Why Your Diaphragm Has More to Do With Your Menstrual Cycle Than You Might Think

I once had a client who spent a lot of time tracking and optimising all the processes in her body. She wore a smartwatch that sent her all kinds of interesting graphs and insights about her body every day. “I saw that after our session, my heart rate variability was the highest it had been in years,” she messaged me the day after our first session.

I had to smile when I read it, because heart rate variability indicates how well your nervous system is able to shift and adapt. And supporting that balance is one of the most valuable things womb massage has to offer. So it wasn’t surprising that her watch immediately registered an improvement.

How does stress affect your nervous system?

To understand how this works, we first need to look at the structure of the body. Your abdomen and chest are separated by the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a large muscle that drives your breathing. When it contracts, it moves downwards and creates a vacuum in your chest. This vacuum draws air into your lungs. When the diaphragm relaxes again, it springs back upwards and air is pushed out of your lungs.

This is an automatic process regulated by your nervous system. When you are relaxed, you breathe differently from when you are rushing or physically exerting yourself. Your body needs different things in those moments, and your heart, lungs and muscles adapt accordingly.

Normally, this is a continuous process of adjustment. When you are relaxed, your body adapts to that state. If you suddenly have to run for the train, your body becomes more activated again. You can see this reflected in healthy heart rate variability: a healthy variation in the timing between your heartbeats.

When you experience chronic stress, however, your body can become stuck in a state of unhealthy activation—also known as the fight-or-flight response—or deactivation, which may take the form of freezing or collapse. Your physiological processes no longer alternate naturally. Instead, they remain either excessively activated or much too slow.

In the case of your breathing, this may mean that you begin to breathe much more shallowly and that the tension quite literally settles into your diaphragm. This can directly affect your hormonal and menstrual cycle.

How is the diaphragm connected to menstrual and cycle symptoms?

Here is why. When you look at the anatomy of the diaphragm, you can see three main openings in this large muscle. One allows the oesophagus to pass through, so food can travel from your throat to your stomach. The other two accommodate the aorta, which carries oxygen-rich blood from your heart to the organs in your abdomen, and the inferior vena cava, which carries oxygen-poor blood from your abdomen back towards your heart.

The aortic opening has a firm structure and is not significantly affected by your breathing. The other openings, however, are structurally connected to the diaphragm. If you hold a lot of tension in your diaphragm, this can affect those openings as well. When the diaphragm moves and opens less freely, the same may be true of these openings.

The result? You may feel as though you have no appetite—that familiar “nervous stomach”—or as if there is a permanent lump in your throat. Blood may have more difficulty flowing back from the organs in your abdomen towards your heart, which can increase muscular tension in the abdomen. You may experience bloating or a constant feeling of tightness in your upper abdomen. The stress this creates can then lead to even more tension in your nervous system, producing an endless feedback loop.

This is problematic for many reasons. For women who already experience menstrual or cycle symptoms, including women living with endometriosis, PCOS or perimenopause, it may aggravate their existing symptoms. This is not because stress or abdominal tension causes these conditions. It is because your nervous system and digestive system both play a role in how hormones are regulated and broken down.

Your gut—or, more precisely, the bacteria living there—plays an important role in how your body processes oestrogen. When chronic tension interferes with gut function, it may push a hormonal system that is already under pressure further off course.

How does womb massage affect your nervous system?

One of the most important parts of the abdominal and womb massage I offer is massaging the diaphragm. With about half of the women who lie on my table, I immediately notice how much attention this area needs. Their diaphragm feels like a hard, tight band that is difficult to get moving.

The beautiful thing is that some movement always begins to return. This does not happen by forcing the body. I work with the breath and, with every exhalation, explore how far the body itself is willing to open.

My work does not end on the massage table. At the end of the initial session, I also teach you how to massage your own diaphragm. Because that may be the most important part of what I do: you do not become dependent on me for your health. Instead, you learn how to use your own hands to read your body and offer yourself the care you need.

At the end of a session, I always see my clients open their eyes from a state of deep relaxation. It is often the first time in a long while that they have been able to experience that side of their nervous system again. I then ask them to place their hands on their abdomen and notice what it feels like.

Because once you can truly recognise that state of deep relaxation in your body, you can also begin to notice sooner when it is time to seek it out again.

Want to know more? Book a free introductory call here:

https://www.francoisemolenaar.com/abdominal-therapy