Let's start with one of the most common questions that people have when they do Pilates. I get these questions all the time from those who have just started Pilates and even from those who have been doing for years. The 2 most common questions;

"How should I breathe?" & "When do I inhale and exhale?"

"Even if you follow no other instructions, learn to breathe correctly." Joseph Pilates

Need I say more? :)

"How should I breathe?"

Joseph Pilates said "To breathe correctly you must completely exhale and inhale, always trying very hard to 'squeeze' every atom of impure air from your lungs in much the same manner that you would wring every drop of water from a wet cloth."

Many people tend to be superficial breathers, breathing into the shoulders and neck. It is only when they start Pilates and learn to breathe into the ribcage and diaphragm that they realise one of the causes of their chronic shoulder and neck ache is attributed to the way they have been breathing for years. This is the type of breathing that increases our adrenaline and stress. It is fight or flight breathing.

If you have the chance, look at how a baby or a dog breathes. Beautiful and perfect breathing into the ribcage. That is the way we want to learn to breathe again - relaxing tension in our bodies, allowing better exchange of oxygen, and using our abdominals.

I often get people who have done Pilates with another discipline and they are taught to exhale very forcefully so as to be able to activate the core muscles. Then there are others who have been taught that breathing should be subtle and so as to be able to relax muscles, especially in neck that may arise from forced exhalation. Which one is right?

To be honest, I don't think I am able to give you an answer after reading through the limited research that has been conducted on breathing. What i can give is an opinion and you decide for yourself.

Watch any tennis match and you can hear how hard the players exhale on their serve. On the contrary, watch a dance recital and see how effortless the dancers move around. Both of them need lots of core strength and control. The difference is how they have trained and 'coded' their body to use and activate the core muscles.

In my pilot study ("Effects of type of breathing on muscle innervations of the torso") , I found that for persons untrained in Pilates, it was a lot easier for them to learn how to activate the core muscles with a more forceful exhalation. It is when they have the competency to activate these muscles, that the more 'subtle' way of breathing seem to click or make sense for them. I found no significant difference in the muscle innervations of the torso (internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis, multifidus) for untrained persons (using forced exhalation) and trained persons (using subtle exhalation).

So there you have it, you breathe the way that works best for you to activate the core muscles and if tension in the neck and shoulders is an issue for you, then you can work towards a more subtle breath. Also, do you engage in a sport/activity where a particular breath pattern is necessary?

When to Inhale, when to exhale?

1. Your personal trainer in the gym probably taught you to exhale on exertion and that's the general rule of thumb. There is a whole other article i could write if I went into the details.

2. In Pilates, as we do so many exercises that require the spine to flex, extend and rotate, there are other considerations on when to inhale and exhale.

During exhalation the rib cages closes in and down while the spine flexes slightly. For this reason, an exhale is suggested to encourage spinal flexion.

3. During inhalation, the rib cage opens out and up while the spine extends. An inhale is suggested to encourage spinal extension.

4. If you get confused do not hold your breath, just keep breathing.