Postural Foundation #1 – The Diaphragm

This week, we are circling back to the diaphragm. This muscle is so important for keeping our organs warm, as well as feeding our bodies 600% more oxygen with each inhale. It is the one of the two foundations that Block Therapy is built on. Understanding this foundation increases your understanding of your Block Therapy practice.

Did you know?
The diaphragm is the postural foundation for the rib cage and upper body

Correct alignment and support of the ribcage is essential to the health of everything up the chain, including the shoulder joints, arms and hands, as well as the head and neck as already mentioned.

Carpal tunnel syndrome, for instance, is a common concern, especially for those on a computer all day. Surgeries and therapies are offered to provide relief, but they seldom do. Frozen shoulder is another widespread complaint — people are told to ride it out, as there is no “cure”.

These are classic cases of trying to solve a problem by attacking the symptoms while ignoring the cause. The root of all disorders of the head, neck, arms and hands is the foundation, the rib cage. If it isn’t properly supported, everything else is off. The body compensates for weak foundations by collapsing to create false walls and floors. With frozen shoulder, for example, these prevent the joint from moving in its optimal range.

The ribcage affects not only what sits on top of it, but also what it squishes and compresses. When you see a picture of the organs in a textbook, you see a perfectly balanced and aligned body. But none of us is perfect, and most are far from it. Let’s consider what happens to the internal organs when we collapse. When the ribcage collapses, the entire weight of what it contains and supports –heart, lungs, thymus, shoulders, arms, head – bears down on the abdominal space. The stomach, pancreas, liver and gallbladder get squished and displaced. Tissue compresses to provide support, blocking blood and oxygen flow.
This affects not only organ function, but also outer form. The internal space required to house the organs is depleted; as a result, tissue protrudes outward. Understanding this is essential to treating obesity.

In a balloon half full of air, if you squeeze one end, the other bulges. This is what is really going on anywhere in the body where we think we have accumulated fat. It isn’t about fat; it’s about displaced fascia.

It makes sense. Even in the absence of lifestyle change, we find it increasingly challenging to keep a flat belly and hourglass figure as we age. Many go to extremes to try to force the body to become what it used to be, without success. The reason is that we are approaching the issue from the wrong perspective.

Secret to a Smaller Waist

When the diaphragm muscle is working as it should, it continually massages the organs. Without this continual action, the organs can’t do their job, and digestive and eliminatory problems arise, a topic for a future blog.

The size and shape of the core is dependent on cellular alignment.

It all comes back to proper posture and breathing.

Being conscious of your posture is so important. This video explains how to be conscious and improve your alignment naturally. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and turn on your notifications while you are there. We appreciate your support. Breathe and Believe.

Understanding Posture with Fluid Isometrics