Movement of the ribs. I left out the word “cage” because it’s feels so limiting. Ribs move up and down and in and out when we let them. They are connected to the spine at joints in the back and are mostly flexible cartilage in the front. The image below shows the difference in position between ribs at inhale and ribs at exhale. You can also see a line for the the diaphragm. It’s more dome shaped on the inhale and ‘s’ curved on the exhale. Notice how the diaphragm moves very little at the midline and more as it moves away from the midline. The ribs are labeled 1-10 (ribs 11 and 12 are in the back and not shown here). Starting at rib 1, look at how much each rib can move. See how far rib 10 on inhale is away from rib 10 on exhale? The image you are looking at is smaller than life size, so take that into account as well.

Our ribs serve to protect our heart and lungs and assist breathing, but that doesn’t mean they can’t move in all kinds of ways.

Next we’ll refresh and remind ourselves why an accurate bodymap is important.