Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/434495
F r e e m u s i c d o w n l o a d s f o r C e r t i f i e d m e m b e r s : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 109 the breath to move freely and fully. Increased mobility and proprioception (our twin goals of the Myofascial Techniques approach) allow the diaphragm to more fully respond to the changing demands placed on it: stability and strength at those moments when they are needed, and flexibility and adaptability at its resting state. OTHER DIAPHRAGMS The structure we have been discussing is more accurately called the respiratory diaphragm, and it is only one of the diaphragms of the body. The word diaphragm comes to us directly from the ancient Greek word διάφραγμα meaning "partition." Some of the other anatomical structures conventionally considered to be diaphragms include the urogenital diaphragm (between the pelvic rami) and the pelvic diaphragm (or pelvic floor), which supports the pelvic organs and forms the lower end of the abdominal space bounded by the respiratory diaphragm at its upper end. Rolfing structural integration (and osteopathic traditions) refers to several other horizontal myofascial structures as diaphragms. The soles of the feet, the menisci, the perineum, the thoracic outlet, the roof of the mouth, and the cranial tentorium are all described as having diaphragm- like qualities or motion potential. In structural integration, the functional and anatomical interrelationships of these structures are thought to play a part in balanced alignment and whole-body integration. 4 One example: imagine the soles of your feet "breathing" like your respiratory diaphragm does, opening and closing to receive the weight transfer of each step. SUMMARY The respiratory diaphragm plays many roles in the body—breathing, containing, stabilizing, supporting the low back, and more. It cycles through expansion and contraction in all dimensions, with every breath. Helping our clients increase their felt MYOFASCIAL TECHNIQUES sense of diaphragmatic spaciousness, freedom, and openness will be appreciated, and will help support your goals in other parts of the body. We began by paying attention to the movements of our own diaphragm, contrasting what it does when slumping with the felt sense of sitting up straight. Return to your own diaphragm now, feeling the slow, tidal movements of the gentle expansion and contraction of each breath. When it's free, the diaphragm moves much like a jellyfish does—floating in its fluid environment, changing its shape within its 360 degrees of movement possibility (Image 8). This rhythmic opening and closing of the diaphragm causes the organs around it to undulate and drift with the breath, like other nearby jellyfish moving with the swells. Why not take some time now to just enjoy the waves? Notes 1. Ronnie Poon, "Current Techniques of Liver Transection," The Official Journal of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association 9, no. 3 (Oxford, 2007): 166–73. 2. Carolyn Richardson et al., Therapeutic Exercise for Spinal Segmental Stabilization in Low Back Pain (Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1999). 3. Aline Newton, writing about Hubert Goddard, "Core Stabilization, Core Coordination," 2004, accessed November 2014, www.alinenewton.com/pdf-articles/core.htm. 4. Ibid. Til Luchau is a member of the Advanced-Trainings.com faculty, which offers distance learning and in-person seminars throughout the United States and abroad. He is a Certified Advanced Rolfer and originator of the Advanced Myofascial Techniques approach. Contact him via info@advanced-trainings.com and Advanced-Trainings.com's Facebook page. The movement of the diaphragm in breathing can be like the undulating opening and closing of a jellyfish. 8