The importance of breathing in the Original Method

“Breathing is the first and last act of life”: Joseph Pilates
The Original Pilates Method or Contrology was created by J. H. Pilates as a method of physical conditioning by which anyone, regardless of their physical condition or age, would be able to achieve complete wellness of body and mind.
Joseph Pilates gave great importance to breathing and hence, one of the key elements in the philosophy of the Method is to learn to breathe correctly, as our health depends largely on how this process is, being essential for the proper functioning of our body, providing us with countless postural benefits, circulatory, in the movement of the spine, improving lung capacity, strengthening the Power House or Energy Centre, reducing stress and anxiety, as well as helping to relax the muscles and become aware of every part of each part of the body, It is essential for the proper functioning of our body, providing us with innumerable benefits in terms of posture, circulation, movement of the spine, improvement of lung capacity, strengthening of the Power House or Energy Centre, reduction of stress and anxiety, as well as helping to relax the muscles and become aware of each part of our body, detecting the tensions that accumulate in it.

Breathing is closely related to our posture, back pain and visceral problems. Blocked breathing can, on the contrary, compress the viscera, making it difficult for them to function. Similarly, when the rib cage is stiff, it can lead to frequent back and neck pain. Sitting for long hours and stress can also alter our breathing.

What is correct breathing like in the Original Pilates Method?
When we start practising Pilates we suffer from a certain excess of information; concentration, breathing, connection...the control of breathing while moving is not easy, especially at the beginning and when we want to put it all together we often forget, we don't do it correctly or we simply ignore the power that controlled breathing would have on our quality of life.
J.H. Pilates thought it was essential to learn to breathe out correctly in order to breathe in correctly. During the practice of the exercises we usually exhale when the posture benefits us to try to «empty» completely all the stale air from our lungs as if squeezing a wet cloth and so that these are filled with renewed air when we inhale, helping to improve the oxygenation of the tissues, purify the bloodstream and cleanse the body of toxins.

Above all, the original Pilates Method aims for breathing through the nose, in a fluid, natural, rhythmic way, without noise. In this way, we manage to direct the energy and attention to the specific area we are working on, helping the muscles to stretch, giving fluidity to the movement and ensuring the correct execution of the exercises.

Some of the most common breathing errors in Pilates are:

• Forgetting to breathe (apnoea) during exercise when holding a posture due to tension.
• Forcing breathing more than normal without being natural. This causes our body to become rigid, increasing the curvatures of the spine, losing the alignment of the body and generating unnecessary tension that limits our movement and forces us to exert more effort.
• Excessive focus on when to catch or release the air, diverting concentration from the movement and losing precision in technique.
  It is important to know that the breathing is not abdominal, expanding the abdomen when breathing in and returning to its natural position when breathing out, but that it is a breathing focused on working the lungs more specifically.

Tips/tricks for good breathing in Pilates

• Focus your attention on the movement and breathe naturally. Spontaneous breathing is better than no breathing.
• When you breathe, focus on your lungs and on drawing air into them, imagining that they are sponges that you fill with air as you breathe in and squeeze out as you breathe out.
• When you exhale, increase the activation of the abdominal muscles, which is very important to maintain in each exercise to prevent injury. As the air comes out, try to pull your belly button backwards and upwards, imagining as if you were pulling up a zip that goes from your pubis to your sternum.

Breathing correctly gives you all the energy you need to live and don't forget that the first and last thing we do in this world is just that: breathe.
«A good physical condition is the first requirement for happiness».»