Depending on where you practice Pilates, you’ll find conflicting information about how to breathe “the right way”. The style known as Classical Pilates often gives the opposite breathing cues when compared to “Evolved [or modern] Pilates”.

Both styles believe that there’s a “right” way to breathe, depending on the exercise. For example, exhaling during leg straightening while doing footwork on the reformer is a Pilates Evolved breathing pattern, while inhaling during leg straightening is Classical.

And at the risk of incurring the wrath of both disciplines, I’m going to go out on a limb here and clear up some of this confusion. What I’m about to tell you goes against the philosophy of both Classical and Evolved approaches and is not what’s being taught in most Pilates studios.

That’s because both styles would have you believe that actively engaging and holding muscles with tension is a requirement for correct breathing during Pilates exercise. Does this strategy make sense?

Breathing is vital to our existence. It’s a constant throughout our lives — breathing is the first thing we do as humans, and the last thing we do before we leave our physical body. Did you know that you’ll take an average of 700 million breaths in your lifetime, depending on how long you live and how much you exercise, and that the average adult breathes between 10 – 20 liters of air per minute?

Babies don’t have to be taught how to breathe.

What, then, IS GOOD BREATHING?

Breathing requires space. The inner volume of our lungs must expand in order for the air to enter. No expansion = no air (not good).

Air = oxygen = energy for regeneration and recovery

The primary muscle of breathing is the diaphragm, a large, parachute-shaped muscle located between the chest cavity and the abdominal cavity. It hugs the base of the ribs around the lower edges, and domes up toward the lungs and heart on the inside. The diaphragm moves up and down as we breathe, lengthening and shortening, and this event requires the coordination of multiple factors: the organs, spine, connective tissue and nervous system, to name a few.

The primary bones of breathing are the ribs. The ribs house the lungs – if you place one hand on your lower rib-cage, at about waist level, and the other hand just behind your collar bone, where your first rib is located, you’ll get an idea of the vastness of the lungs and the importance of the ribs. The ribs need to be able to move outwardly in three dimensions during inhalation to allow for more space, and reverse their position during exhalation.

Good breathing is relaxed breathing that allows the maximum amount of air to pass in and out of the lungs with the least amount of effort.

Good breathing uses the lengthening and shortening (rising and falling) action of the diaphragm to create an elastic space for air to enter and leave the lungs.

So…is this possible while trying to maintain “tight abs” or an “engaged powerhouse”?

Try it for yourself. As you read this, engage your pelvic floor and pull your belly button to your spine. Hold this contraction, and breathe in deeply.

You can’t…not effectively.

And your diaphragm can’t move. It’s trapped inside you nicely tight and pulled-in waist.

Notice the amount of neck and shoulder tension that’s created simply by attempting this experiment. Relaxed, fluid breathing is not possible while maintaining a tight, flat stomach or other muscle-controlled static posture.

So what’s the answer?

The point here is that you find a breathing rhythm that supports your Pilates exercises without excess tension, and without restricting the vital flow of air into your lungs. That means avoiding anything that restricts your ability to breathe effectively – including things like trying to maintain “tight abs” while you move.

Here are a few suggestions to consider if you’re motivated to try a new breathing strategy:

1. It’s important that your breath is flowing – not being held. If you notice that you’re holding your breath, give yourself permission to slow down for a few seconds to allow your breathing to occupy the full space of your lungs.
2. Use your instructor’s cues of “inhale to do this, exhale to do that”, “tighten this, tighten that”, as guidelines, not part of the 10 Commandments.
3. Avoid trying to maintain a firm, constant, contraction of your abs, pelvic floor and gluts throughout an exercise – this will only create more tension, and will restrict the natural movement of your diaphragm and ribs, resulting in less air/oxygen.
4. Pay attention to your neck and upper shoulders – if they’re getting tense, it’s a sign that your breathing isn’t relaxed and efficient.
5. Experiment with your breath pattern during your Pilates practice. What’s the breath pattern that gives you the greatest support and most fluid movement with the least amount of effort?

Yes, I know this information may sound like blasphemy and probably goes against what you’ve been taught. But think about it – does it really make sense to deliberately restrict your breathing while you’re exercising?

One suggestion you might remember hearing is using your time at a stoplight as an opportunity to practice.

Here’s how:

RED LIGHT!
When you are fully at a stop, Notice your “default” driving posture.

Body twisted in the seat?
Shoulders slumped?
Driving one handed?
Head forward?

Here is a perfect opportunity to practice your Pilates.

- Notice if you are on both sit bones equally. Gently untwist yourself by getting your weight evenly distributed over both sit bones.

- Lightly engage your pelvic floor and stack your spine, placing the back of your ribcage and shoulders evenly on the seat back.

- Place each hand on the wheel in the recommended three and nine o’clock positions and allow your shoulder blades to soften and drop down along your spine and ribcage.

-Float your head back to rest on the headrest.

Breathe as you comfortably hold this position.

GREEN LIGHT!
Resume your default position (if you like) and off you go until the next red light. Keep practicing.

Do this while sitting in your car at a stoplight:

* Get on top of your sitz bone.
* Shoulder blades down your back.
* Head resting on the head rest.
* Hands at the recommended 3 and 9 position

Do the following:

* Press your hands up as if pushing the the wheel toward the ceiling and notice what muscles engage—and which do not.
* Press your hands down as if you were pressing the wheel down to the floor and notice your muscle pattern again.
* Pull the wheel toward you and notice your sensation
* Push the wheel away and notice your sensation
* Repeat these four movements, and this time notice which position gives you the least amount of tension in your neck.

Maintain the position where you have the least amount of neck tension for as long as you can as you drive away from the stoplight.

Repeat as necessary

—Ann Crammond

Whether you plan out the next 10 years of your life or just made plans for this weekend, everyone will make some sort of plan very soon.

But what about the really small details of life, do you plan for that?

As you’re reading this blog, do you have a plan for how you’re sitting? Are you conscious of how you’re going to get up from your chair once you’ve finished working on your computer?

Movement and posture have to be planned, especially if you’re changing habits that you realize are breaking down your body.

Ann and I recently attended a very powerful teacher’s workshop taught by Eric Franklin that you’re going to learn more about very soon.

Eric’s approach is simply based on four steps:
1) Assess your status quo.
2) PLAN what improvements you’re going to make.
3) Implement your plan.
4) Notice what has changed.

You can do this every time you take a Pilates class, stand in your kitchen, walk down the street, climb stairs, or whatever. The tricky part is remembering to be aware of your movements and postures and to implement a plan to change.

If you stay attentive, you’ll eventually begin to improve the way you move, and your body will thank you for it.

So…next time you get up from your chair, what’s your plan?

Yours in Health,

Lindy

After closer investigation, three of the top five ingredients in the filling are sugar…High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Corn Syrup and Sugar. I never bring soda home, so why allow this? Start reading the labels and observe the presence of HFCS in fruit snacks, fruit leathers, Fruit Roll-Ups, canned fruit, yogurt, salad dressings, cereals, granola bars, cookies, crackers and soda pop.

So why does HFCS get such a bad rap? There’s a direct correlation over the past three decades with use of HFCS and the obesity rate in America. New research links it to the rise in diabetes.

In the past 10 years, diabetes has risen nearly 90 percent. Certainly a scary statistic. Fructose is more easily broken down into sugar in the liver than glucose and over time it has been shown to cause nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

NAFLD then causes your body to be more resistant to insulin, leading to type 2 diabetes. When your kids play violent video games and watch violence on TV, they become desensitized to the violence over time. The same is true with sugar within the body—even more so when that sugar is in the form of HFCS.

Sometimes I take for granted my passion for health and my endless need to read up on new information related to health. I have a dear friend who was convinced that canned fruit bathed in HFCS juice was as healthy as fresh fruit and that fruit snacks would actually be categorized in the fruit/veggie section of the food pyramid.

She is no longer deluded by the marketing of HFCS, but advertising will continue to attempt to confuse us.

Here is the latest conclusion: we all need to be aware of the harmful effects of HFCS, because research substantiates that we should be concerned.

This month’s challenge:

* Stick to the perimeter of your grocery store.

* Take the time to read the ingredients on those processed items before you toss them into your cart.

* Double your fresh organic produce for a quick, healthy snack.

* If no allergies, grab a handful of nuts to satisfy your craving instead of sweets or carbs.

- Andi Renshaw, MSPT