Breath is a tool..not a rule

My friend Len was visiting this April and I overheard a conversation he had with a client who was asking about how to breathe on a particular exercise as Len had taught the reverse of what this client was used to.(asking her to inhale when she normally exhaled).  He took some time to explain why he was using that particular breath pattern and somewhere in the conversation he simply said, “Remember breath is a tool, not a rule.”  I love that phrase!

Do you ever find yourself wondering if you are breathing correctly?  Sometimes I find that clients are so worried about if they are inhaling and exhaling at the right moment that they totally miss all the wonderful other components of the exercise.  One of the first things I teach new Pilates students is how to breathe to their fullest capacity as well as informing them of all the wonderful health benefits that come along with learning to breathe properly and how to coordinate breath with their movement.  Then…immediately after that I tell them,”Try not to worry about or overthink the breath as you are first learning Pilates in your body….simply try to remember to breath and try not to hold your breath! Learning Pilates is a process and you are not expected to learn everything all at once!  Using breath to help us move better is something that takes time and practice to do!”

There are so many components to learning a mind body practice like Pilates that it can be overwhelming if you are trying to do everything at once.   For instance….learning the technique or choreographing of the exercises, keeping your newly found abdominal muscles engaged, keeping  your awareness of your whole body, being precise and controlled with the movements, learning  “new ways” to move in your body, coordinating your breath, etc….

If you are finding it hard to figure out the breathing, feeling a little overwhelmed by it,  or maybe feeling like you just aren’t getting it yet, here’s a few tips to think about:

1.  Be aware of your breath.  How many times during your day or even when you do other exercise do you pay attention to your breath? Don’t worry so much about trying to change your breath but truly just notice it.  Awareness of your breath will give you a connection between your physical movements in an almost meditative way.  You’ll feel calmer and find yourself being able to better control your physical movements. This produces the immediate benefits of reducing feelings of stress and anxiety and helping you get physical results in your body quicker as you’ll be doing the movements using proper muscle engagement.
2. Aim for bigger, slower breath.  Breathing quicker and shallower breaths is rarely the answer when it comes to using breath in your movement.  I like to practice this bigger slower breath all by itself first.. just lay on a mat and take 10 Pilates breaths seeing how slow and big you can make them.  We live in a pretty fast paced world and it’s rare that we take time to slow down and that includes our breath.  It takes some practice and retraining yourself to breath deeper and slower! The more you practice this bigger, slower breath the more easily you’ll be able to use it and connect it to your physical movements.
3. Be playful with your breath.  Be ok with not breathing perfectly!  If the breath your teacher is suggesting just doesn’t seem to work- try your own breath pattern. Yep…it’s OK to inhale even though she’s telling you to exhale!! Let yourself explore how your breath can help you move better in your body!