Can I please ask you to check something for me about your breathing?

[Ledaer]

Lying down may make this more easier.

Place your hand on your abdominals just below the rib cage and inhale and exhale like normal.

When you exhale, how do your abdominals feel- do they feel they aren't really doing anything or can you feel them ever so slightly contract as you exhale?

Reason I'm asking is I have a diastasis recti starting at the sternum and my abdominals here are very weak and I suspect it's affecting my breathing which is most definitely not correct. And I've forgotten what "normal" looks like.

If I relax and breathe into my belly, it raises up and down in a relaxed way but I don't feel my abdominals contract. If I try to breathe only into my chest as a lot of people do, then I feel my abdominals contract.

Exactly this.

Ah okay so I might not be doing diaphragm breathing and doing upper chest breathing. Thank you. That's been useful!