The Tao of Natural Breathing_ For Health, Well-Being, and Inner Growth - Dennis Lewis [10]
Restrictive Influences on the Diaphragm
Figure 7
Unfortunately, most of us do not experience the full benefit of this “spiritual muscle.” There are two major reasons for this. First, the movement of the diaphragm is adversely influenced by the sympathetic nervous system as a result of the chronic stress, fear, and negativity in our lives (I will discuss the sympathetic nervous system in more detail in the next chapter). Second, it is also adversely influenced by unnecessary tension in our muscles, tendons, and ligaments, as well as by the faulty configurations of our skeletal structure. In understanding this second point, it is useful to know something about how and where the diaphragm actually attaches to the skeletal structure. Though most of the body’s muscles are attached to two different bones—one fixed, called the “origin,” and one which moves as a result of muscle contraction, called the “insert”—the diaphragm is not attached in this way. The diaphragm is fixed to the inside of the lower ribs as well as to the lumbar spine, close to the psoas muscles, but it does not “insert” to any bone. Rather, it inserts to its own central tendon, which lies just under the heart (Figure 8). The diaphragm is thus influenced by the health and mobility of the spine and pelvis, and their associated muscles, and these in turn are influenced not just by our habitual postures, but also by our emotions and attitudes.
Figure 8
One of the most adverse influences on the movement of the diaphragm is the unnecessary tension that many of us carry in our abdominal muscles and internal organs. Most of these tensions are the result of chronic stress, repressed emotions, and excessive negativity, but they also can be caused by the prevailing image of the hard, flat belly that we find in fashion magazines and fitness centers. When the belly is overly contracted it resists the downward movement of the diaphragm. When this occurs, the diaphragm’s central tendon replaces the rib cage and spine as the diaphragm’s fixed point, and the contraction of the diaphragm during inhalation causes excessive elevation of the ribs.
Compensating for a Poorly Functioning Diaphragm
Figure 9
To attempt to compensate for decreased lung space resulting from a contracted belly and a poorly functioning diaphragm—especially in times of physical or psychological stress (when more energy is needed)—we either have to breathe faster (which may result in hyperventilation and the emergence of the “fight or flight reflex”) or we have to increase the expansion of the thoracic cage and raise the clavicles. Because the thoracic cage and clavicles are relatively rigid, however, this further expansion requires the expenditure of extra muscular effort and energy, and ultimately results in less oxygen being taken in during each breath. If someone were to ask us to take a deep breath, most of us would make a big effort to suck in our belly, expand our upper chest, and raise our shoulders—a not-so-funny caricature of “chest breathing”—the way most of us breathe most of the time (Figure 9). Such an effort, however, results in a shallow breath, not a deep one. As we shall see more clearly in later chapters, a deep inhalation requires the expansion of the abdomen outward, which helps the diaphragm move further downward and allows the bottom of the lungs to expand more completely. Though it is true that raising the shoulders reduces the weight on the ribs beneath and allows the lungs to expand further at the top, the potential volume at the top of the lungs is much smaller than the potential