much air you can move. A 2018 systematic review by Katz and colleagues gathered 43 studies that compared body positions in lung function tests. In healthy people, most found higher values in more upright positions, standing or sitting, than lying down. One reason the authors give: when you lie down, the contents of your abdomen push the diaphragm up toward your chest.

Slouching counts too. In a small 2018 study of 35 healthy young men, the strength of the muscles that draw air in was lower in a slouched sitting position than sitting upright. It included only young men and didn't measure air volumes, so it's a hint and nothing more.

Those tests measure maximum-effort breaths, not a quiet practice. For slow breathing you don't need your full capacity. In fact, in a 2023 Stanford trial of five minutes of daily breathing, the instructions said to sit in a chair or, if the person preferred, to lie down.

There's a curious finding about standing. A 2023 review by Bentley and colleagues looked at why some practices showed no effect on stress. One of them had people standing still for 30 minutes. The authors recommend a comfortable position without prolonged standing, and they add that a short standing practice might well work.

Which to choose for what you're after

If you feel dizzy in any position, stop and breathe normally. If you're pregnant, have reflux, or have a back, heart or lung problem, ask your care provider which position suits you.

• To learn to move your belly: lying down, knees bent. Try Belly breathing that way: in for 4 seconds, out for 6, rest for 2.
• To sleep: in bed, in the position you usually fall asleep in.
• To calm down during the day: in a chair, with your back supported. 4-6 breathing fits well there.
• To focus: sitting, with your back unsupported if that's comfortable. Try Coherent breathing 5-5.
• For fast breathing or long holds: always sitting or lying down, never standing, never in water or while driving.