The Diaphragm
If you’ve ever taken part in breathwork, yoga, or even singing, you will have almost definitely been told to “use your diaphragm”. But what exactly does that mean?
Simply put, the diaphragm is our primary breathing muscle.
Though it might be shaped like an umbrella, it works more like a pump (see animation). As it moves up and down, it changes the pressure in our lungs, and heart.
When we exhale, the diaphragm relaxes, doming upwards into the chest. This pushes the air out of the lungs, and at the same time pushes blood out of the heart and into the body.
When we inhale, the diaphragm activates, pulling downwards towards the lower abdomen. This creates space in the ribcage, allowing the lungs to expand. This expansion has a vacuum-like effect, pulling air into the lungs, and drawing blood into the heart from the body.
How stiff is your diaphragm?
Placing one hand on your belly. Breathe deeply, and feel how much your hand rises on the inhale, and falls on the exhale.
If you couldn’t feel much, you aren’t alone. Most people today only use about 10% of the range of motion the diaphragm is capable of!
Stiff diaphragm
When the diaphragm is healthy, and moves through a full range of motion, it creates greater changes of pressure, more space in the chest, and allows full expansion of the lungs.
If the diaphragm is weak, stiff, and stuck in a restricted range of movement. Breathing becomes short, and shallow, and the lungs are not fully utilized.
How does the diaphragm become stiff and weak?
Modern life, modern problems. Our highly stressful, and sedentary lifestyles make our breathing shallow, tight & tense. Even for people who are very active, many modern exercises actually make breathing even tighter, and more restricted.
To assisst the diaphragm, we also have ‘secondary’ breathing muscles in the chest, back, neck and abdomen. They are intended to support breathing. But when breathing is fast, and shallow, these muscles become over-used, and the diaphragm under-used. As a result these muscles become tight, and even have a negative impact on posture.
Posture says a thousand words about the condition of the diaphragm. You can very reliably predict that is somone has poor posture, their diaphragm needs some work!
How can we fix our diaphragms?
Correcting poor posture is one of the first steps to restoring full, healthy diaphragm movement.
The yogis of India once again had it all figured out. The physical prcatice of yoga is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to restore diaphragm function. Not only does stretching, release tightness in the breathing muscles. The emphasis on full, deep breaths, in a wide-range of postures, strengthens the diaphragm.
Breathwork practices take this one step further, by really emphasising full, deep diaphragmic movements.
My two favourite techniques for this are: Double Breaths, a technique I created, and Cyclic Sighing - recently discovered by Andrew Huberman and colleagues.
If you want some help restoring your diaphragm, just reach out and I’ll be happy to show you the ropes!
