Anatomy, breath and movement for cultivating healthy containment, comfort, and balanced tone in the pelvic floor.
Please read the text below in conjunction with the experiential video above. (Content advisory: This post involves specific anatomy and movement of the pelvic floor.)
Pelvic and thoracic diaphragms work in harmony. Although the thoracic diaphragm is often referred to as the breathing diaphragm, the pelvic diaphragm is its most important partner in deep breathing.
In fact, the pelvic diaphragm is a critical player in drawing the movement of breath all the way through our torsos. Connecting through its musculofascial weave with its partner above—thoracic diaphragm—it contains the base of our torso and provides the root of our breath.
It offers resilience and support to the organs above and its sensitive tissues are intimately involved in full breathing. Not usually thought of as a breathing diaphragm, we may as well think of it as such since it is so important to the fullness of whole body breathing.
The thoracic and pelvic diaphragms are united and move in unison. As the thoracic diaphragm widens on inhalation, so does the pelvic diaphragm. They simultaneously narrow on exhalation. Hardened pelvic muscles can restrict the movement and equally, collapsed muscles don't allow the movement of breath to follow its full natural path. Balanced tone in the pelvic diaphragm assists the spreading of breath’s liveliness and connectivity through the length of the torso.
Exactly how the pelvic floor moves as we breathe has been the subject of some controversy. My perceptions have evolved over years and most recently have been guided by my primary teacher, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen of the School for Body-Mind-Centering®. These insights are consistent with yogic anatomy and physiology as well.
Keep an open mind as I present my experience here and in the video above. This is likely not what you have been taught.1
Here goes:
As you inhale, the pelvic floor widens and domes upward.
As you exhale, pelvic floor muscles condense and settle back down.
The thoracic diaphragm's movement above is an exact mirror image of the pelvic diaphragm's movement below.
These two synchronized diaphragms dome toward one another on inhalation and they dome away from one another on exhalation.
Navel Flooding Breath We call this technique Navel Flooding Breath. In Navel Flooding Breath it is the space of the back abdominal wall that widens as the lungs fill — rather than the front abdomen doming forward, which is the case with a traditional abdominal breath.2 (Diagram of Navel Flooding Breath below.)
With each inhaling breath these diaphragms apply pressure into the abdominal cavity from above and below. As the diaphragms dome away from one another on exhalation the extra pressure in the abdominal cavity is released. The movement massages and pulses the contents of the abdomen giving them a squeeze and release with each breath. This rhythmic churning bathes the organs in fresh blood, contributing to their health and suppleness.
Compression and release, compression and release. Everything likes to move. In yogic physiology and movement the balanced tone and resilience here is related to the skillful practice of mulabandha3
For this beautiful organization to find the delicacy and precision of subtle breath, the thoracic and pelvic diaphragms need to be supplely connected and properly toned—neither collapsed nor hardened.
Tone is the condition of readiness to respond. Tone is not a state of muscular contraction. It is the state of easy readiness.
When the pelvic and thoracic diaphragms are properly toned and responsive, their unified movement can be profoundly integrating to core body.
How can I find this for myself? To accomplish this for ourselves we need to be willing to explore new ideas. Pay attention and inquire. Does your breath get all the way to your pelvic floor? What does that even mean? Can you feel breath move along your spine? Explore with the videos and on your own. Let me know what you think and how it feels!
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In what is commonly called an abdominal breath, the pelvic floor will often move in the opposite directions (down on inhale and upward on exhale). I am not maintaining that this isn’t the case, or that a common abdominal breath is not useful in itself. What I am suggesting is that a fuller breath - what we might call a yogic breath is different, in fact opposite.
Mulabandha is the process of toning and balancing the structures of the pelvic floor. It is a key action for maintaining ones life force and vitality within the body. It forms the root of the breath. Mulabandha is a muscular, fascial, and energetic action that starts in the perineum and rises upward to what we call the pit of the belly. Skillful mulabandha assists the coalescing of life force in the "pit of the belly" and is part of what draws breath deep into the pelvis and the back of the abdomen.
I think this can be experienced from an all fours position, in a modified child pose, head lifted, forearms to the floor. The belly pressing into the thighs gives you one less thing to think about.
I love this also Patty. I'm glad I found you here. Thanks so much for your generosity. Moving away from ideas of strength vs flexibility and towards resilience. You've given me lots to work with.
I think this can be experienced from an all fours position, in a modified child pose, head lifted, forearms to the floor. The belly pressing into the thighs gives you one less thing to think about.
I love this also Patty. I'm glad I found you here. Thanks so much for your generosity. Moving away from ideas of strength vs flexibility and towards resilience. You've given me lots to work with.