Question to lean guys about sucking in stomach page

[C2H5OH]

Hi. There is an area of Primal Wisdom I haven't figured yet. If I recall correctly, Mark advised not so long ago, that people should have straight posture and breath into our stomach, not into our chest, that it is healthier.
The second thing: do you lean guys, and gals, still have to suck in your stomach for photos?
I'd LOVE to see a difference photos of someone really lean, one photo with fully relaxed stomach, and one with it sucked in.

I don't know if looking at myself one day with sucked in stomach and being satisfied with it isn't just cheating our mind, in an unhealthy way

[jfreaksho]

I don't have pictures, but posture can have a lot to do with that- if your pelvis is angled forward more than it should be (leading to a swayed back) your belly can stick out a bit. A pelvic angle too far forward (kyphotic/rounded lower back) can make it look like your belly is sticking out too.
In Esther Gokhale's Google Talk the author explains pretty well about proper back alignment.

[C2H5OH]

I guess that when it comes to describing movements, my understanding of English is quite bad, I'll find something about posture with pictures included, but my question was about breathing by stomach/chest anyway

[jhc]

All I'm going to say is that flexing or sucking in my stomach just makes me look freakishly weird. I prefer how I look un-flexed/sucked.

[jfreaksho]

You should pretty much always have a little tension in your abdominal muscles (in the stomach area, mostly), but that doesn't mean you should suck it in.

Expanding your chest when you breathe is a good idea, though breathing with your stomach muscles is also good. Breathing in with your chest will help you develop a higher lung capacity. Breathing with your stomach muscles will help you develop control over your breath for things like singing or playing wind instruments. It is also useful when trying to speak to a large group or yell across a distance to someone.