The Muscle You Breathe With — and Still Forget to Use

My Dear Reader,

There is one muscle I meet every day in clinic — not because it’s tight, but because it’s tired, confused, and doing a job it was never meant to do alone.

It’s the diaphragm.

Most people know it as a breathing muscle.In reality, it is also one of the most important postural stabilisers in the human body.

At JANMI Soft Tissue Therapy in Marylebone, the diaphragm is one of the first “sleepers” we assess when someone presents with modern postural pain.

What and where is the diaphragm?

Anatomically, the diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that sits between the rib cage and the abdomen.It attaches to the lower ribs, sternum, and lumbar spine, and forms the roof of the abdominal cavity.

Its design is elegant:

• It moves with every breath

• It helps manage pressure inside the trunk

• It cooperates with deep abdominals, pelvic floor, and spinal stabilisers

When it works well, posture feels effortless.When it doesn’t, the body compensates — loudly.

Why does the diaphragm “fall asleep” in modern life?

Modern breathing is often:

• Shallow

• Upper-chest dominant

• Driven by stress rather than movement

Long sitting, screen focus, bracing habits, and constant low-level anxiety slowly teach the body to breathe without moving.

The diaphragm stops descending fully.Ribs stop expanding naturally.The nervous system stays in “on” mode.

And once again, a JANMI pattern appears:a sleeping stabiliser replaced by overworking guards.

Neck muscles lift the rib cage.Lumbar extensors brace.Hip flexors grip.Breath becomes effort instead of support.

Where this shows up clinically

A poorly functioning diaphragm often hides behind:

• Chronic neck and shoulder tension

• Persistent lower back pain

• Rib stiffness

• Pelvic instability

• Jaw clenching and shallow breathing

• Feeling “tight everywhere” without a clear reason

The danger is not lack of oxygen.It’s loss of coordination and pressure control.

The JANMI focus

At JANMI, we don’t teach breathing as a relaxation trick.We restore it as a load-sharing strategy.

We look at:

• Can the diaphragm descend and expand 360°?

• Does it cooperate with the deep abdominals and pelvic floor?

• Is it calm enough to support posture, not just survival?

Only then do we introduce simple, precise reactivation drills — short, quiet, and bodyweight-based.

Not more effort.Better timing.

A note on exercises

Yes, breathing-based exercises can be powerful — and yes, they are often done poorly.

At JANMI, they are:

• introduced gradually

• paired with soft tissue release

• adapted to each nervous system

A quiet closing thought

You don’t need to breathe more.You need to breathe better.

And when the diaphragm wakes up, many other muscles quietly follow.

Warmly,Paulius Jurasius

JANMI Soft Tissue Therapy, Marylebone