To welcome the new year I’d like to share an exchange I had around this time last year with Steve Elliot from Coherence Breathing. Our email correspondence was about the movement of the diaphragm in connection with the upright posture. He’d just sent me the new issue of his online magazine Swan & Stone which had sparked off questions I’d had about this for some time.
From: Nicola Caroli [mailto:hallo@nicolacaroli.com] Sent: Friday, December 30, 2016 2:56 AM To: steve.elliott@coherence.com Subject: Re: Swan & Stone, Volume 1, Issue 15: The Breathing State Of Mind
Dear Stephen,
as always I enjoyed reading your new issue. I have a question to the following statement:
“In September 2010 I asserted the theory that in land dwelling vertebrates, the evolution and sophistication of the diaphragm follows uprightness – the degree to which the head is carried above the chest and the chest is carried above the legs, where the more erect, the more prone the blood is to pooling due to gravity.”
Could you explain how the diaphragm follows horizontality in four legged mammals as opposed to the verticality in humans, so that your point becomes even clearer to me by comparison?
I look forward to your reply.
Best wishes, Nicola
Am 30.12.2016 um 13:14 schrieb Stephen Elliott <steve.elliott@coherence.com>:
Good morning Nicola,
It’s probably easiest to explain by having a look at this article:
http://www.coherence.com/coherence_newsletter_september_2010.pdf
I have X-ray images of the breathing apparatus in the snake, alligator, turtle, lizard, etc.
I assert that evolution of the diaphragm follows uprightness because of the imperative to manage blood flow against the force of gravity.
That breathing is primarily a circulatory function during which gas exchange occurs,i.e. circulatory effectiveness and ultimately health depend on its operation,
so that blood circulates effectively even with gravity acting on the vertical body.
Best,
Steve
COHERENCE – The New Science Of Breath
www.coherence.com
From: Nicola Caroli [mailto:hallo@nicolacaroli.com] Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2017 12:37 PM To: Stephen Elliott <steve.elliott@coherence.com> Subject: Re: Swan & Stone, Volume 1, Issue 15: The Breathing State Of Mind
Hi Steve,
thanks so much for your reply. I do follow your argument, my question was about 4 legged mammals like dogs, cats or cows whose heads are more or less stream lined with the rest of the body. Is their diaphragm less developed than the human diaphragm? I find that hard to believe. Or asked differently: what impact has the horizontal direction of the diaphragm in four legged mammals and how exactly does it differ from humans in evolution? It seems to me when I’m on all fours my diaphragm automatically works so much better (most likely due to better mobility and stretching of the torso) than when I’m standing up. Anyway, I very much appreciate that you answered at all.
Best wishes and happy new year,
Nicola
Am 03.01.2017 um 03:46 schrieb Stephen Elliott <steve.elliott@coherence.com>:
Hi Nicola,
My theory is that it is the job of the diaphram and “thoracic pump” of which it is part, to assure healthful circulation to the brain and from the legs against the force of gravity.
I suggest that you Google on the breathing apparatus/organs of:
1) snake
2) alligator/lizard
3) frog
4) small mammal
5) dog
6) horse
7) human
8) giraffe
and see what you find out.
That way you can determine for yourself the validity of the theory.
I anticipate having a look at the Valslava Wave in a giraffe’s head soon.
We attempted it a few weeks ago but she (the giraffe) refused to enter the giraffe house.
It is now rescheduled for the last week in January.
I anticipate that it will be about the same as a humans.
Best wishes for 2017 to you.
Steve
COHERENCE – The New Science Of Breath
www.coherence.com
From: Nicola Caroli [mailto:hallo@nicolacaroli.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2017 1:34 PM To: Stephen Elliott <steve.elliott@coherence.com> Subject: Re: Swan & Stone, Volume 1, Issue 15: The Breathing State Of Mind
Thanks a lot for your answer and I will research as you suggested.
Best wishes to you for the new year, too.
Nicola
Am 05.01.2017 um 01:28 schrieb Stephen Elliott <steve.elliott@coherence.com>:
Evening Nicola,
So to be clear, I’m saying that the role of what I have termed the “thoracic pump” is to move blood upward against gravity to an optimal degree for the animal of interest.
Where the more erect, the more burden is placed on the thoracic pump due to gravity.
So the construct of the chest wall, diaphragm, heart, and lungs is optimized via evolution to yield the optimal outcome for the animal.
Now it is probably also true that this same construct is optimized around the animal for other reasons as well, including speed, breath holding, etc., but I am particularly interested in human circulatory effectiveness where I know that 1/3 of the adult
population suffers from essential hypertension – which is nothing more than circulatory malfunction due to sub-optimal movement of the diaprhagm.
And there is huge evidence that the mind comes along for the ride: good and bad.
Best,
Steve
COHERENCE – The New Science Of Breath
www.coherence.com
From: Nicola Caroli [mailto:hallo@nicolacaroli.com] Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2017 5:41 AM To: Stephen Elliott <steve.elliott@coherence.com> Subject: Re: Swan & Stone, Volume 1, Issue 15: The Breathing State Of Mind
Hi Stephen,
thanks so much. I’m slowly getting there. As I said I’m not questioning your argument in any way, I’m just trying to understand it. It helped me when you talked about the purpose of the evolution of the thoracic pump being „to yield the optimal outcome for the animal“. I can definitely see that this works for four legged animals. But how are we as humans supposed to live, how are we supposed to spend our days? Or, asked differently, what did evolution have in mind for us when it developed the human thoracic pump? Why place this heavy burden on the human creature, for what purpose? Moving like a fish, a lizard or a cat seems just so much more effective, connected to the respective environments. For most of us humans the evolutionary plan seems not to be working. So many people have venous problems, heart problems, hypertension in a large part due to breathing unnaturally and not letting the thoracic pump do its job. It seems to me there can’t be natural breathing in the unnatural lives most people are living, only an approximation of it, moments. As you can see I’m bit lost in existential questions but then breathing is existential, so why not…
Best, Nicola
Am 06.01.2017 um 02:21 schrieb Stephen Elliott <steve.elliott@coherence.com>:
Evening Nicola,
As I said in Swan & Stone, V2, Issue 1,
I think humanity has evolved to be erect in that
our erectness empowers the brain in a way so as
to facilitate the human mind and at the same time
frees the hands to create.
But I offer, realizing our potential in this regard
comes with the price of managing diaphragm movement
consciously.
Steve
COHERENCE – The New Science Of Breath
www.coherence.com
From: Nicola Caroli [mailto:hallo@nicolacaroli.com] Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2017 10:10 AM To: Stephen Elliott <steve.elliott@coherence.com> Subject: Re: Swan & Stone, Volume 1, Issue 15: The Breathing State Of Mind
Evening Steve,
thank you for your response. I’m very grateful you take the time to consider my questions. Yes, it’s the price I’m talking about/grappling with. Thanks for your input. It made the problem clearer for me: so when we do „natural“ breath work we are essentially dealing with something we lost, we’re reconnecting and in that sense „natural“ breathwork is a religious practice. And it’s a question of what we focus on: the loss – retracing our steps as much as we’re able – or the new life – creating a breathing science with guidelines for breathing behavior, and as usual, I guess, the best thing we can do is find a balance.
Thanks so much for conversing with me and best wishes,
Nicola
Am 08.01.2017 um 17:27 schrieb Stephen Elliott <steve.elliott@coherence.com>:
Morning Nicola,
Yes, this is the way I see it.
That humankind has evolved to be erect and
holding of our heads high is part of what
yields our humanity, our minds, our creative
abilities.
The practice of Wuji Qi Gong makes this
completely apparent.
Looking at it from a Shaivist point of view,
a function of humanity is to create.
Music is perhaps the best example of what
the human mind is capable of doing.
But it must be “turned on” via posture and
breathing in combination, which cultivates “Shen”.
Yes, the price we must pay for our erectness
and freedom of hands is being mindful of our
diaphragm activity.
If we are, we can aspire to great heights.
If we’re not, it opens us up to circulatory
malfunction and disease.
I shall write an article about it.
Steve
COHERENCE – The New Science Of Breath
www.coherence.com