The Power of Pilates Breathing: Boost Your Health and Wellness

Breathing is the first act of life and the last. Our very life depends on it. Yes, the breath is powerful and it's a life-giving force, and it's a crucial part of our overall health and wellness. In today's post, I'm going to share with you my experience on how I approach helping people best get the Pilates breath into their bodies.

To start off with just a little background information, Pilates breathing is sometimes referred to as posterior lateral type breathing or ribcage breathing. It's not a breath I normally use unless I'm doing Pilates-based work, because it's a more focused and muscular type of breathing in which your movement is closely coordinated with it. There are even some exercises that use an action called spine rolling, and these exercises are good for really cleaning out the lungs. There's also a part of the breath called the scoop, and we're going to get into that a little later.

The human body needs oxygen, and our lungs are responsible for feeding the oxygen to the body cells through the bloodstream. When you breathe properly, you have more stamina, you feel more alive, more alert, and you're better able to concentrate. So deep breathing, such as that done in Pilates, helps to oxygenate the blood and nourish the body's tissues. This also contributes to not only our overall health but an elevated mind and spirit as well.

Joseph Pilates, the creator of Pilates, shared in his book Return to Life through Contrology that when breathing correctly, we should completely exhale and inhale, always trying to squeeze every atom of air from our lungs until they are almost free of air. He shares if there's one thing we should do, it is to learn to breathe correctly, and he sees lazy breathing as a handicap to our longevity. I 100% agree he is right. We can do so much good for our bodies through proper breathing.

Now, when you're first learning to breathe fully and correctly, the impact of so much oxygen on your bloodstream can feel really unnatural. It can cause lightheadedness, and it's similar to being in a high altitude or up in the mountains. Rest assured that this will eventually disappear. Over time, this usually doesn't take long, but it's just something to be aware of.

When first learning the Pilates breath, I have found it helpful to break it down into two phases. Why? Because the breath can overwhelm people. It can be a stumbling block. It's complex. And really, if you try to do it all at once, it's overwhelming. When I was first learning the breathing, I did not find it valuable just to spend hours trying to focus on getting it down perfectly or trying to overthink it. In my mind, the bottom line is that it will evolve naturally over time.

So when you're learning the breathing, the most important part of the breath to learn first is the scoop. Yes, the S-C-O-O-P part. It is the most important piece, and it's the easiest part of the breath to grasp. This part of the breath is the action of drawing your abdominal muscles in and up toward the front of your spine. Not only does it decompress your spine, but it helps to create a strong center. A strong center is the foundation for all of our body's movements and is often referred to as centering. A strong center is going to give you better control over your body and all of your movements. And it starts with the scoop.

When it comes to the scoop, it's easiest to learn this when you exhale. For example, just put your hands on your lower belly and cough or laugh really hard, and you'll feel those deep belly muscles working. Now, if you try the same thing and exhale through your mouth, you will also feel this activation. So when you're learning the scoop, you're going to be exhaling. But when you're scooping, you're pulling your lower belly back, activating and turning on the muscles of the deep pelvic floor and transverse abdominal muscles. The transverse abdominal muscles are the deepest layer of your abdominals, and this is the first act in activating your center.

The center is the area between the ribs and the hips, sometimes called the powerhouse, the corset, or the core. When you engage your center, your transverse abdominal muscles stabilize your trunk before any movement occurs. These muscles are often weak in most people and not used to being engaged or activated.

For this reason, I have found it helpful to have people hold the scoop for at least three to five seconds when they're exhaling to really get that connection and activation. Not only that, but when you are doing the scoop, it is an isometric contraction, so we need something to contract against, and that's what's really going to help us feel the muscles. That's why I love the Pilates circle. Its true name is called the Magic Circle, and it's so valuable because it helps you feel muscles even more.

Now, the second part of the breathing is sometimes a little harder to get, but it's called the ribcage breathing aspect. During this step, you are expanding your lungs, and you can feel that your ribs are expanding to the sides and to the back. If you even imagine an accordion player opening up the accordion, that's a visual of what's going on with the ribcage.

When you're learning this aspect of ribcage breathing, I find it helpful to feel it by even putting your hands on the sides of the ribcage. That touch is really helpful. Making that connection makes it so much easier. And then, over time, you practice combining the two phases, the ribcage breathing and the scoop, together. This is an extremely muscular and stabilizing breath, and it's so good for our bodies, our back, and protecting the spine.

In my opinion, the most important piece of the breathing to get in the beginning is that scoop. I always tell people not to overthink it; just let it happen naturally. The rest of the breath will evolve over time, and it does. You can always improve upon it with focus and concentration.

To recap, we talked about the Pilates breathing and focused on its importance to our overall health and wellness. We broke down the importance of breathing in general and then broke it into segments of the Pilates breathing: the scoop and the ribcage breathing aspect, with an understanding that it will evolve over time and that the scoop is really where we want to start. That's most important to feel with all of our movements, and it's going to build strength in our center.

I hope you found this post helpful and that it encourages you to explore the transformative power of Pilates breathing. Remember, practice makes perfect, and the more you incorporate these techniques into your routine, the more you'll see improvements in your overall health, wellness, and mental clarity.