Breath
Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale-it takes no effort or attention to just breathe. But is your breath effective? Is it bringing the correct amount of oxygen to your cells? Is it efficient at getting rid of the waste your cells need to release? Can your breath calm you down, rev you up, or help decrease tension in your thorax? Inhales and exhales can do all of these things if you start to bring awareness and purpose to the act of breathing!
Breath is the first Pilates Principle and is important to connect with in order to set your course toward the other five: concentration, centering, control, precision, and flow. Breath is the initiating and integrating force behind the movements of the Pilates Method, so its significance cannot be underestimated.
In Pilates, the goal of the breath is to deliver oxygen to the cells, expand the body’s internal environment, create mobility and stability in the rib cage and thoracic spine, and give a framework and tempo to the movements we perform. Pilates breath has striking similarities to, yet is vastly different from, yoga breath. In Pilates, we practice mindful attention and purposeful placement and timing of our breath. Just as in yoga, we learn to inhale and exhale for specific time periods and with varying tempos. As instructors, we use breath to create the class atmosphere—whether fast or slow, relaxed or vigorous. We use breath to help students find the rhythm for each particular exercise and to link a continuous chain of movements together, transitioning smoothly from one motion to the next.
Distinct from yoga, where the intent is to expand the thorax and draw in air to acquire and move prana (life force) into the body’s energetic pathways (nadis), Pilates breath focuses on expanding the front, sides, and back of the lower torso and ribcage. This specific placement encourages and assists in the eccentric contraction of the core musculature. When we become adept at this type of breath, we know that our core muscles can continue to support us as we move our torso and limbs into more difficult and challenging sequences. Another benefit of this sideways and backward breath is that it hones the mind/body or neuromuscular connection to the muscles that support and mobilize the ribs and thorax. This, in turn, creates more space for our breath and internal organs. By practicing 360-degree breathing techniques, we can increase breath capacity, release tight muscles in and around our torso, and maintain strength in our abdominals.
Whether you are new to Classical Pilates or have been practicing for a while, understand that this type of breathing is a conscious, purposeful practice. It doesn’t happen in one day or even in one week. It’s a skill that one continues to work on throughout a lifetime of Pilates.
Here, I will describe some techniques that will greatly improve your experience and mastery of functional breathing. The first is simply to bring awareness to breath itself. The second is to practice fundamental tempo changes for your inhalations and exhalations. The third is to begin placing the breath purposefully into often overlooked areas of rigidity or tension within the thorax.
To begin with awareness, lie on your back with knees bent and feet approximately 3–4 inches apart, parallel, aligning your knees, ankles, and feet with the middle of your hip creases. Rest your arms beside your torso with palms up. Start by noticing your breath without changing its tempo or depth. Breathe in through your nose and out through an open mouth with a relaxed jaw. Imagine warming your hands on a cold winter’s day as you allow the breath to float out of your lungs. Do this for about ten breaths. Then, rest your palms flat on your front abdomen, one hand above your navel and the other just below it. Feel how your abdomen rises and falls as your hands move up and down with each breath; continue for another ten breaths.
Next, move on to a simple tempo change by breathing in for a count of two and out for a count of two, working up to inhaling and exhaling evenly for a count of ten and back down to two. Continue inhaling through your nose and exhaling through an open jaw, mindfully controlling the timing and rate of each breath. After practicing even-tempo breathing, allow your inhales and exhales to become asymmetrical: breathe in for one count, out for nine; in for two counts, out for eight, working your way to an even inhale for five and exhale for five. Then stretch the length of the inspirations up to nine while the exhalations move toward a count of one. Does inhaling longer stimulate or subdue you? What about longer exhales—how do they affect your mood or psyche? Pay attention to how these breath patterns influence you, as you can use them to manipulate sensations in your body, from energizing to calming.
Lastly, purposefully place the breath to the sides and back by minimizing forward movement of the abdomen. Try to keep your hands still on the front while encouraging movement into the other areas of your torso. Use a gentle drawing-in or engagement of the abdominal muscles during your inhales to facilitate side and back expansion of the air. Breathe your bottom-most ribs into the surface beneath you, imagining you’re growing wings. Breathe your sides out to meet your upper arms. Practice this technique for ten breaths, then turn onto your right side with your bottom leg bent at 90 degrees and your top leg straight in line with your torso. Direct your breath toward the top-side ribs, then focus on the side you are resting on, expanding those ribs into the mat. Imagine blowing up two balloons, one above the other. Perform five breaths on each side before rolling to your left and repeating.
Next, lie on your front in a prone position with your forehead resting on your hands, palms down. Let the weight of your body sink into the surface like sand seeping through a sieve. Try to expand your back ribcage away from the front. Imagine filling a backpack with air. Fill it from top to bottom for five breaths, then from bottom to top for another five. Try expanding from your sacrum (the curved bone at the bottom of your spine) up to your shoulder blades. Each inhale makes more room, while each exhale gently pushes more out with assistance from your abdominal contraction.
After practicing these conscious techniques, allow your breath to return to an unconscious, natural rhythm. Pilates breath is an amazing practice that can create internal space, increase torso mobility, calm and focus the mind, and improve your body’s ability to deliver fresh oxygen to your cells. It supports functional movement and helps build strength while maintaining fluidity and suppleness. Exploring this breath is your first step to incorporating the Pilates Principles into both your practice and your life.
