Breathe in. Breathe out.

A Fundamental Act of Life That is So Easily Taken For Granted: Breathing!

It has been proven that the average person uses about a third of your natural lung capacity.

Going back to the pre industrial era, diaphragmatic breathing occurred naturally when individuals were much more active performing manual labor on farms and hunting for food.

Modern life has challenged the average person to use the full capacity of the breath: poor posture, bad habits such as smoking, restrictive clothing, lack of exercise, diets that lead to high blood pressure, increasingly rapid and emotionally stressful lives, polluted environments, slouching in front of computers are among the few things that contradict the ability to breath efficiently.

Diaphragmatic Breathing?

This is the most natural and healthy way of breathing that we tend to forget over time; our breathing becomes shallow or irregular or both.

The primary muscle for breathing is the Diaphragm. It is the dome shaped muscle situated underneath the frame of the ribcage and separates the lungs from the stomach. It is a very thin, wide muscle that inflates and deflates much like a parachute. During inhalation the diaphragm descends downwardly in the torso increasing the volume of the lungs to take in oxygen. On exhalation the diaphragm floats back up the torso expelling the carbon dioxide from the lungs.

Stress Remedy!

Taking 10 minutes a day to simply breath deeply will undoubtedly help to reduce anxiety and/or stress. It is important to know that Deep Breathing means to inhale and exhale long and slowly. The best way to breath deeply is to build up little by little. The lung's capacity starts to expand, and as a result your mind becomes calmer, more balanced, and you will be able to concentrate more fully. If you are able to breathe anywhere from 1 to 4 times per minute you can reach a distinct, calm meditative state.

Reaching this state by simply focusing on the breath serves as what I see as sort of a mental and emotional reset button. We can definitely all take a little break from the madness!

In Pilates How Do I Keep My Belly Flat and Still Achieve a Full Breath?

In relation to movement and pilates there is an emphasis on maintaining a flat belly while performing exercises. A huge misconception, I have found, with pilates is always holding and stiffening to pull in your abdominals. In actuality the key is striking a fine balance between letting everything hang out and clenching your body. I like to call this: active abdominals.

Breathing in 3D allows full breath to occur while keeping your abs connected. The most profound cue I have used and learned in teaching is to 'breath into your back'. To encourage posterior breathing is the most effective way to help my clients keep a flat belly while performing exercises and still achieve a full breath.

This will also allow you to wail at the top of your lungs and run around on stage during your performance! Im pretty sure Gwen is hip to posterior breathing ;)

Breathing to Move!

It is very common that people hold their breath while performing exercises. In order to for the best results in your workout you must keep the breath flowing.

According to Kelly Kane of the Kane School of Core Integration, using the full capacity of the lungs is paramount to creating movement in the thorax as well as the whole body. Unfortunately many of us do not use the fully capacity of our lungs in three dimensions. The three dimensions being superiorly to the first rib collar, laterally to the side seam of the body and toward the heart, posteriorly to all aspects of the ribs and inferiorly toward the abdomen.

This statement has totally illuminated the importance of mobilizing the breath in all aspects of your body so that you can move to your ultimate ability. So keep the breath moving!

Any questions!? Just ask ;)

What is Pilates??

The answer is: Pilates is more than exercises!

Born in 1883 Joseph Hubertus Pilates was a German citizen that emigrated to NYC around 1926.

In short, his life began with a childhood plagued by illnesses and experiences of being bullied at school. He overcame his adversities to become an avid gymnast, boxer, performer, and trainer. He also spent time in a beer brewery in his hometown near Dusseldorf. Talk about Jack of all trades! His story is truly inspiring.

Contrology is the original name of what we refer to as 'Pilates'. It is inspired by eastern disciplines such as yoga and martial arts blended with western influences of body building, boxing, gymnastics and recreational sports. It was Pilates' belief that true health could not be attained without the union of the mind, body and spirit. He created a method of physical and mental wellness that integrates the mind and the body to achieve complete health.

There are Pilates machines??

In addition to the mat work that most people correlate with Pilates there is also a level of Pilates choreography using various different apparatuses. As with any great inventor's story comes a history lesson!

Right before World War I, Joe was working in England as a self defense trainer for the Scotland Yard. At the onset of the war he was forced into internment being a German national. During this time he was able refine his exercises by rigging springs to hospital beds enabling bedridden patients to exercise against resistance. These innovations later developed into the designs of the current machines called the Reformer, Cadillac & Wunda Chair.

The efficacy of his exercise regimen was further validated to Pilates when his trainees were among the only groups that survived the influenza epidemic in England of 1918. Thanks to the core Pilates principle of Diaphragmatic Breathing of course!

Myth: Pilates began as an exercise for dancers.

Pilates' association with dancers began when he opened a studio on the same block as the New York City Ballet on 8th Ave. The lengthening and toning results that the technique provides was complimentary to the silhouettes desired by dancers. As popularity grew among dancers and performers, Pilates experienced an explosion into celebrity interest, thanks Madonna! This coupled with the phenomena of the baby boomer population seeking alternative methods of exercise, that by the 90s Pilates came to the forefront of mainstream health and fitness.

Joseph Pilates knew his ideas would catch on: "my work is 50 years ahead of my time". His experiences taught him to believe that the modern life-style, bad posture, and inefficient breathing were the roots of poor health.

His answer to these problems was to design a unique series of life enhancing physical exercises to help correct muscular imbalances and improve posture, coordination, balance, strength and flexibility as well as to increase breathing capacity and organ function.

I am continually inspired by this history and legacy of an individual that was dedicated to helping people feel healthy. Hopefully you have a new appreciation for Pilates too ;)