Effect your Well Being
If there were two things you could do / take up today that could effect your entire sense of well being both mentally and physically – what would they be?
Well the answer is PROGRESSIVE Pilates and Breathing [lateral
diaphragmatic breathing]
In our PROGRESSIVE Pilates practice the breath is the force that unites
both mental awareness and physical effort
Within our practice a key factor is developing a correct / improved
breathing dynamic – breathing correctly can have so many positive and
beneficial effects on both our Minds and our Bodies
“Breathing is the first act of life, and the last. Our very life depends
on it. Since we cannot live without breathing it’s tragically deplorable to
contemplate the millions and millions who have never learned to master the act
of correct breathing”
Joseph Pilates Return to Life Through Contrology [ Pilates] 1945
Breathing is a necessary function of life; it oxygenates the blood and
improves circulation.
There are other elements that we could survive without – or at least
last a while – but breathing well frankly without it we would die!!
Breathing is the bridge between the mind and the body; it is the link
between the conscious and the unconscious and can [to name a few]
- Calm
your mind
- Relax
your body
- Aid
in digestion
- Assist
in reducing blood pressure
- Improve
circulation
- Improve
posture
Conscious –Unconscious
Breathing is a function of the body that can be both unconsciously and
consciously regulated
Unconscious breathing is regulated by the brainstem,
where each breath dept and rate is regulated and determined to suit our bodies
needs at that give time
Conscious breathing – we can control, times of exercise,
meditation and for example our lateral diaphragmatic breathing for our Pilates
practice.
Breathing can be affected by moods, stress emotions, and developing a
sound breathing habit / function can equally have a positive effect on moods,
stress’s and emotions
Pilates Breathing .....
Over my 30 years of teaching I have found that clients when breathing is
introduced into the equation of movement / exercise – do one of two things –
they either hold their breath or they start to over breath and almost hyper
ventilate – it is as if the breathing becomes an exercise in its self – being
conscious almost creates tension – till we learn how to do it correctly.
When practicing our PROGRESSIVE Pilates we want the breathing pattern
to
- · Be
Relaxed
- · Create
focus
- · Facilitate
ease of movement
- · Lateral
Diaphragmatic [bucket handle]
- · Unite
mind and body / awareness
Pilates Lateral Diaphragmatic Breathing
... what is it?
Lateral diaphragmatic breathing is the breath being taken into the lungs
and facilitating the rib cage to move laterally
As Aline Newton [her article Stabilization; The Core and Beyond –
Dynamic Body Exploring Form and Expanding Function] puts it
“with the transverses engaged, the central tendon of the diaphragm
becomes a fixed point. The action of the muscular part of the diaphragm in
inspiration and expiration then raises and lowers the ribs, giving the
sensation of wings in flight’
Lateral diaphragmatic breathing is a healthy way to breath and can
assist in increasing our breathing capacity.
The science of breathing is complex and is beyond the scope of this
particular blog post.
My main interest here is – is your breath [in your Pilates
practice] ‘getting in the way’ as opposed to underpinning and
facilitating the ease with which you perform each Pilates movements and
more importantly the activities of daily living – and is it allowing your mind
and body to unite and create an awareness of your physical self.
In Pilates facilitating and utilising the ‘core connection’ can be
challenging – for some of us the idea of lifting the pelvic floor and gently
energising [bracing] the deep abdominal muscle [transverses abdominus] while
still breathing – can be difficult to both visualise and co-ordinate
We can become what I describe as ‘inhale deprived’ we become so fixated
on the breath it almost becomes the exercise itself and can create
tension both mentally and muscularly
The breath while keeping us alive, is in Pilates another one of the
tools or principles that allows this wonderful technique to weave its magic –
our breathing mechanic within the practice will
- Increase
capacity
- Reduce
muscular tension
- Facilitate
and co-ordinate ease of movement
- Relax
the body
- Calm
the mind
- Create
a mind body awareness / unity
We believe breathe freely
We are all suffering the effects of stress today and stress is coming at
us in many different and varying ways.
The effects are both mental and physical, the unifying force of
PROGRESSIVE Pilates and Breathing – create an awareness of where we are within
our own bodies /space and utilising coordinated movement and breath we seek out
and alleviate stress / tension.
While maintaining and developing a good lateral diaphragmatic breathing
pattern we encourage you to breathe freely allowing each inhale and exhale to
happen naturally and be equal in length – [it is not our place to tell you when
to breath in our out ] by breathing naturally and co-ordinating our PROGRESSIVE
Pilates movements we are uniting our bodies and minds – both will become more
calm and relaxed, both will be more energised, our bodies will move with
greater ease and our minds will function with greater clarity
Call us to day and speak with one of our Wellness Coach's 01 868
4600