Breathing apparatus exercise

[BPL]

Maybe this isn't new, but I just came up with this myself, and thought I'd share.

In keeping the chest up and feeling the expansion of the rib cage (all the way around, it seems), and then feeling the contraction and push at the end of the exhalation, without any movement of the chest, and not feeling like the lower abdominal muscles are over compensating (just supporting), I have found the following to be useful:

Find some thing to rest the fore arms on, while standing in the desired "chest up" playing position... A prop to take the weight of the arms, but in the same position used for playing. This seems to make it easy to feel how the breathing apparatus should be working... Isolating the muscles involved in holding up the arms and the chest, so as to engage the other muscles independently..

Brett