An intro to the diaphragm

This is one of my favorite things to geek out about when it comes up in conversation (organically, of course). I don’t know if it’s the powerful yet simple role this muscle plays or the fact that I was in massage school before I actually learned what it was, either way, I am so excited to be able to share what I know with you. I would like to make it clear that I am by no means an expert on the diaphragm. I am more of a fan girl than a professional actually, but I have enthusiasm and a blog on my website, so that’s all I need right?

The diaphragm is a muscle. Unlike other muscles that we think of, the diaphragm is more of a “sheet” of muscle than a “rope” of muscle. Think of a blown-up balloon and imagine the top half of that balloon is your diaphragm, and it sits just below your lungs, near the bottom of your ribcage, and is a sort of barrier between the “ribcage” organs and the “belly button” organs. Please note I am trying to paint an imaginary picture for you and my descriptions may not be scientifically accurate.

Like other muscles in our body, we can engage the diaphgragm and (with consistent practice) can strengthen it. WHY would we want to strengthen this muscle you ask?! Well, the big thing I want to mention here is belly breathing. This is the muscle we engage for belly breathing. Now, I was in my third decade of life before I really understood what belly breathing was. I mean, I could use my abdominal muscles to stretch and shrink my gut when I took a breath and let it out, but I was NOT engaging this oh so important muscle so it really wasn’t helping me the way it should have been.

I also love to geek out about the parasympathetic nervous system response, but that will be another entry. For now, just note that when you focus on using the diaphragm to take proper deep breaths, you will feel more calm and in control of your body. This won’t be the only time we talk about this fabulous muscle, so stay tuned for more to come!