As information on Pilates continues to remind us, proper breathing is what makes half of Pilates techniques programs successful. In enhancing the power of the body’s core, different muscles all over the body must coordinate together to fulfill Pilates’ principles. In maneuvering the muscles, we need to inhale and exhale with proper timing and depth to target the correct muscles.
It is just interesting to note, in a self-reflective way, that it is also a muscle that in turn supports the execution of proper breathing. The diaphragm, a muscle resembling like a dome resting below the lungs, helps the body to suck in air and expel it out, working like a two way vacuum. In connection to this, it is important therefore to any learner of Pilates to explore the extremes of the diaphragm, as the mastery of this Pilates technique definitely can help one do superior in performing different kinds of Pilate exercise.
To perform this Diaphragmatic Pilates technique, one should lie on one’s back with the knees bent, hands placed on the lower abdomen so one can feel how the air moves in and out inside. One must ensure that the spine is in a relaxed position, meaning the small of the back follows the slight natural curve and isn't pressed fully against the floor. The shoulders too must be relaxed, as well as the neck.
In breathing, one must be aware how the air enters the nose and the mouth, goes down to the throat, down to the ribcage, down to the diaphragm, until it reaches the abdomen and the pelvic bone. In inhaling all the parts of the body as stated in the given position must be kept relaxed. Neither the shoulders not the chest must be moved with force just to emphasizing the breathing. After the deep inhale, one must also feel how the air goes out from the abdomen and back to the diaphragm, the lungs, the throat, and back the nose. Being in full knowledge of the movement of air is a very important Pilates technique in as much as most Pilates exercise procedures contain a rule on the timing of breathing.
