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One element of breathing that we can learn to use is to create space in the body
with the breath. The area most obvious for many is the space that exists between
the hips and the rib cage. This space is lost over time because of the lack of
any information on how to restore the length of the muscles between the upper
and lower body. In fact we are presented with exercises, like sit ups, or
promoted exercises, that ask us to build wash board stomachs, which only reduce
the space between the upper and lower body. This has a price tag for a look that
is erroneous, to me, since the internal space is reduced and secondly our long
term health suffers.
Drawings by Bernard S. Albinus.
By learning to expand the upper body off of the hips we can acquire the erect and dignified look we would also like to have. The many ways this also affects the neuro-muscular health of the body-mind may be speculative however, we can draw from the contemporary thinking that link are wholeness to everything we do for self-development with the body.
Viewing the wonderful drawings of Albinus we
can see the space between the ribs and the hip girdle as well as all the spaces
of the ribcage itself. The beauty of this drawing also depicts the graceful
movement of the body in motion as though
gravity is not impinging its supposed
force on the skeleton.
Whenever people bring a back problem to me, what I will focus their attention on is expansion of the ribs off of the hips and in turn elongating the lumbar portion of the spine. Having solved major back problems, many which are from 15 to 20 years old in up to 4 sessions, this has become an important tool for me to present. For avoiding potential problems that may arise, from digestive disorders, to weight gain to ordinary tensions, creating internal space has been the ticket. The resultant feelings of doing this expansive exploration is generally one of being lighter and feeling more youthful.
Previously I gave a Breathing session in the blogs that presents an ideal position for getting a feeling for expanding the upper body away from the lower body. This can also be vied as stretching the muscles that intersect between the upper and lower body with the help of the breath.
The instructions are:
Lying in the position pictured in the Breathing Session, take in a deep breath that feels like it is lifting the whole ribcage, front and back. Sustain this lift by only letting out a little breath and then taking in more. Maintaining the breathing pattern of expansive breath in, a little out, will accomplish the stretch you are looking for. At some point you can use the lift of the shoulders towards the ears to assist in the process.
What ever the thoughts say about this, persist. Doing this for 15 to twenty minutes will give you the direct experience of elongation you are producing via momentum. At some point you may find that the body will pick up on this pattern and take over in an intuitive way and change the pattern or way it works with the feelings of opening. Once you are comfortable with this exploration you can even try to maintain the stretch or lift while walking.
Breathing in this fashion we are using breath to create space rather then to calm the system of body-mind. Yet, in the long run the muscles lying as designed by nature will have a calming or peaceful affect on us. This can also make other breathing practices more interesting and informative.
*Pictures from the book Albinus on Anatomy by Robert Hale & Terence Coyle
The Day Sky
Let us be like
two falling stars in the day sky.
Let no one know of our sublime beauty
as we hold hands with god
and burn
into a sacred existence that defies --
That surpasses
every description of ecstasy
and love.
--Hafiz
Peace
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