Free Your Sternal Joints for Ease of Movement and Breath

The sternum has three bones. Many of us move as if there is just one bone, which restricts our movement and breath.

Finding the articulation of the joints between the bones of the sternum allows us to have greater range of motion in our thorax. In this clip, we explore this in forward and backward bending and in its relationship to breathing.

When I was younger, it was painful for me to take a deep breath. In the many years I’ve spent exploring the breathing process, one of the main things I found was that my xiphoid process (the bottom bone of the sternum) was pulled inward.

By freeing my xiphoid process so that it can move independently, coordinating its movement with my breathing, and freeing my ribs from holding at their connections to the sternum, I am now able to breathe deeply without pain.

In this clip, we also explore the connection between the xiphoid process and the pubic disk in the front of the body with the coccyx (tail) in the back of the body to root the movement of the sternum and spine into our feet.

This video is from my on-demand course Embodying Authenticity, Organicity, and Expression: Organs and Glands as a Foundation for Movement, Touch, and Voice.