“He’s out of the way,” the pot-bellied guy with white hair finally announced.

“What’s out of your way?” I asked. “Your attitude?”

“Did not answer. “My gut finally got out of the way and now I can keep my leg straight and touch my foot.”

This was a breakthrough, considering the boy had trouble just seeing his feet, let alone touching them. We had been working hard to get that personal beer keg of hers out. Although he was a strong farmer boy, he had a great time with flexibility, any kind of resistance and movement.

That is until he got some control of his breathing.

He often inhaled and exhaled at the wrong time and held his breath and gasped and gasped like an old steam engine. We finally got him to exhale deeply while doing sit-ups. Then with Hindu Squats. Then other exercises.

Part of the problem was that her belly was pressing against her lungs, especially while on her back. This crowding of his lungs made it difficult for him to breathe or concentrate on what he was doing. He jokingly bragged about his “45-pound handicap.”

The trick was to make him breathe with a choking stomach. When we tried different angles like kneeling, prone, side, plank and standing (yes, standing) and really, really concentrating on his breathing, he finally felt a “shift” inside his rib cage.

WHEN VERY OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE LIE ON ON THE BACK, THEY HAVE DIFFICULTY BREATHING.

You see, many people’s stomachs swell from lack of exercise, they hunch over a desk, eat junk, and drink large amounts of beer. There is not only a layer of fat (skin) just under the skin of the abdomen, but also fat (visceral) between the internal organs. The weight of internal fat and the weakness of the stomach wall allow the internal organs to sink below the rib cage. When the intestine sinks, so does the person’s energy.

The problem with many fitness programs is that they attempt to flatten a bulging belly with a one-size-fits-all approach of “burning more calories” and lots of cardiovascular exercise. Body alignment and essential breathing techniques are almost always skipped. Therefore, the pot-bellied client often has thin arms and legs, lower back pain, and still has a large, protruding tummy.

With the deep breathing technique, my client was able to touch the foot of her extended leg. His agility has also improved to the point where he can almost stand up after sitting cross-legged without the use of his hands. Instead of being out of breath after exercising, he calmed his breathing in less than a minute.

He literally breathed into greater strength, flexibility, and a flatter stomach. The trick is to use full breath with full exhalations (and I mean full exhales) with your exercises.