How to Breathe in Pilates

Summary

This video script addresses a common Pilates question: how to engage the abdominals while breathing. The instructor emphasizes the importance of practice and persistence. Joseph Pilates advocated for full exhalation to strengthen respiratory muscles but did not focus much on breathing techniques. The script offers tips on breathing with the stomach pulled in, including exercises for lateral and back breathing to expand lung capacity. It also introduces the 'breathisizer,' a tool created by Pilates for opera singers to improve lung capacity and muscle strength, suggesting that re-coordination of breathing is a mental task that continues throughout one's Pilates journey.

Takeaways

• 🧘‍♀️ Practice is essential for mastering the art of breathing with the abdominals pulled in during Pilates.
• 🎼 Joseph Pilates did not emphasize breathing techniques extensively but focused on expelling all air to strengthen respiratory muscles.
• 👐 Begin by placing hands on the lower belly and breathing naturally, imagining lungs as balloons filling up to the base of the pelvis.
• 🔗 Connect with lower abdominals by pulling them in, lengthening the lower back, and maintaining this position while breathing in and out.
• 💨 Understand that a slight lift while keeping abdominals in is normal as air fills the lungs.
• 🌬 Shift focus to lateral and back breathing to expand lung capacity, avoiding the front of the body which is the usual breathing pattern.
• 🤲 Place hands on the sides of the body to practice breathing into the sides, allowing the hands to expand sideways as the ribs open.
• 🙌 Feel the difference when placing hands under the lower back, focusing on the heaviness of the fingers as you breathe in and out.
• 🧠 Recognize that coordinating new breathing spaces is a mental task and should be gradually incorporated into Pilates practice.
• 🗝️ The 'breathisizer' is a tool created by Joseph Pilates for opera singers to help expel all air from the lungs and expand lung capacity.
• 💪 Strengthening respiratory muscles is a part of Pilates, even if not frequently discussed, and is a lifelong practice.

Q & A

Why is it challenging to keep abdominals pulled in while breathing in Pilates?

It is challenging because it requires practice and persistence to master the skill of breathing with the abdominals engaged, which is a common question among Pilates practitioners.

Did Joseph Pilates emphasize breathing techniques in his original Pilates method?

Joseph Pilates did not talk about breathing a lot in his original method. He focused more on getting all the air out to strengthen the muscles of respiration.

What is the purpose of breathing exercises in Pilates?

The purpose of breathing exercises in Pilates is to strengthen the muscles of respiration and to expand the capacity of the lungs by using lateral and back breathing techniques.

How should one start practicing breathing with the lower abdominals engaged?

One should start by placing their hands on the lower belly and doing a natural breath, imagining the lungs filling up like giant balloons, and then gradually connecting to the lower abdominals while keeping them pulled in during inhalation and exhalation.