Breathing lesson

I just finshed the breathing lesson and i had a question,  with everything being relaxed and no tension i breath in and the stomach expands out but when you say to exhale down and out what do you mean exactly? because when i naturally exhale my stomach retracts and my chest drops. am i suppose to keep the chest high at all times?

sorry if the question doesnt make sense i had a diffcult time trying to explain what i meant lol 

Makes sense to me! Yes, your chest should remain lifted at all times. When your chest collapses, your rib cage does too. The "down and out" feeling should be in your low abdomen and pelvic floor. In order to sing on compressed air and use our breath efficiently, we're working against the body's natural tendency to collapse back inward. The easiest way to start feeling this is to pulse your belly out instead of letting it crunch in when you hiss or initiate a lip trill. Eventually, we want that down and out feeling to be gentle and constant!

Thank you!

Sure thing! 

Hi, Jeff! Here's my answer from your previous thread:

The technically "correct" way to breathe (both on and off mic) is to do so in a way that is barely audible. If your glottis is open (in other words: if your vocal folds have space between them), your breath will be close to silent. That's something professional singers are aware of and train to do! In contemporary styles that intentionally break the "rules", like rock, it's not so important. Pop and rock singers may audibly breathe on-mic for effect: it sounds more rough, personal, and emotional. 

As for calming your breath after a concert, I'd say your goals are the same as pre-concert: relax you belly muscles, slow down your breathing, and your body will gradually calm as a result.