Yoga Anatomy

12 yoga anatomy

As with all muscles, the contracting fibers of the diaphragm pull their two ends (the cen-
tral tendon and the base of the rib cage) toward each other. This action is the fundamental
cause of the three-dimensional thoracoabdominal shape changes of breathing.
Because the diaphragm has multidimensional action, the type of movement it produces
depends on which region of its attachment is stable and which is mobile.
To illustrate this with a more visible movement, the psoas major muscle creates hip flexion
either by moving the leg toward the front of the spine, as in standing on one leg and flexing
the opposite hip, or by moving the front of the spine toward the leg, as in sit-ups with the
legs braced. In both cases, the psoas major is contracting and flexing the hip joint. What
differs is which end of the muscle is stable and which is mobile. Needless to say, a stable
torso and moving leg look very different from a moving torso and a stable leg.

variety of Diaphragmatic Breaths

Just as you can think of the psoas major as either
a leg mover or a trunk mover, you can think of
the diaphragm as either a belly bulger or a rib
cage lifter (see figure 1.12). The muscular action
of the diaphragm is most often associated with
a bulging movement in the upper abdomen,
which is commonly referred to as a belly breath
or abdominal breath, and confusingly referred to
as a diaphragmatic breath. This is only one type
of diaphragmatic breath—one in which the base
of the rib cage (lower attachments) is stable and
the domes (upper attachments) are mobile (see
figure 1.13a).
If we reverse these conditions by stabilizing
the upper domes while relaxing the rib cage, a
diaphragmatic contraction causes an expansion
of the rib cage (see figure 1.13b). This is called a
chest breath, which many believe to be caused by
the action of muscles other than the diaphragm.
This mistaken idea creates a false dichotomy
between diaphragmatic and so-called “non-
diaphragmatic” breathing.

E5267/Kaminoff/fig1.13/417562/alw/pulled-r1

E5267/Kaminoff/fig1.14/417563/alw/pulled-r3

Figure 1.12 The diaphragm can be (a)

a belly bulger during the belly inhala-

tion, or (b) a rib cage lifter during the

chest inhalation.

Figure 1.13 (a) With the rib cage stable and the abdominal muscles relaxed, the diaphragm’s
contraction lowers the upper attachments; (b) with the rib cage relaxed and the upper attach-
ments stabilized by abdominal action, the contracting diaphragm lifts the rib cage upward.

a b

a b