Introduction

The diaphragm is much more than a breathing muscle—it stands at the threshold between body and mind. In this article, I share insights inspired by Abhijata Iyengar’s classes and references from Light on Yoga, examining how the diaphragm behaves in different groups of asanas. Each pose reveals new possibilities for awareness, breath, and transformation.

In a previous post, I discussed the structure and the function of the diaphragm during normal breathing and in Pranayama. I also prepared a presentation that discusses this matter. You can view or download it here. Other yoga sources discuss the diaphragm and its importance for yoga practice (see, for example, a discussion of the connection of the diaphragm with the health of the lower back and exercises for releasing the diaphragm).

In the previous post mentioned above, I wrote:

“The diaphragm is an amazing muscle; it is a marvel that this muscle operates ceaselessly, from our first inhalation when we come into this world, to our last exhalation when we leave the world! It pumps air continuously 24/7, when we wake up and when we sleep. It never gets tiring. The skeletal muscles that move our bodies cannot work nonstop, and when they get tired, they need quite a lot of time to recover. If the diaphragm gets tired (in aerobic exercises), it is enough to resume normal breathing for a few cycles in order for the diaphragm to recover. It is always ready to serve us!”

The diaphragm continues to fascinate me! It is a wondrous muscle that (as B.K.S. Iyengar wrote), stands at the threshold between body and mind:

“The diaphragm balances our physical and mental bodies. When people suffer from a catastrophe, depression, sorrows and miseries, they say their solar plexus – the navel region – is tight and cramped. Why? What is the medium of our existence? It is the diaphragm. If the diaphragm is cut, can a man survive?
…
The diaphragm is the window of the self. The more tension you have, the more the windows of the diaphragm get closed. If the diaphragm is spread, it takes any load, whether intellectual, emotional or physical. If you shorten it, or harden it, it has no room.”

A student who read my post about the diaphragm shared a very nice image given by Mr. Iyengar: “The diaphragm is the bed of the heart.  What size bed should we offer the King Heart?  A King-size bed – a wide spread diaphragm!”

Let’s explore how we can sense the diaphragm in various asanas and how to keep it widespread.

Sensing the Diaphragm in Asanas

In one of her recent online classes, Abhijata Iyengar (granddaughter of B.K.S. Iyengar) raised the question: “How can we feel the diaphragm?” Since it is an internal muscle we cannot touch or see, how can we become aware of its existence, its function, and its position in various āsanas?

Abhijata asked us to explore this subject. In that class, she demonstrated several āsanas, read references to the diaphragm from Light on Yoga, and discussed them with the students.
I decided to take up this challenge and study the āsanas in which Mr. Iyengar refers to the diaphragm, as well as other related āsanas, more carefully.

The Āsanas section of Light on Yoga—the bulk of the book (pp. 61–424)—mentions several effects of the diaphragm and its role in the performance of āsanas.
I found 15 references to the diaphragm in that part of the book. Here they are:

1. Utkaṭāsana: The diaphragm is lifted up, giving a gentle massage to the heart. (Plate 42)
2. Pādāṅguṣṭhāsana: Keep the head up, stretch the diaphragm towards the chest, and make the back as concave as possible. (Plate 45)
3. Adho Mukha Śvānāsana: The abdominal muscles are drawn towards the spine and strengthened. As the diaphragm is lifted into the chest cavity, the heart rate slows down. This is an exhilarating pose. (Plate 76)
4. Mahā Mudrā: Inhale completely. Tighten the entire abdomen from the anus to the diaphragm. Pull the abdomen back towards the spine and also up towards the diaphragm. (Plate 125)
5. Upaviṣṭha Koṇāsana: Keep the spine erect and extend the ribs. Pull the diaphragm up and hold the pose for a few seconds with deep breaths. (Plate 148)
6. Śīrṣāsana: In the Effects” section: … the region below the diaphragm of tamasic qualities which control sensual. (Plate 190)
7. Parśva Piṇḍāsana in Sarvāṅgāsana: Due to the lateral twist, breathing will be fast and difficult as the diaphragm is pressed in this position. (Plate 270)
8. Ardha Matsyendrāsana I: As the diaphragm is squeezed by the spinal twist, the breathing will at first become short and fast. (Plate 311)
9. Paripūrṇa Matsyendrāsana: Same effect as above. (Plate 339)
10. Mayūrāsana: Rest the diaphragm on the elbows and the chest on the back of the upper arms. (Plate 352) … The diaphragm being pressed, breathing will be laboured. (Plate 354). Also in Haṃsāsana (Plate 356).
11. Bakāsana: Balance on the hands for a few seconds by tightening the muscles in the region of the diaphragm. Try to breathe normally. (Plate 410)
12. Gālavāsana: Exhale, pull the body up by raising the head from the floor, tighten the muscles near the diaphragm, straighten the arms, balance on the hands. (Plates 427 & 433)
13. Eka Pāda Gālavāsana: Since the diaphragm is being pressed, breathing will be fast and laboured.
14. Kapotāsana: Breathing will be very fast and laboured as the diaphragm is fully contracted. In the “Effects”: The diaphragm is lifted up, gently massaging and strengthening the heart. (Plate 512)
15. Dvi Pāda Viparīta Daṇḍāsana: The diaphragm being contracted, breathing will be fast and short. (Plate 515)

I suggest grouping these āsanas into five categories:

• Āsanas in which the diaphragm is lifted: Utkaṭāsana, Pādāṅguṣṭhāsana (concave stage), Adho Mukha Śvānāsana, Mahā Mudrā, and Upaviṣṭha Koṇāsana (concave stage).
• Śīrṣāsana.
• Twists in which the diaphragm is squeezed: Parśva Piṇḍāsana in Sarvāṅgāsana, Ardha Matsyendrāsana I, and Paripūrṇa Matsyendrāsana.
• Arm balances where the instruction is to “tighten the muscles in the region of the diaphragm,” leading to laboured breathing: Mayūrāsana, Bakāsana, and Gālavāsana.
• Backbends in which “the diaphragm is contracted”: Kapotāsana and Dvi Pāda Viparīta Daṇḍāsana.

Discussion of the Groups

The first asana that any Iyengar Yoga student is introduced to is Tāḍāsana. In this basic pose, to which we return again and again, it is essential to maintain a soft and spread diaphragm. Often, students tend to push the lumbar spine forward, thus contracting the posterior side of the diaphragm and creating tension in that muscle. This limits the breath. To correct it, align your pelvis by moving your thighs back, your buttocks down, and your tailbone forward. Do not push the lumbar spine forward when opening the chest. These instructions are valid for many other poses. If we want our postures to be āsanas , there must be breathing, and for that, the diaphragm must be soft.

Lifting and Opening the Chest

Lifting and opening the chest is an instruction one often hears in Iyengar Yoga classes. This action involves the diaphragm since it is connected to the ribs and the xiphoid (the bottom of the sternum). When we stretch our arms to lift the chest, we feel the diaphragm “lifted up,” which “gives a gentle massage to the heart.”

This effect is mentioned in Light on Yoga for Utkaṭāsana, but clearly applies to many more āsanas. In that class, Abhijata asked us to note the difference between Ūrdhva Hastāsana (arms stretched up, parallel) and Ūrdhva Namskārāsana (palms joined). It was revealing and surprising. The difference was very evident once she drew our attention to it. The action of joining the palms in Ūrdhva Namskārāsana significantly lifts the chest and the diaphragm. I found myself wondering how, after more than 40 years of practice, I had never felt this effect. But this is the magic of āsana practice—every day brings new sensations, discoveries, and insights. The field is endless, and there is always more to explore.

The effect of Ūrdhva Namskārāsana mentioned for Utkaṭāsana, however, is not unique for this pose. Ūrdhva Namskārāsana is also practiced in Vŗksāṣana and Vīrabhadrāsana I & III. The same effect holds for these three poses. In Utkaṭāsana, the downward movement of the pelvis intensifies this effect. This also happens in Vīrabhadrāsana I.

This same movement of the diaphragm happens in asanas in which the spine is elongated and the back is concave. Mr. Iyengar mentioned four such asanas (2 to 5 in the list above), but clearly, in many more forward extensions, the first stage is elongating the spine and making it concave. Therefore, most forward bends involve lifting the diaphragm as part of the process of entering the pose.

Abhijata especially emphasized the importance of lifting the organs, including the diaphragm, before sucking the belly inward, in Mahā Mudrā.

The Diaphragm in Śīrṣāsana

The next pose I want to discuss is Śīrṣāsana. I don’t recall Abhijata explaining this, but I find that the diaphragm plays a major role in Śīrṣāsana. In the pose, the diaphragm assumes the shape of a large basket, and the abdominal organs are drawn into this basket by gravity. If one manages to relax the abdomen in the pose, each exhalation stretches the fibers of the diaphragm. One can increase this effect by exhaling deeper and pausing at the end of the exhalation to do Uddiyana Kriya (a gentle sucking of the belly in).

When one inhales, the diaphragm lifts, and it lifts the abdominal organs. This strengthens this major muscle and also massages the organs. Hence, Śīrṣāsana is a very important pose for the diaphragm as well as for digestion.

In the twisting group, “the diaphragm is squeezed by the spinal twist; the breathing will at first become short and fast.” Light on Yoga mentions this effect in two twists (8 and 9 in the above list), but clearly other twists, like Marīchyāsana III, have the same effect.

Despite the strong squeezing, which at first limits the breath. I find that the challenge in these poses is to soften the body (and the mind) and to find space for the breath. Only then will you be able to stay in the pose without struggle.

Somewhat different is the effect of Parsva Pindāsana in Sarvāṅgāsana, since it involves not only a lateral twist, but also bending the body and being upside-down. This has a very strong effect on the digestion.

The next group is arm balancing. I find that to be able to hold these poses without too much muscular force, one has to lift the inner organs. Again, an action of Uddiyana is required. Especially in Bakāsana, after going up to the pose, straightening the arms comes much easier by lifting the organs and the diaphragm into the back.

The Diaphragm in Back Bends

The final group is back-bending. Again, in Light on Yoga, I found references to two asanas (13 and 14 in the list), but there is no reason why other backbends won’t create a similar effect, in which: “The diaphragm being contracted, breathing will be fast and short.” This is a bit harder to comprehend; we need to consider the dome shape of the diaphragm. To inhale, we contract the muscles of the diaphragm, and this pulls the central tendon down (see again the structure and function of the diaphragm). However, in a strong backbend, the diaphragm becomes almost flat, and as a result, the lungs are stretched, so both the diaphragm and the lungs lose their elasticity.

Here too, breathing can improve by softening and relaxing into the pose. I cannot do a full Kapotāsana, but in less challenging poses, like Ūrdhva Dhanurāsana and Dwi Pāda Viparita Daṇḍāsana, I feel that initially the breathing is fast and short, but by staying in the pose and relaxing as much as possible, breathing improves.

Summary

Here I share the “homework” given by Abhijata and my observations on the action of the diaphragm, and how it behaves in different poses. There is much more to explore, and I invite you, the reader, to delve into this subject and make your own discoveries. I would be very happy to receive your insights and feedback!