BREATH "All exercises are done with Rhythm of the breath (and heartbeat). We inhale on the point of effort to send fresh oxygen to the muscles when they most need it. (However, this is not always a must.) We stress the exhalation, wring all the stale air out of the lungs, like you would "wring a wet towel dry." (The Pilates Studio Teacher Training Manual/1997) 

Interesting how breathing, a basic life function that's so basic we don't even have to think about it for it to function, is more towards what I consider an advanced point of the Six Principles of Pilates.

When I started the program, a little over twenty years ago, I had what doctors considered slight asthma. I had been prescribed an inhaler, but I didn’t like to use it. It was a steroid, and I would feel shakey in my body after it's use. I was probably still an apprentice when I was re-evaluated. They didn't detect the asthma. It was gone. I swear by the breathing exercises I learned.

Now, in this definition we have above, I feel it exhibits the advanced version of Breathing. You are moving through the exercises so well it just flows with your breath. You see the dance. When you're first starting out, you're just learning how to move and breathe properly. 

In the regime, there are "breathing" specific exercises. I mentioned this in a previous blog, "Don't Forget to Breathe". Some of the basic breathing exercises are: The 100, The Roll Up, Double Leg Stretch and Spine Stretch Forward. Learning to breathe and move through these exercises is a lot of work. Just the mental focus of the breathing, let alone having to connect it to movement. (And remember, just the movement alone is hard to do and connect in your body). I often break down the breathe and then add the movement. Sometimes I just move the client and articulate the breath later. As we love to say in the teaching centers, it depends. It depends on what I see in the body and the client.

Just the act of a simple breathing exercise, that isn't even Pilates specific, can be an intense workout. I like starting off a mat class with an exercise my Spiritual teacher does when starting us into meditation. It's a way to calm the nervous system. I believe even psychologists teach this to clients. All you do is inhale for four counts and hold your breath. Then exhale four counts. Do this three times. It’s not Pilates, but I find it's helpful for learning how to pay attention to your body. I like to add in my Pilates, though, and have them thinking about engaging their Powerhouses and not letting their bodies move around too much. As you become advanced, there's minimum of movement. That includes within your body, too.

Many people don't breathe. Some people are aware of themselves in this fashion, some have no idea until you point it out. Then they laugh or are surprised. "That's hard", they say! "I can't breathe", they say. Ahh, yes my little grasshopper, now you are starting to learn. 

Can you imagine working on breathing until your body just moves from this principle? That your movement and flow just breathe, like a lifting a sheet and watching it ripple and fall to the bed like magic? If this seems unlikely, my suggestion is you need to work a little harder on your breathing specific exercises. Work them until you wring every last drop of air out!

Who else has asthma and finds that their Pilates has helped? Anyone have asthma and would like to learn more? Who has made great strides in their breathing exercises? Reach out! I would love to hear from you!

Until next time, my Pilates Die-Hards. Next month will be our last principle, Flow. Everyone's favorite, yet not easily understood or executed properly.

Stay tuned….Love, Light and Blessings,

Julia