Learn Pilates Breathing Techniques
Learn Pilates Breathing Techniques
Breathings is an Integral Part of Your Pilates Routine : Let’s Review Why
Breathing is an integral element in your Pilates routine. Let’s review why Pilates is so important to a good, healthy lifestyle. Pilates is a stress-free way of improving your balance and posture. Specifically, this includes strength, endurance, and flexibility. During client sessions we work on lengthening techniques which actually help you to look and feel taller by improving your posture. Together, we can sharpen your fine motor skills, which are key to achieving balanced movements.
Pilates fits your life and allows you to practice good alignment with every moment in your day - during daily activities - whether on your feet or seated at a desk. Pilates can be shaped to suit anybody’s lifestyle, goals, and body type. As your guide, it is my role to provide modifications and tactile feedback based on your current ability level.
Working with a qualified instructor will help you to achieve a balanced and toned body, a healthy neutral spine, and proper body awareness both during our sessions and beyond the studio. I can help you to release tension, build muscle, and develop gross motor control in your core.
My central philosophy is that the mind controls the body, and the body works as an interconnected system. Being mentally tuned into the sensation of motion allows you to feel the connection between your muscle groups and create balance and equilibrium throughout the entire system.
Let’s look at the basic techniques of breathing during Pilates, knowing that as our bodies grow more accustomed to the techniques, it will become second nature to breathe that way all the time, not just while exercising. This leads to an overall well-being even outside of the Pilates studio.
To review, the 5 Principles of Pilates are: Breathing, Pelvic Placement, Rib Cage Placement, Scapular Movement and Stabilization, and Head and Cervical Placement. Here’s an exercise to help you practice breathing: when you inhale, your spine slightly extends, your ribs open a little. When you exhale, your spine flexes slightly and your ribs close downward.
Three-dimensional breathing: Breathe deeply into the back and side of your rib cage. Imagine your ribs are an accordion here. Expand your breath - in through the nose and out through the mouth - essentially, through the lower lobes of your lungs.
This introduces you to the very basics of breathing. Practice these simple steps and we will introduce you to more in the next article.
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Rachele Dove is a Certified Pilates Instructor (Stott/Neurological/Injury Rehab) and owner of Sunshine Pilates By Rae, based out of Core Performance Fitness Studio. Contact Rachele directly at 716-338-8568 or email rae.m.dove@gmail.com.