In this meditation,
We'll become more intimate with the muscle of breathing we call the diaphragm.
This muscle separates the heart and lungs above from the stomach,
Liver,
And other abdominal organs below.
When we inhale,
The dome of the diaphragm moves down and it broadens in circumference at its base.
When we exhale,
The dome of the diaphragm moves up and the base narrows.
If you place your hands at the sides of the ribs,
You can feel how the ribcage as well as the belly expand on inhalation as the diaphragm broadens at its base and narrows on exhalation.
The diaphragm's movement is a lot like the movement of a jellyfish,
That dome-like organism that flattens and broadens and then rises and narrows.
We can think of the diaphragm as a life form that lives and moves within our body,
Supporting us,
Safeguarding the ongoing flow of life by ensuring that breath moves in and out,
In and out.
We can begin the meditation now by settling into our comfortable posture,
Perhaps seated,
Perhaps lying down.
It's helpful to orient to the support of the earth,
Feeling where the body is held from below by whatever we're sitting or lying upon.
We locate the support below and we also notice the support within,
The supportive breath that draws the atmosphere into the body with every inhalation and releases with every exhalation,
Feeling that support within the breath,
Ensuring the flow of life,
Air moving in,
Air moving out.
I invite you to settle your attention to the area at the lower ribcage and upper belly.
You might want to deepen your breath a little bit at first so you can feel how the ribcage expands along with the belly on every inhalation and the ribcage settles back along with the belly on every exhalation.
We can become very curious about the movement of this living body as it breathes.
We can become very interested in how the shape of the ribcage and belly are felt to change as in-breath and out-breath alternate.
Some of the movements are very subtle and we can bring our kind and compassionate curiosity to focus on these small changes,
Feeling the lower ribs and the upper belly,
Very sensitive observers growing ever more intimate with this dear living body,
Breathing,
Just continuing to follow the movement of breath in this one band around the torso,
Lower ribs,
Upper belly,
As if the mind itself could take up residence here,
Observing the breath very near and if attention drifts away from this region and away from the breath,
We take note of this shift and we bring attention back.
We can make our investigation even more intimate by going deeper into the substance of this very body we inhabit,
Feeling between the front where the belly and the ribs have their surface and the back by the spine,
Feeling the interior,
Letting attention move into that space between front and back and noticing what is available in sensation.
Sometimes we simply feel an open or spacious quality,
As if the torso in this area were hollow,
Open,
Spacious.
We might also feel some movement,
The sweet living tissues and organs of the body shifting internally as the diaphragm flattens and broadens during inhalation,
As the diaphragm rises and narrows during exhalation.
Everything inside feeling that movement and the mind settled in this area can sometimes feel it too,
Noticing what your mind feels in your body right now,
Just noticing.
It's even possible with very careful attention to feel the diaphragm herself as she broadens and flattens during inhalation and narrows and rises during exhalation.
We can feel this life form that supports our bodies and our minds.
You might already feel something alive and active deep in this band around the lower ribs and upper belly.
Usually,
Though,
We need to work a bit to connect with the life form we call a diaphragm.
That's the kind of work we do as an expression of love for this human living body.
And it's very simple.
On your next exhalation,
Pause before inhaling.
You'll feel the diaphragm beginning to send messages,
And eventually it will move.
You could try to keep it from moving,
But of course it will override that intention eventually.
For this practice,
Just hold out the exhalation somewhat longer than normal until the diaphragm tells you it's time to breathe,
And then let it,
Let this life form do its job so that it flattens and broadens with inhalation.
So repeat that practice a few times,
Holding out the exhalation and feeling the determination of the diaphragm to sustain life and breath.
I find it helpful to really imagine this diaphragm as a living being in its own right.
It clearly has the power to take charge,
To override the conscious mind.
It has that independence and that intelligence,
Letting intention settle ever more sweetly and curiously around the diaphragm,
Feeling the breathing,
Feeling the movement,
Feeling life.
See if you can bring a note of gratitude to the practice,
How helpful it is to have this muscle that works so consistently from the time of our birth until our last breath,
Faithful,
Reliable,
Supported.
If you lose contact with the feeling of the living diaphragm,
It's very simple to hold out the breath until the living muscle takes charge and lets you know it's time to inhale.
Breath by breath,
Movement by movement,
Can you perhaps go so far as offering this life form we call a diaphragm a measure of affection,
Maybe even love?
Those of us who enjoy the companionship of dogs and cats and other animals are accustomed to loving forms of life that are faithful,
That care about us,
That are gentle and wordless.
Can you see how the diaphragm is faithful,
How it cares about your well-being?
Can you hold the diaphragm with that kind of appreciation,
Affection,
And love?
Feeling the movement deep in the body,
Breath by sweet,
Life-sustaining breath.
Isn't it interesting to be a living organism,
To have lungs,
To breathe,
And to feel the diaphragm sustaining and ensuring the continuance of life,
Breath by breath?
You might even think of a name to give this dear life form that anatomy books call the diaphragm.
You might,
Just to try on the experience,
Focusing mainly though on a loving relationship with your body as a whole and the diaphragm in particular.
How nice it is to be in love with the body that is always with us,
To be in love with the life form within,
Ever-present,
Ever-supportive.
We can take this feeling of affection,
The feeling of support with us as we re-enter our active day or as we continue to lie or sit in a state of ease and connection.
If your plan is to return to your active day,
The meditation can now come to a close.
If your plan is to continue to rest in stillness,
Then the meditation can continue for as long as you wish.
