In The Apple Tree

The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle below the ribcage. When one tenses the diaphragm it flattens and the belly gets bigger. That downward movement sucks air in and that’s how we breathe. At least that’s how we breathe if we breathe with our diaphragms.

Last night I lay flat on my back on the bed and I tensed my diaphragm but ‘refused’ as it were to allow my body to take in a breath.

I kept on tensing my diaphragm and eventually that overrode my resistance to letting in air. Something at the back of my throat flipped open and the breath came in. I am not recommending it as a way to breathe, but it was interesting to get to know a bit more about how my body works.