by Rolf Sovik
These same muscles also direct the breath when you are speaking. For example, if you were to read this sentence out loud, you would pause at the commas, stopping the outward flow of air. Control of your speaking breath is accomplished using the abdominal muscles. This is one reason that prolonged speaking can be fatiguing.
Even normal exhalations are affected by abdominal muscle tone. Muscle tone in the abdomen produces a smooth, comfortable flow of air. When the abdomen is too tight or too flabby, breathing loses its relaxed quality.
“Belly” Breathing in Sitting Poses
Illustrations sometimes show the abdomen dramatically expanding and contracting in sitting postures. This can indeed happen in an upright posture with conscious effort. You can push out your abdomen when you inhale and consciously contract it as you exhale. But you will feel uncomfortable doing it, and it may also lead to a mild sense of air hunger if you continue. In meditation, the effort to breathe in this way can become distracting and will use your energy inefficiently. As we have seen, by allowing the sides to expand and contract, along with a more modest movement in the abdomen, breathing becomes virtually effortless.
Diaphragmatic Breathing: A Final Word
The phrase diaphragmatic breathing refers to the fact that, in normal, relaxed breathing, contractions of the diaphragm expand the lungs, modestly lowering air pressure inside them and thus causing them to fill with air. The action of the diaphragm on the lungs is relatively constant, no matter the posture of the body. But the effect of diaphragmatic breathing on the abdomen, which lies below it, varies. In each of the resting postures, the look and feel of diaphragmatic breathing differs.
In the crocodile pose, the torso expands and contracts all around. For this reason, diaphragmatic breathing in the crocodile pose has sometimes been called “hoop” breathing. It causes the body to expand in the front, sides, and back.
In contrast, only the abdomen moves noticeably in the corpse pose. It rises and falls with each breath. The rib cage is virtually immobile.
In sitting poses, the effects of diaphragmatic breathing change once again. The most prominent sensations are at the sides of the rib cage. These are accompanied by a mild expansion of the abdomen. Since muscles in the back must be used to hold the spine erect, there is only a very modest sensation of breathing there.
Recognizing sensations of diaphragmatic breathing in each of these postures helps in creating a breath that is deep and smooth. But the extraordinary variety of ways in which you can sit, lie, and stand means that sensations of breathing are always shifting and changing—adapting to the needs of the moment. In meditation, this process of adaptation settles down. Patterns of breathing find a natural rhythm, and the repetitive movement of the lungs calms the nervous system and mind.
A Meditation Exercise
Here is a simple meditation that will help you make use of the breathing skills that you have learned.
• Sit in a meditation pose of your choice. Bring your attention to your body, letting it relax and become still. Then shift your awareness to the flow of your breathing.
• Feel the sensations of exhalation and inhalation with each breath. The style of breathing that feels best for you is an individual matter. By staying with the flow of the breath and exploring the balance of sides, front, and back, you will gradually arrive at a breath that flows easily.
• Continue to observe your breathing, making it the focus of your meditation. As time passes, sense the feelings of cleansing and nourishing that occur each time you breathe out and in.
• At the end of each inhalation and each exhalation, relax and let the next breath begin. Weave the breaths together in an unbroken stream.
• As you continue to follow the breath, make subtle adjustments to your posture and breathing so that the process of breathing becomes even more effortless.
• Then, like someone watching the flowing waters of a nearby stream, simply observe the breath as it gently passes in and out. Other thoughts will also come and go, but they are not the focus of your attention. Let your attention rest on the flow of your breathing, and relax your mental effort.
• Watch the breath as long as you like. When you are thoroughly refreshed, stretch your limbs and come out of the meditation.
Drawing the Diaphragm
Anatomy of course does not change,
but our understanding of anatomy
and its clinical significance does.
—Frank Netter, M.D.
As a young child, I was surrounded by kids who drew well. My friends filled the margins of their notebooks with clever doodles. I tried my hand as well, but for the most part my images foreshadowed an early career in music, not art. That didn’t dampen my appreciation for good drawings, however.
From time to time, this interest has led me to the specialized branch of drawing known as anatomical illustration. The challenge for anatomical illustrators is to create images of the human body that not only look good but “read” well, that give us information about human anatomy and physiology. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greats, as was the Belgian artist Andreas Vesalius, whose genius and careful eye revolutionized the teaching of anatomy.
In this chapter, I hope to inspire you to make a few very simple anatomical drawings of your own. The illustrations will contain information about a subject dear to most yoga students’ hearts: diaphragmatic breathing. If you have artistic talent, so much the better, but Leonardian skills are definitely not required. Everyone can master these drawings. And as you do, you will gain a solid understanding of the functioning of the diaphragm. So find a pencil and a few sheets of blank paper, and roll up your sleeves.
First Attempts
By now you know a thing or two about the diaphragm. You understand that it is a muscle and that it is responsible for bringing air into the lungs. You have an idea about its location. But ask yourself to make a drawing, a task that requires committing your ideas to paper, and you will probably respond, well—cautiously.
Without reading beyond this paragraph, put down your book and try your hand. Draw the diaphragm as you picture it in your mind’s eye. Your drawing doesn’t need to be perfect, but it will start your graphics wheels turning.
Now take a look at four samples of the diaphragm drawn by experienced yoga students (apologies to those of you who may see resemblances to your own work here). These four reluctant illustrators had previously been exposed to images of the diaphragm but had never been asked to make a drawing of their own.
As you can see from their efforts, drawing the diaphragm can produce widely varying results, but each of these illustrations emphasizes an important anatomical or physiological feature. The first is based on the observation that diaphragmatic breathing causes the front of the abdomen to expand (the small dot in the middle is the navel); the second is intended to illustrate the shape of the diaphragm and show that it divides the torso in two; the third places the diaphragm at the bottom of the lungs; and the fourth shows it descending during inhalation. Each illustration tells us something about the diaphragm, but each also leaves us looking for the upgraded version.
A Two-Dimensional Image
In drawing the diaphragm, one of the problems is that it is three-dimensional, and most of us are accustomed to seeing two-dimensional illustrations. To complete the image in three dimensions, we are left to our own devices.
Despite its shortcomings, however, a two-dimensional image can be a good place to start. Here is a sample (practice drawing it a few times):
This version shows the diaphragm as a line—a thin slice of muscle, with neither front nor back. It is the result of drawing the diaphragm in a frontal plane (a plane paralleling the front of the body) and removing everything but the merest outline of tissue.
This is a minimalist’s view, to be sure, but it does contain a good deal of information. To begin, it shows the shape of the diaphragm—it rises at the sides of the body and extends from one side to the other, forming a dome in the process.
In the body, the right side of the dome is slightly higher than the left, to accommodate the liver that lies just below it; the stomach and spleen lie to the left. The top of the dome, a surface called the central tendon, is made of fibrous tissue (not muscle). The lungs and heart rest primarily on this surface. The areas of vertically aligned muscle tissue along the sides of the diaphragm are apposed (placed side by side) to the rib cage and play an important role in the mechanics of breathing.
But many mysteries still remain. Where does the diaphragm lie in the rib cage? How are the lungs and heart arranged in relationship to it? Where are the organs of the abdomen? Just how does the diaphragm move in relation to all these structures? Most important, what does the diaphragm really look like?
Placement of the Diaphragm
We can answer some of these questions without abandoning our two-dimensional view. First, let’s show the location of the diaphragm. To do this, we need to consider how the diaphragm moves: its dome descends within the rib cage during inhalation and ascends with exhalation.
Use your own body as a reference. Place your fingertips at the center of your chest, slightly above the base of the sternum (the breastbone). Next slide your fingers directly to the right, just beneath the breast. Find the rib there—it is the sixth rib. During inhalation, the dome of the diaphragm descends to the space just below this rib. During exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and rises to the level of the space just above the fifth rib.
The sides of the diaphragm, the areas of apposition, extend to the bottommost rib and contain the relatively long muscle fibers that merge into the central tendon on top. When these fibers contract, the dome of the diaphragm is pulled down.
To illustrate the proper placement of the diaphragm in a drawing, you will need to show the full torso, the rib cage, and the diaphragm (top and sides). To begin, make an outline of the body from the shoulders to the hips. About two-thirds of the way down, draw a small circle to mark the navel (this is about the level of the twelfth rib). Next, draw a smooth outline of the rib cage. And finally, draw the diaphragm with its dome slightly higher than midway in the rib cage.
Lungs, Heart, and Abdominal Organs
It would be helpful now if we could show the relationship between the internal organs and the diaphragm. The lungs and heart share the space above the diaphragm, while the organs of the abdomen lie below. The heart is surrounded by connective tissue called the pericardium, which is woven into the dome of the diaphragm.
Beneath the diaphragm, the liver extends well across the upper abdomen, from right to left. The stomach curves to the left, partially concealed by the liver. Even farther to the left is the spleen.
The drawing gives us all this information. Notice the way in which the lungs hug the upper surface of the diaphragm. The left lung has only two lobes, not three (like the right lung), leaving more room for the heart. The trachea travels down between the lungs, entering them from the inner sides. Make the drawing yourself a few times.
Contracting the Diaphragm
When the diaphragm contracts, it pushes on the abdomen from above. But there is no empty space in the abdomen except for small amounts of gas in the bowel. So, much like pressing down on the top of a water balloon, when the abdomen is compressed from above, its contents are pressed outward in all directions.
As we have seen, the outcome of the compression of the diaphragm is affected by one’s posture. When sitting or standing erect, inhalation results in a notable sideward expansion of the rib cage. When lying down, the ribs become still and the expansion shifts to the front of the abdomen, resulting in “belly breathing.”
The rib cage expands laterally in erect postures because when the diaphragm contracts, it meets resistance from the abdominal organs below. They act as a broad fulcrum, tipping the lower ribs out and flattening the surface of the diaphragm. This movement can be illustrated by superimposing two images—one for exhalation and one for inhalation.
In Three Dimensions
Drawing the diaphragm in three dimensions creates a much more impressive image, because it supplies its front and back, parts that were missing from our previous drawings. But before putting pencil to paper, let’s see if we can generate a mental image of the picture we want to draw.
The front of the diaphragm follows the shape of the rib cage and looks like an open pup tent. Place both hands at the base of the sternum and trace the edge of the ribs as they slope down and out to the sides. This A-frame opening of bone and cartilage outlines the front edge of the diaphragm. The upper abdomen (the space in the middle of the A) is covered by layers of muscle, but these are abdominal muscles; they are not part of the diaphragm.
Muscle fibers in the areas of apposition attach to the lower ribs. So just like the ribs, the diaphragm encircles the torso, thus creating a dome (with the A-frame removed in the front). In the back, vertical fibers of the diaphragm, called the crus, reach down along the spine, extend below the rib cage, and attach to the lumbar vertebrae of the lower back. (In poses such as the cobra, the bow, and the bound bridge, contractions of this crural portion of the diaphragm assist in arching the spine.)
Now it’s time to draw the diaphragm in three dimensions. Begin with the familiar two-dimensional shape. Then draw the A-frame at the front of the muscle (leave room at the top for the central tendon). Finally, trace lines to represent the lumbar vertebrae and add the rear portion of the diaphragm (the crus) that extends down along the spine.
If you like to draw, there is no end to the detail and perspective you can give your drawings. With a little help from an anatomy text, you can make a side view, a diagonal view, or a back view. You can imagine yourself under the diaphragm looking up at it, or above it looking down. You can draw the individual ribs of the rib cage, then add the diaphragm. You can show the nerves that innervate the diaphragm. In other words, you can build an interesting collection of images that add to your understanding of the mechanics of diaphragmatic breathing. In the process you will come to understand it. And if you are a yoga teacher, don’t be afraid to go public with your drawings. They will add a new dimension to your classes.
For your final project, you might put together some of the pieces from the drawings you have already made. Draw a bare-bones outline of the torso, just as before. Then place a three-dimensional image of the diaphragm into the torso and add the lungs, heart, and trachea. This will clearly illustrate many of the important characteristics of the diaphragm and give you a good drawing for your refrigerator door. During your next meditation, bring the image to mind and see if it helps you feel the mechanics of your own breathing more clearly. That is the real art of breathing.
Six Methods for Training the Breath
Breath is life. And life is breath.
—Kaushitaki Upanishad
Two themes drawn from traditional yogic breath training frequently find their way into mainstream magazines and newspapers. The first is that when chest (or upper thoracic) breathing becomes routine, it can raise levels of tension and fatigue. The second is that diaphragmatic breathing has the opposite effect—it calms the nervous system. By now, you will not be surprised by either idea.
Contemporary research on the autonomic nervous system seems to confirm this ancient wisdom. During times of increasing stress and emotional tension, automatic mechanisms transform breathing. Auxiliary muscles in the chest wall and neck are activated to move larger volumes of air in and out of the lungs, and the pace of breathing increases as well. As a result, the body is prepared for danger, and a momentary burst of energy is available. But when chest breathing becomes habitual, evidence suggests that it undermines normal functioning and depletes energy—in complicated ways.
Unfortunately, the mere knowledge that chest breathing can increase anxiety and stress is frequently not enough to change our breathing habits. Most of us need to make additional efforts to reform unhealthy breathing styles and replace them with more relaxed, tranquil breathing. And for those who are battling with chronically ac
tive chest muscles—muscles that seem unwilling to relax—a full-scale training program is the right approach.
Here are six strategies that will help make the shift to diaphragmatic breathing a reality for you. While some are repetitions of exercises you have already tried, I think you’ll find it helps to see all the exercises in one place. You can practice one or more of them just prior to meditating, or at a separate time in your day. Soon, relaxed breathing will serve as an underpinning for each meditation, and for life.
1. Exaggerate the Movements of Good Breathing
If you overuse the muscles of your chest when you breathe, then other, more natural styles of breathing will feel foreign to you. It may be difficult for you to trust or even fully identify the new respiratory sensations you are supposed to learn. A solution is to exaggerate good breathing movements until they become second nature. You can create a powerful new awareness of the motions of breathing with only modest practice.
