Just Breathe
As a Pilates practitioner, I take what I know and love about Pilates and teach that to my students. It’s with sheer excitement, that I share small discoveries and wins with my students. For me, I teach what feels good for me and vary that for students depending on their level of experience and what’s going on for them that week or day. In my day, I will work with students from a vast variety of skill and experience levels. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes a beginner student will ask something along the lines of ‘when am I supposed to breathe?’ Absolutely no judgment from me if this was you!
While breathing is an essential tool we use to stay alive…I don’t believe that you have ever been taught to ‘do’ it, have you? This belief that there is a right and therefore wrong way to breathe when practising Pilates has always baffled me. I remember as a beginner on the mat, being told to inhale on this part of the movement and then exhale on that bit and feeling like my lungs were going to explode if the movement was too slow and then feeling like a was going to hyperventilate if the movement was fast. I also found that when the teacher said to breathe in – I wanted to breathe out, maybe it’s the rebel in me or can you relate to that feeling too? When starting out, just getting in and out of certain Pilates choreography is enough of a challenge of its own without adding a specific breath pattern in the mix. Watching archival footage of Joe Pilates teaching, his focus is on the body in front of him making the correct shape. He demonstrates, gives hands-on assists and moves their body (hands on assist) to make the shape he wants them to be in. The movement is the most important thing – I think this is where we as teachers can confuse and maybe even discourage beginners with overcomplicated classes that focus more on doing ‘all the things’ instead of focusing on good quality movement.
If you’re in my class, I want to see you moving well first and formemost. You may want to try experimenting with breathing patterns to see what works for you once you’ve got that part down. If you’re an experienced Pilates practitioner, I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that you breath full and deep when the movement allows and it doesn’t enter your mind to be conscious of the specifics of the inhale or exhale – or is that just me again? Joseph Pilates did give specific instructions on the breath in each movement however, these breath patterns are working with the natural biomechanics of the particular movement. For example, if you are rolling down from standing, the lungs are compressed from the forward flexion. In his books “Return to Life Through Contrology” and “Your Health”, Joe speaks of how your breath should be the fullest and deepest possible, of how clean air and sunshine are vital to good health. He advocated for eating healthy meals and sleeping well every night and the importance of mental calmness. Off-topic: would you believe he even wrote about dry brushing??? (see paragraph below) Oh and he never mentioned strong abs (not once!).
My message here is to advocate a freedom to move that is unrestricted and not bound by too many rules. Breathing is something that we inherently accomplish without guidance all day long. We may need a gentle reminder to deepen or slow down our breath and as a Pilates teacher, that’s what you’ll get from me.
The use of a good stiff brush as described stimulates circulation, thoroughly cleaning out the pores of the skin and removes dead skin too. The pores of your skin must “breathe” – they cannot do so unless they are kept open and freed from clogging. Your skin will soon respond most gratifyingly to this perhaps seemingly “Spartan-like” treatment and acquire in the process a new fresh, glowing appearance, and develop a texture smooth and soft to the touch. So brush away, merrily, and heartily too! Joseph Pilates - Return to Life Through Contrology
