Your Diaphragm

Here are some things about your diaphragm that you may not know and why they are important.

The diaphragm is the floor of the thoracic cavity and the roof of the abdominal cavity. The upper most of the diaphragm reaches up to the nipples and the bottom most space to the navel. The shape of the diaphragm is created by the organs it encloses and supports. Deprived of those organs, it would collapse much like a knit cap does when not on a head. The right side of the diaphragm is higher than the left because of the liver pushing up on the right and the heart pushing down from the left. The diaphragm is connected in three places to bone; the ribs, the sternum, the anterior lumbar spine.

Each time you inhale then exhale, this bulging mass of muscle massages all the internal organs; liver, kidneys, intestines, adrenals. The pull of this large muscle on the spine, the sternum, the ribs lubricates the bones and their attachments, the nerve endings, blood vessels, lymph channels.

Take a moment to enjoy the breath, the rising and falling of the diaphragm inside you, the energy of life.