Floating The Diaphragm

This practice brings greater sensitivity to the diaphragm and its relationship with the breath, helping you increase expansion and mobility in the tissues in this area. This allows for a smooth and uninhibited rhythm of breath, with positive effects on your system as a whole.

Transcript

Welcome to a practice that brings a soft awareness to the dome-shaped sheath of your diaphragm at the base of your ribs and how the breath naturally and healthily expands into this space, Gently moving the organs, Moving to the rhythm and the pulse of your breath in connection with your heart, Bringing awareness to the entire space of your chest, Ribcage, The organs and sensations inside the ribcage, The organs and sensations below the diaphragm and the abdomen, The pelvis, And how they're all connected through the breath. You're going to be floating your diaphragm. This exercise makes the fibers of your diaphragm more elastic and also brings a greater sensitivity to the muscular folds and slips at the diaphragm in its visceral experience and structural experience. So please begin by just finding a comfortable seated position so that your lower spine is supported and your side waist is lifting away from your hips, Away from your pelvis. You may be leaning up against a wall or a sofa cushion to support this lift along the waist or just gently elongating your spine, Drawing the crown upwards and feeling rooted in your seat. Begin by relaxing your tongue and jaw. You can do shavasana with your tongue, Gently opening and dilating the back of your throat and breathing slowly and softly through the nose in order to sense the natural rhythm of your breath and get a feeling for the dome-shaped diaphragm at the inner base of your ribs. Bring your awareness to the middle of your trunk and release any clenching or gripping in the area of your diaphragm at the base of your ribs, Your upper abdomen, The back of your ribs, Drawing your inhalation into the lower lobes of your lungs. This will help increase the expansion of your middle ribs in such a way that your rib basket moves gently upward and spreads outward. Release any clenching or gripping so that the gentle pulsation of your breath can initiate the diaphragm, Sensing the edges of your diaphragm expanding and contracting. You can imagine it synonymous to the gentle opening and closing of the hood of a jellyfish gently moving in water, Drifting with the currents of gentle waves. See if you can imagine where the edges of your diaphragm attach to your lower ribs, To your spine, And to your sternum, Your breastbone. And even if you don't have an exact structural idea or image in your mind, See if you can bring up a visceral sense of feeling into the structural awareness where the edges of your diaphragm are attaching to your ribs, To your spine, And to your breastbone, Maintaining a sense of elongation and firmness in your spine while allowing the edges of your diaphragm to float, To gently expand and contract with your breath, Visualizing your diaphragm drawing downward on each inhalation as your lungs inflate, On each exhalation allowing your diaphragm to waft back up towards its domed position, Just like a jellyfish gently opening and closing its hood as it moves through water like a pulse across gentle waves. Continue in this awareness of your breath for a few more moments, Feel the abdomen soft, The ribcage light and floating above the pelvis, Feeling a sense of softness, Relaxation, And a natural rhythm at the base of your ribs and the dome-shaped hood of your diaphragm as it pulses with your breath. See if you can allow and maintain this subtle rhythm at your core as you slowly close your eyes and allow this breath awareness to stay with you as you move out into the rest of your day. Namaste.