The Pilates breath often seems like a confusing concept when you first start your practice, but actually it's super easy once you get the hang of it.
Generally, we should breathe into the belly, so our stomach rises and falls with each breath - you will notice this is how babies breathe and it encourages a full oxygen exchange. However as we start to get older and the stresses of life come into play, we tend to breathe into our chest which is sometimes known as 'anxious breathing' and is a shallow breath.
Essentially, the Pilates breath involves breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth so we can get a full breath in and out. Generally, we want to use our exhale on the most strenuous part of the move, so we can get oxygen into the muscles and help them to contract.
I have prepared a useful (I hope) video below to explain the Pilates breath, why we use it and why instructors go on about it all the time!
Take some time at the start of your practice to come into the breath and let it flow through the movement.
I hope you find the video useful and I look forward to seeing you on the mats.
Kelly
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