Author: Suzy Mitchell Category: Fitness, Pilates, Workout
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Joseph Pilates observed Breathing as the first and last act of life, so in other words something to pay attention to whilst we have the chance.

So here is my confession, after 20 years of Pilates practice and teaching I rarely breathe, that’s not to say I don’t breathe but in all honesty I’ve been so busy controlling every other aspect of my body, I assumed breathing would just take care of itself. I do not like getting out of breath or feeling like I’m going to run out of it. I will by nature opt for Adagio over Allegro, jogging over running, breaststroke over front crawl. In truth it had not really occurred to me to question myself.

So there is an irony in that it’s a question I get asked almost daily, when should I breathe? How should I breathe and what difference does it make? So after an afternoon spent recently in a seminar on the Anatomy of breathing I’m reminded it’s not simply a question of breathing in or out but where, when and how often, and yes it changes everything about the practice and therefore the results we can achieve. When it comes to beginners the focus is always on getting people just to move and avoid holding the breath (everyone does it when they are learning something new) however, once the choreography and terminology starts to become a little more familiar, it really is worth paying a little more attention to the process of oxygenating our working muscles as we put more demand on them.

Simply put when we inhale air into our bodies we are ‘fueling’ our muscles, bones, joints, brain and of course the heart. When the diaphragm rises and falls, the muscles of the chest and back should move too. So a question; Do you normally breathe into your chest, ribs, back or stomach? After you have run up the stairs are you still breathing into the same areas? In truth we rarely encourage as much movement into our ribs and backs as we should, many of us breathe repeatedly up into the chest and then wonder why muscles are tight? Many don’t move the ribs but do allow the abdominals to move instead- the body will find a way of getting enough oxygen in somehow! So the next time you head to your spinning class or run for a bus notice what happens and how much easier it is if you really concentrate on controlling your breathe to allow you to go a little further. Pilates had some exercises where the breath was dictated but for most of the repertoire he wanted the exercises done as if you were taking a walk in the park, if other words natural breathing along side natural free movement. Depressed people take less breathes daily, happy people take more so if in doubt breath deeper and as often as you can, sit tall, lift your head and see how a single breath in and out really can change everything and not just in Pilates.