ANATOMY: freeing the front of the breath

By polishing up our awareness and understanding of the breastbone, the breath begins to flow effortlessly through a rediscovered space.

The movement of your ribs during breathing practice may be a familiar sensation for you, particularly the flaring at your sides, and maybe the spread and release over your back. Zooming into the specifics of your breastbone may not be so familiar, however you might find it useful in freeing the movement of breath through the front of your chest in a way that does not feel as if you are puffing up like a pigeon! Let me walk you through the terrain.

Floral anatomy: Lungs. Via Canva

1. MAPPING THE BONES, FIRST STEPS: MANUBRIUM

In the images below you will see (i) which ribs connect to the sternum and where, (ii) spot the location of the lungs and diaphragm inside the space made by the ribs, and (iii) get a closer view on where your heart lies in relation to the lungs, diaphragm and the sternum alone.

Using your fingertips, find your collar bones and walk lightly along them towards the soft notch at the base of your throat (the suprasternal notch). Here, your finger tips can rest on the top of your sternum, or more precisely on your manubrium bone. If you explore that ridge, you will feel a shallow dip, and if you walk your finger tips away from the centre of the dip you arrive back at the joints with your collar bones (clavicles). These are the joints that connect your arms to your main/axial skeleton and they transmit movements between the arms and the spine. They’re tiny aren’t they? when you think about how long your arms are!

If you were to then step your fingers down from your collar bones you will end up feeling another pair of bones which are your first pair of ribs. Notice in the second image below that the top of your lungs peep behind these ribs, so your breathing will always be gently rocking the manubrium and collar bones, and it might be that you also discover the soft sensations of filling and emptying in the region of the armpits.

Sternum, Lungs, Heart, Diaphragm

2. NEXT STEPS: STERNAL BODY

Now, bring your finger tips back onto the manubrium itself, press gently and walk your way down a couple of centimetres where you will find a change in the terrain: it might show up as a distinct depression or ridge. Either way, you are now at the sternal angle, a strong fibrocartilaginous joint between your manubrium and the main part of your breastbone, the sternal body. This is a clear marker also for your second pair of ribs.

The presence of this joint permits a degree of flexibility and shape-changing at the front of your ribs. Try resting two fingers on the joint and breathe softly to feel it respond.

3. MOVING ON: THE XIPHOID

From the sternal angle, walk your finger tips down the body of the sternum noticing the various junctions that connect to your ribs. Eventually you will reach the end of the bony sensation telling you that you have arrived at the tip of your breastbone, at the xiphoid process. You could also find your way to it by walking your finger tips up from your waist following the curve of your lowest ribs and at the apex of that journey you will again be at the xiphoid.

Over time, maybe 40 years, this structure will gradually transform from cartilage to bone (an ossification process) so the sensation you notice under your fingertips will differ depending where you are in the timeline of your bones.

Notice that the xiphoid forms another joint with the body of the sternum. Xiphoid, by the way, comes from the Greek xiphos, which is a double-edged short sword used by the ancient Greeks and Spartans. When I look a these artefacts, I personally find a representation of the whole sternum in the shape of the blade (clavicles resembling the crossguard or quillon), not just here at the tip.

Pigeon (Canva), Xiphos (Pinterest), Breathing (Canva)

4. TRACKING THE BREATH

So, now you have a felt sense of the component bones of your sternum and the location of the joints. Remember, wherever a joint exists there is potential for movement and these particular joints affect the shapes we create for the breath at the front of our body.

Come back to your breathing and maybe orient yourself through the familiar movement of your ribs checking all the way around: front, sides and back. Then:

• Focus your attention behind the manubrium and you may have a sense of your inhalation reaching across the top of the chest towards your shoulders and the exhalation falling back to the centre.

• Then, shift your attention behind the body of the sternum, noticing how it lifts on the wave of your in-breath and falls again on your out-breath; the lower part having more lift that the upper. You may also have a sense of your breath beginning to reach around the middle section of your rib cage.

• Finally, and I love this little reference point, bring your attention behind the xiphoid and you may well discover that it shifts forward as you breath in and shifts backward as you breath out. Remember, it is a direct attachment point for your diaphragm so it is highly responsive to the actions of breathing. From this vantage point, the movement of the lower ribs may become clearer.

When you have explored these three steps, come back to a more global awareness of breathing and notice if anything has changed for you about the shape, flow, or quality of your breathing experience.

5. THE SACRUM & COCCYX OF THE UPPER BODY

I’m going to leave with you some thoughts that I will expand on in the Companion Notes and that is to ask you to consider the shape, location, and function of the manubrium, sternal body, and xiphoid in relation to the ribs and upper limbs. Is it possible to imagine it taking on a similar role to the sacrum and coccyx and their relationship to the pelvis and lower limbs?

And, what kind of relationship do these structures make themselves in relation to the way we arrange the body, and move and breathe? I would love to hear your thoughts.

I hope you’ve found this focus on the sternum interesting and useful, I’ve loved sharing it with you.

*Premium subscribers to my Field Notes From the Body have access to my Companion Notes which includes my Pinterest boards, Spotify playlists, and guided audio and video practices.

Did you find this interesting? Useful? Want to explore further? Then please consider a paid subscription for access to COMPANION NOTES and SPECIAL EDITIONS including: guided movement enquiries, image collections, playlists, and journaling prompts. You can also join me in the COMMENTS and the CHATS. It’s just like buying me a cup of coffee.

I’m hugely grateful for each investment in supporting my time, thought and work. And, please do share this post to friends and colleagues. THANK YOU.