Proper posture is also important in correct breathing. If the shoulders are slumped or chin tilted back, your airway is not fully open and the muscles that control breathing won’t be able to stretch fully. Keeping the spine long and straight will prevent the ribs from collapsing and the spine from bending forward. As you inhale through your nose, there should be no upward movement of your shoulders or tensing of the neck muscles. As you exhale through your mouth with relaxed lips, your shoulders should not pull downward, your spine should stay straight and long, your collarbone should not move and your neck should remain free of tension.

There is no doubt that breathing can naturally help release tension in the body, just like a good sigh. When you relieve your body from holding in too much air, you can take a nice deep breath of fresh air and feel more relaxed. Focusing on your breath will help achieve a sense of ease in your body, one of the principle benefits of practicing Pilates. If we are conscious of our breathing habits we can start to feel how our diaphragm works and how the action of breathing affects the way we use our other core muscles.

By giving attention to your breathing while practicing Pilates, you will improve your focus and concentration and give a sense of flow and rhythm to your movements. When you’re fully connected to your breath, you will feel lighter and the exercises will seem easier. Next time you do your workout, try letting your breath move you instead of the other way around. Experiment and enjoy it. But most of all, remember to JUST BREATHE!

The reason proper breathing is essential is that it helps to  oxygenate the blood in order to fill the cells with energy, and it also helps to keep lactic acid from building up. Breathing also exercises our internal muscles and elongates the spine. While working with our breath through inhalation and exhalation, we are better able to center the mind and relieve tension.The timing and depth of how we breathe will dramatically affect how we move.

Our main breathing muscle is the diaphragm, which is found beneath the lungs and contracts downwards to bring air into our body. It only relaxes when we exhale. If we are not relaxed in our rib cage area, our bodies retain air, which accumulates at the bottom of our lungs and can hinder efficient breathing. By exhaling completely we improve the exchange of good air for bad air and keep our lungs fresh and clean.

The question that always comes up is when to exhale, and when to inhale. Usually, in Pilatesone must inhale on the contraction, or the shortening of the muscle, and exhale into the expansion, or lengthening of the muscle being worked. A good reason to focus on exhaling while doing Pilates is our abdominal muscles. By fully exhaling, you are also performing a full abdominal contraction. Even without flexing our trunk, when we deflate our torsos, the rib cage and abdominal cavity can descend. This releases the surface abdominals and activates our transverses abdominals, a key core muscle supporting the abdominal wall.