Breath Support and not losing breath

Hello! I hope you are doing well! We worked on some belting together last time and, in my opinion, it has improved! I didn’t do much of the sustaining exercises though(I was hectic with school and life was a little crazy so I couldn’t focus on music as much as I’d like), so as far as actually sustaining those high notes while sitting down (as we discussed musicians do in Carnatic music) I haven’t made much improvement. I’m sure if I focus on it for a while with the right exercises I will greatly improve. My focus for now is developing good breath support and not running out of breath very quickly and easily. This is crucial for the song I am working on at the moment. As I work on this I have a few questions: 

1. I am doing the appogio breathing exercise (specifically the Farinelli exercise), but when I inhale for let’s say 7 seconds, my breath is pushing against my throat and almost locking the area. How should the exercise feel like? What should I do differently to make sure my breath is not pushing against my throat and almost locking the area. How many times should I repeat this exercise within my daily practice routine?

2. Do you have any other exercises that would help me not run out of breath? How many times withing my daily practice routine should I do these exercises? 

3. I looked at your video on pelvic breath support...how often should I use that technique? When should I use it? Do you think it would help me not run out of breath? Also when I use that breath support technique, my core muscles are feeling tighter...is that how it should feel? 

I have also scheduled a live lesson with you for 30 minutes on April 15th. I have a performance on the 17th, so if you give me tips I can prepare them before our class and you can give me some feedback if I'm doing them correctly during our class. Thank you so much for all of your help! Have a wonderful day! 

1. I'd try taking in air more slowly! An inhale should feel relaxed and the throat should remain "open"!

2. Here's an hourlong lesson on breath support - feel free to use any of the exercises mentioned! My personal preference is to begin with breathing and breath-focused exercises (like lip trills), and then to remain conscious of my breath and posture for the rest of the warmup, regardless of the exercises used. 

3. If it helps you, use it! I typically use it when I'm singing very challenging choral music that requires very long phrases, but it's not second nature for me to use in daily singing. As long as your upper belly is staying relaxed, your lower core can tighten! See here for a short lesson. 

Thanks, Lakshita! See you then.