Pilates is a very complete exercise that helps you regain flexibility in your body and keep all your muscles toned. Contrary to the popular belief that Pilates is a soft and easy sport, we are faced with a very demanding sport practice that is quite difficult for beginners to follow.
Pilates is based on three general principles. The first of them is the one that refers to the abdominal and lumbar area of our body. It is about strengthening, at all times, these parts of our body and therefore we must keep them tense throughout the training. Relaxation is the second of the basic principles. All exercises must be performed calmly and slowly.
Try to maintain a state of continuous relaxation throughout the Pilates session. Finally, the last pillar on which this sports practice is based is that of breathing, which is what we are going to focus on in this article. Breathing is one of the most important parts of all the exercises and during its performance you must try, at all times, to take a deep and calm breath. In this way, the respiratory channel of our body must be open at all times to facilitate our breathing. Below we present all the keys to how to breathe in Pilates.
What do you need to breathe in Pilates?
- a peaceful place
- to yoga mat
Instructions for breathing in Pilates
- The breathing that you must perform in Pilates is the one that receives the name of diaphragmatic breathing. In this breath you should try to introduce as much air as you can into the lowest part of your lungs. If you are not able to perform this type of breathing, you should only practice following the following tips.
- Relax. Lie on the floor on your back and try to relax. She closes her eyes and avoids thinking about anything.
- If you want, you can help relax by lighting some aromatic candles and putting on some very soft music.
- Breathe through your nose and try to send the air towards your stomach area. Put your hands on your belly and feel how it is rising. Do not raise the chest area, only the belly.
- When you can’t keep breathing, expel all the air from your lungs. You are going to do this through your mouth. To help you expel the air you must squeeze your lower abdomen. In this way you will notice how your belly sinks downwards. Practice for several minutes until you are able to automate this type of breathing.
- As soon as you are able to perform abdominal breathing, try to do it while doing Pilates. Remember that the key to everything is relaxation.
Tips for breathing in Pilates
- If you notice that when doing Pilates you have a hard time keeping a good breath, it is possible that you are not used to breathing correctly. This should not alarm you as it is very common in adults. Babies and young children usually perform diaphragmatic breathing naturally. However, as we become adults we tend to change this type of breathing. This happens because breathing is a process that we carry out automatically without stopping to think about how we do it, and although we are born naturally breathing with the diaphragm, over time we transform our way of breathing. This is due, above all, to bipedalism. By spending so much time on our feet or placed with our upper body vertically, we tend to breathe with the upper part of our lungs. In this way the breathing is much shallower and we get much less air. We must specify that this type of breathing is not bad in itself since we are capable of acquiring the air we need but when we make efforts, such as a Pilate’s session, this air is not enough and therefore it is convenient that we relearn to breathe with the diaphragm as when we did instinctively as children.
- If you have a hard time following your breath in Pilates, you could spend some of your time relaxing and meditating. These exercises will allow you to control your breathing more and more.
