Dancing Isis Dance !

A year ago I wrote about the functions of the Diaphragm in "The Navel as a Source of movement part 1". Well I was wrong. I had the idea upside down. (goes with my dyslexia) Thanks to a couple of folks who pointed it out to me, here it is again the right way up. What I found very interesting was reprogramming my own thinking is that - although I can already breathe deeply into my belly with ease, that since correcting my own image or vision of the diaphragm that I have a lot more expansion in my back.

I am going to give you 3 text book explanation of the Diaphragm taken from 3 different sites on the Net. and a revised version of my own. Just so we all get it right.

Number One
When starting to practice diaphragmatic breathing, it helps to lie down. Put one pillow under your head and another behind your knees. Place one hand on your upper chest, and the other on the centre of your stomach, below the rib cage. The key to diaphragmatic breathing is to use your diaphragm for breathing, and not your upper chest muscles.

Inhale through your nose while expanding, or pushing out, your stomach muscles. Your upper chest should not move outward. When exhaling, exhale slowly through pursed lips while pulling in your stomach muscles. At first, you will have to force your abdomen to move in this way. But with practice and regular use, it should become more natural. If you can, work your way towards using diaphragmatic breathing all the time.

Number Two : The role of the diaphragm
The diaphragm, located below the lungs, is the major muscle of respiration. It is a large, dome-shaped muscle that contracts rhythmically and continually, and most of the time, involuntarily. Upon inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and flattens and the chest cavity enlarges. This contraction creates a vacuum, which pulls air into the lungs. Upon exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and returns to its dome like shape, and air is forced out of the lungs.

Other important respiratory muscles include the intercostal (between the ribs) and abdominal muscles

Number Three : The Diaphragm
The diaphragm is a big sheet-like muscle that's at the bottom of your chest cavity. The diaphragm helps you get air in and out of your lungs by moving up and down. When your diaphragm moves down, you breathe in. When your diaphragm moves up, you breathe out!

Try taking a really deep breath. Can you feel a stretching feeling in your stomach? That's your diaphragm moving down as you breathe in. Now try breathing out all the air in your lungs. Keep pushing out air until no more comes out. The tightness you feel below your chest is your diaphragm pushing up to get the air out! Without your diaphragm, your lungs couldn't fill up with air or push old air out!

Maria’s version
Lie with your feet on the floor a hip width apart and your knees pointing up. Place your hands on your belly with your middle fingers meeting at the navel. Observe your breath - imagine your diaphragm and see if you can see it falling and your belly expanding as you breathe in. See it rising and you belly fall to ward the floor as you breath out. Then see if you can imagine your lungs expand each time you breathe in and the diaphragm falls and your lungs contracting each time you breathe out as your diaphragm rises.

Remember that your lungs are very big and take up nearly all the space in the thoracic cavity, from the bottom to the top and the front and the back of the ribs, so when you are connecting to your lungs notice which part of your lungs you don’t breath into and gently begin to expand your breath to that area, feel the ribs, notice their movement too.

You will be well on the way to the fundamental key to the fluidity in your dance - Belly Breath !