The Power of Breathing

I was lying in my yoga class as we were doing our relaxation poses before beginning, she asked us to breathe deeply. So I did. My stomach expanded, yet, as I peeked around the room I noticed that very few other peoples did.
Mostly I noticed chests rising and falling, but not in the abdomen.
I also found out in tai chi that most people breathe from their chest (I was one of the few people in the class who did not.)
This was strange to me as a rider. I'll let this excerpt from an article explain why:

 "Chest Breathing. This is probably the most common breathing pattern in today's stress-filled society. Also known as paradoxical breathing, it is a natural reflex when we are suddenly startled or frightened. We gasp, pull the abdomen in and breathe high into the chest. The lift of the abdomen and pelvic floor prevents the diaphragm from descending completely as we inhale. Chest breathers restrict breath movement in the abdomen, forcing it higher up into the chest, while shoulders move up and down."
(http://www.lifepositive.com/body/body-holistic/breath/healthy-breathing.asp)

If chest breathing is a panic response, then riders should be especially careful to practice breathing deeply from the abdomen. If we constantly breathe in shallow, tense gasps we tell our bodies that they can't fully relax. If we tell our bodies they can't relax, they wont. If we won't relax, our horse won't relax. It's a vicious cycle.

 Also it isn't so good for our overall posture either.

It's common in riding to hold ones breath when things get tense, unfortunately this isn't good for our bodies and doesn't help our horse any. Suddenly stiffening is going to throw off your horses rhythm. How many of us will dismount and feel light headed or a little dizzy?

This is a sign that we have been holding or breath and not taking in enough oxygen. Ooops.  This is a common problem with anxiety or nerves- we tend to hold our breath. This essentially tells our trusty mounts: "Holy shit, something is up and I'm worried!" Which our horse takes as: "Screw this, I'm out of here."

With better breathing your center of gravity is improved: it goes from the upper chest area to the lower abdomen and pelvic area.

So all in all, breathing properly is pretty good for you, unfortunately if you want to be good at it in the saddle.... you're going to have to make it a habit outside of the arena.