In his book, “Return to Life Through Contrology,” Joseph Pilates wrote: “Breathing is the first act of life, and the last… above all, learn how to breathe correctly.” Movement through proper breathing is one of the founding principles behind the Pilates exercise methodology. Whether performed on the mat or on an apparatus, every exercise in the Pilates repertoire follows a particular pattern of breath specific to its movement.
Breath and Movement
In general, Pilates exercises demand that you inhale in preparation for a movement and exhale to execute it. In practice, this means you exhale during the most difficult parts of an exercise, which increases the overall fluidity of the movement. The breathing patterns of each Pilates exercise take into account that specific muscle groups are engaged to assist in the process of respiration during the breath cycle. For example, because your abdominal muscles assist during exhalation, Pilates exercises require you to engage, or set, your core muscles prior to movement and then deepen abdominal recruitment as you exhale.
Types of Breathing
During shallow respiration, you typically inhale and exhale either through your mouth or your nose, filling the only top portion of your lungs, so that your shoulders and chest rise slightly.
Deep, diaphragmatic breathing is characterized by inhaling through your nose to fully fill your lungs, allowing your ribcage and belly to expand, then exhaling powerfully through your mouth to empty your lungs.
Lateral, or costal, breathing is the type of respiration utilized in Pilates. It emphasizes the side-to-side lung and ribcage expansion of a diaphragmatic breath. Lateral breathing is fundamental to Pilates because it allows you to maintain full abdominal engagement while breathing deeply.
Lateral Breathing Practice
You can practice lateral breathing by placing your hands on the lower part of your ribcage, engaging your abdominal muscles and exhaling to collapse the two sides of your ribcage inward as far as possible. Maintain abdominal engagement as you inhale, allowing your ribcage to expand laterally, or sideways, without allowing your belly to inflate.
One way to get the feel of lateral breathing is to wrap a towel or scarf around your lower ribcage above your abdomen, crossing either end of the fabric in front and gently pulling it tight. Exhale fully, emptying your lungs and further tightening the fabric. Inhale to feel your ribcage expanding against the fabric.
Considerations
Proper breathing can enhance your Pilates performance in many ways. A number of exercises use breath to mark the tempo or rhythm of the movement. This approach leads to fluidity and efficiency -- two of the other basic principles behind the Pilates methodology. Coordination of breath and movement also requires you to concentrate deeply -- another Pilates principle. Constantly having to think about what you’re doing intensifies the mind-body nature of the workout and can result in heightened body awareness and control.
References
- “Pilates”; Rael Isacowitz; 2006
- “The Pilates Promise”; Alycea Ungaro; 2004
- “Pilates Body in Motion”; Alycea Ungaro; 2002
- “Body Control”; Lynne Robinson, et al.; 1998
