As the calendar flips into a new year, like many others, you might be thinking about a fresh start. Maybe a new diet, gym membership or fitness challenge. But what if something really simple could transform your 2026, enhancing strength and energy without the need to sweat in the gym or train for a marathon? 

Most people think strength starts with muscle. In reality, it begins with breath. How you inhale and exhale shapes core stability, spinal alignment, and how well your muscles respond to effort, whether lifting weights, carrying shopping, or moving through daily life.

When breath is coordinated with movement, deep core muscles like the diaphragm and pelvic floor switch on naturally. This improves posture, balance, and resilience while keeping the nervous system calm and alert. Simple diaphragmatic breathing, such as breathing more slowly and through your nose, can improve focus, support steady energy levels, and help you feel more resilient throughout the day.

Why Breathing Matters For Core Strength And Stability

Breathing isn’t just about oxygen; it influences all the functional mechanisms that are important to your health, like core strength, posture and your spine. The diaphragm works closely with the deep abdominals, pelvic floor, and spinal extensors to build stability.

Diaphragmatic breathing in particular expands the ribcage outward instead of raising the shoulders, increasing abdominal pressure like a natural support belt. This gently engages deep core muscles, protects the spine, and provides a strong, stable base for movement.¹

What The Science Says

Research shows that diaphragmatic breathing enhances core training. People with long-term lower-back pain saw greater improvements when they combined core exercises with focused breathing compared with core work alone. The breathing practice activated deep core muscles, increased ribcage movement, reduced pain, and even improved sleep quality.²

A 2023 study also found that combining mindful breathing with core bracing changed how the diaphragm functioned during lifting tasks.³ While this approach can slightly reduce lung volume, it highlights an important point: real strength comes from coordination, not simply taking a bigger breath. The goal is to connect breath and core so they work together in balance.

And it’s not just people with back pain who benefit. A six-week study in healthy men found that a breathing-based core routine improved lung capacity, core strength, and overall movement more than standard abdominal exercises.⁴ This shows that breathwork and core breathing exercises aren’t only calming, they’re a practical way to re-engage the diaphragm, support posture, and build better control in everyday movement.

Why Over Breathing Drains Energy

Over-breathing expels too much carbon dioxide (CO₂ ), constricting blood vessels and reducing oxygen delivery to the brain and muscles, even if you’re inhaling plenty of air. This can cause dizziness, anxiety, fatigue, and reduced endurance. The solution? light, quiet nasal breathing. It keeps CO₂ within a healthy range, improves oxygen uptake, supports mitochondrial energy production, and calms the nervous system.

How Better Breathing Supports Well-Being

Better breathing doesn’t just help your core; it can transform how your whole body feels and functions. Simple diaphragmatic breathing exercises are shown to calm the body’s stress response, lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, and enhance overall well-being. ⁵

By breathing slowly through the nose and engaging the diaphragm, you help your body shift out of the stress response, from constant ‘fight‑or‑flight’ mode and into ‘rest‑and‑digest’. The result? A calmer mind, steadier energy, smoother digestion, and a greater sense of balance from the inside out.

For a new year often filled with unrealistic resolutions, returning to the breath offers a gentle, accessible reset. Instead of setting yourself impossible goals, you can focus on something simple to achieve with minimal effort that builds sustainable strength and abundant energy.⁶

How to Use Your Breath During Everyday Movement

Core breathing exercises aren’t just specific to yoga or Pilates. It’s a skill that carries into everything, the way you move, lift, reach, and balance through the day. When breath and movement work together, your body feels stronger, steadier, and more connected from the inside out. Try linking your breath to everyday actions:

·       Squatting or rising from a chair:

Inhale as you lower, exhale as you rise. This steady rhythm keeps your core switched on and protects your lower back.

·       Pushing (Like closing a heavy door or doing press-ups):

Inhale to prepare, exhale on the push. This stabilises the shoulder blades, powering up your shoulders and supporting your core for a smoother, safer effort.

·       Pulling (lifting groceries or doing a row):

Exhale as you pull; it engages your mid-back muscles, keeps your posture aligned, and relieves tension.

·       Twisting or carrying heavy items:

Exhale during the rotational effort to stay controlled and reduce stress on your spine.

Whether at home or in the gym, learning to coordinate breath and movement gives your body a strong foundation for ease, balance, and fluid motion, while lowering the risk of strain or injury.

Your Simple 5-Step Breath Reset for the Year Ahead

To help you ease into smarter breathing, here’s a short, daily protocol. It takes less than 10 minutes, but over weeks builds a more stable, powerful and relaxed body.

1. Diaphragm Reset (5–10 min, daily or every other day):

Lie on your back with knees bent (or sit upright) with one hand on your chest, and the other on your ribs or belly. Inhale gently through the nose, feeling your ribs expand sideways and your belly soften, while keeping your chest still. Exhale slowly and lightly, allowing tension to melt away. This restores calm, reawakens the diaphragm, and soothes the nervous system.

2. Practice Exhaling on Effort (whenever lifting or moving):

Each time you lift, push, pull, or carry something, remember to exhale during the effort. That simple breath cue switches on your deep core muscles, supports your spine, and helps you move with strength and safety, whether it’s gym weights or grocery bags

3. Rhythmic Walks with Nasal Breathing:

During a walk, practise nasal breathing with a steady rhythm (e.g. inhale 4, exhale 6). This rhythmic breathing helps calm your mind, improves oxygen flow, and turns an ordinary walk into a moving meditation that resets your mood and energy for the day.

4. Integrate with Movement Exercises:

When stretching, practising yoga, or doing body‑weight exercises, let your breath guide the pace. Breathe sideways into your ribs, inhaling to create space and length, exhaling to stabilise and engage your core. Over time, you’ll notice better posture, fluidity, and a natural strength behind every movement.

5. Mindful Posture Checks:

If you sit for long periods, pause now and then to check in. Is your chest lifting with each breath, or are your ribs expanding gently to the sides? A small adjustment and a deeper belly breath can instantly restore alignment, focus, and calm.

Make this simple daily breathwork routine part of your daily rhythm, a few mindful minutes that reconnect you to your body’s natural intelligence. Each inhale brings awareness; each exhale builds strength and ease. Over time, you’ll feel lighter, clearer, and more grounded,  moving through 2026 with calm, strength and confidence.

Writer: Jacqueline Newson BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy

 

References

1.Amiri B, Zemková E. Diaphragmatic breathing exercises in recovery from fatigue-induced changes in spinal mobility and postural stability: a study protocol. Front Physiol. 2023 Jun 29;14:1220464. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1220464. PMID: 37457029; PMCID: PMC10340528.

2.Masroor S, Tanwar T, Aldabbas M, Iram I, Veqar Z. Effect of Adding Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises to Core Stabilization Exercises on Pain, Muscle Activity, Disability, and Sleep Quality in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Control Trial. J Chiropr Med. 2023 Dec;22(4):275-283. doi: 10.1016/j.jcm.2023.07.001. Epub 2023 Sep 2. PMID: 38205226; PMCID: PMC10774616.

3.Sembera, M., Busch, A., Kobesova, A. et al. The effect of abdominal bracing on respiration during a lifting task: a cross-sectional study. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 15, 112 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-023-00729-w.

4.Cavaggioni L, Ongaro L, Zannin E, Iaia FM, Alberti G. Effects of different core exercises on respiratory parameters and abdominal strength. J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Oct;27(10):3249-53. doi: 10.1589/jpts.27.3249. Epub 2015 Oct 30. PMID: 26644685; PMCID: PMC4668176.

5.Hopper SI, Murray SL, Ferrara LR, Singleton JK. Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing for reducing physiological and psychological stress in adults: a quantitative systematic review. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2019 Sep;17(9):1855-1876. doi: 10.11124/JBISRIR-2017-003848. PMID: 31436595.

6.The power of breath: diaphragmatic breathing. https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTHLIBRARY/docs/The-Power-Of-Breath-Diaphragmatic-Breathing.pdf?utm.