Pilates - How To Set Your Breath

PILATES breathing can take a little bit of getting used to. We do Lateral Breathing, which means that we breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Pay attention to your exhalation — you’ll never forget to breathe in!

When we breathe in, we expand the whole ribcage so we should feel the chest expanding, at the sides as well as the top, like an accordion. Imagine the breath completely filling the chest as you inhale deeply. When we breathe out through the mouth, we suck in our belly button towards our spine, like we’re pulling on a pair of skinny jeans that are just a little too small for us.

It’s really important to scoop in, as we’re switching on the pelvis when we do this. The pelvis is your powerhouse and therefore the key to improving posture, flexibility and core strength so If you want your moves to give maximum toning value, suck in as you breathe out and switch it on!

You can even take time to set your pelvis every day. I’m not suggesting that you breathe out noisily and suck it in while you’re in the supermarket or at work, but you can subtly suck in the belly button and switch on your powerhouse at intervals every day to strengthen your pelvic floor.

So do make an effort to get your breathing right. Your dynamic exhalation will help you to achieve the poses you thought you couldn’t do — I promise. Harness the power of your breath and the rest will come naturally!