Eight Principles of Pilates – No 4: Breathing October 29, 2008

BREATHING

So, by now we should be relaxed, focussed and aligned. Next follows the breath.

It is good to stand in front of a mirror and observe the way you are breathing. Take a big breath and see what happens, do your shoulders rise up round your ears accompanied by a heaving chest? This is an inefficient way of breathing.

We want to breath wide and full into our back and sides, this is called ‘lateral breathing’. Our lungs are situated in the ribcage so by expanding the ribcage we can increase the volume of the cavity, which also increases the capacity for oxygen intake. Also by breathing laterally we can maximise use of the lower part of the lungs. Lateral breathing works the muscles between the ribs, this helps make the body more flexible, it also enables us to stay centred (balanced) as we move.

The lower part of the ribcage expands wide as you breathe in and closes down as you breath out.

How to practice lateral breathing at home:

1. Sitting or standing, wrap a scarf or towel round your ribs, crossing it over at the front.

2. Hold the ends of the scarf or towel. Keep your shoulders relaxed and your elbows open. Pull it tight gently, breathe in wide and allow your ribs to expand the material.

3. As you breath out allow the breastbone to soften. You can gently pull the scarf or towel in to help you empty your lungs and relax the ribcage.

4. Repeat up to ten times

Watch points

1. Keep your shoulders down
2. Do not lift the breastbone too high
3. Take natural easy breaths
4. Stop if you become dizzy

The timing of the breath is also important in Pilates exercises. The movements can be helped or hindered depending on if you breathe in or out. Having said this, please don’t worry too much about the breath, the pattern of breathing will come in time, keep focussed on correct alignment and movement first.

All Pilates exercises are designed to recruit the correct muscles by using the breath. Most people find the breathing difficult at first, especially if you are used to different styles of breathing within different exercise disciplines.

To make it a little easier as a general rule we:

1. Breathe in to prepare for movements
2. Breathe out, pull navel to spine, then move
3. Breathe in to recover

Moving on the exhalation allows us to relax into the postures and helps us release tension. Breathing out gives us strength during the hardest part of the movement, it stops us from holding our breath, which stresses the heart.

I hope you can all breath a little easier now!

The Eight Principles of Pilates – No 3: Alignment October 26, 2008

ALIGNMENT

 

 

 

So, now that we have relaxed, arrived on the mat, focussed our concentration ready for the practice.  The next step is to bring the body into good postural alignment.

 

 

In the practice of Pilates we constantly remind the body of how it should be standing, sitting or lying.  When we move correctly in the correct posture we can gradually bring the body into better alignment.  This is essential if we are going to restore proper muscle balance.

 

 

If you exercise without thinking about the correct position of your joints, you risk stressing the joint and building imbalances into the surrounding muscles.

 

 

It is not just the area we are working that needs to be in good alignment it is the whole body e.g. it is good to focus on the leg movement in the hip socket when performing a leg lower, but if while doing this we tense up our neck and shoulders we will be stressing them and pulling them out of alignment.

 

 

You must have your bones in the right place to get the right muscles working, in that way we build the muscles so that they will support the joint not stress it.

 

 

Follow this checklist to help you align your body correctly:

 

1.  Extend through the crown of the head, tucking your chin in a little

2.  Allow your neck to relax

3.  Keep your shoulder blades down into your back, shoulders away from your ears

4.  Keep your breastbone soft

5.  Lengthen up through the spine

6.  Elbows open (also helps aid energy flow)

7.  Pelvis in neutral (not tilting forward were you would stick your bum out or tilting backwards were you would collapse your chest and shoulders inwards) 

8.  When you bend your knees they should bend directly over the centre of your foot 

9.  Feet hip width apart, legs parallel 

10.  Keep the weight even on both feet; do not allow them to roll in or out

 

Nearly all exercises (sitting, lying or standing) are performed from the neutral position, so it is very important to get it right.

 

 

I hope you are all walking a little taller and straighter now, still don’t forget the first principle – relaxation, otherwise we will look like we have left the coat hanger in our clothes!

 

 

Number four of the Eight Principles is breathing, I know you all can’t wait for it, but please remember to breathe until then!

 

 

Best wishes, stand strong

Eight Principles of Pilates – No 2: Concentration October 21, 2008

CONCENTRATION

 

I hope you enjoyed the relaxation, now that your body is relaxed you are ready to begin the practice.  Relaxing the body will help you to focus.  It is at this point that we need to remember that it is the mind itself that builds the body.  Pilates is a mentally conditioning programme as well as physical. 

 

 

Pilates requires us to be constantly aware of how we are moving, it requires us to focus our minds on each and every movement that we make.  It develops the body’s sensory feedback, in simple terms that means we know how our bodies sit in the space and what we are doing with every part of our bodies – body awareness / spatial awareness. 

 

 

When you practice Pilates often or get used to certain postures you may find the movements becoming automatic, if this is the case, try concentrating a little more because there are always higher levels of awareness to reach. 

 

 

Remember principle number one – Relaxation.  I will be walking round to smooth out any concentration-lined brows!! 

Eight Principles of Pilates – No 1: RELAXATION October 17, 2008

RELAXATION

 

Relaxation is the key to Pilates, unlike other exercise routines in Pilates we start with relaxation.  Relaxing enables us to start fresh with the practice, leaving behind any of the stresses from your day (if practicing in the evening) or preparing ourselves for the day ahead with a calm and aware mind (if practicing in the morning).

 

By recognising areas of tension in your own body and learning how to release them you will start to activate the correct muscles to do the exercises.  If we do Pilates when holding tension in the body we will use the wrong muscles and never break the cycle of using the body badly and hurting ourselves.

 

Most of us hold our tension in the back, neck and shoulders, also in the hips if we sit down a lot.

 

So, the aim of Pilates is to enable us to become more aware of our tension and learn how to release it.  Using the breath is the most effective method of doing this.  With every inhalation we can breathe light and kindness to the areas that need it and with every exhalation we can breathe out the tightness, aches, pains and tension, sending them down through the base of the body (feet or sitting bones) and away into the mat.

 

Take yourself on a journey through the body and slowly release each area of tension.

Smooth the brow, soften the face, loosen the jaw, and rest the tongue on the roof of the mouth.

Drop the shoulders away from the ears, feel the weight of the arms, loosen the hands.

Release the grip in the thighs, rest the knees, and soften the ankles.

Melt the body down into the mat, think of body as water pouring into the mat.

 

If you spend a couple of minutes everyday doing a few deep breathes and visualising this softness and smoothing down of the body, we can release a lot of tension and become stress free individuals!!

 

Happy relaxation – ENJOY!!

 

New Monday venue – Onneley House October 5, 2008

Hello Everyone,

 

We now have a new hall on Monday nights in Harborne.  The new address is:

 

MONDAYS

7.30pm to 8.30pm

 

Onneley House

109 Court Oak Road

Harborne

 

B17 9AA

 

There is off road parking.  Please use the side entrance from the car park.

 Hope to see you at Onneley House.