PILATES BLOG
Hi, I'm Rebecca. This is my pilates blog. I've posted a few pictures and interesting articles about pilates - hope you enjoy!
Deep Breathing
Slow and deep breathing is a simple yet powerful relaxation technique. It has so many positive effects on physical health by slowing the heart rate, stabilizing blood pressure, increasing blood flow to the brain and the muscles. In addition to its calming physical effects, deep breathing increases energy and focus, relieves aches and...
Australian Bushfire fundraiser
A very successful fundraising event. Thank you very much to everyone who partcipated. We had over 30 attendees and raised over £500 for the WWF (World Wildlife Foundation) to assist in the Australian Bushfires.
Deep Breathing
Slow and deep breathing is a simple yet powerful relaxation technique. It has so many positive effects on physical health by slowing the heart rate, stabilizing blood pressure, increasing blood flow to the brain and the muscles. In addition to its calming physical effects, deep breathing increases energy and focus, relieves aches and pains, heightens problem-solving abilities and boost motivation and productivity.
It’s easy and can be practiced almost anywhere, and provides a quick way to get your stress levels in check. Deep breathing is the cornerstone of many other relaxation practices, all you really need is a few minutes and a place to stretch out.
How to practice the Pilates Lateral Breathing
Lateral breathing is one of the fundamental principles of Pilates because it helps to connect the body and the mind by coordinating each movement with the breath. Having proper breathing techniques is therefore important to correctly perform the exercises. Deep focused breathing is done with deep inhalations and full exhalation.
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Breathe in through your nose. Place the tip of your tongue onto the roof of your mouth to encourage nasal breathing. Feel the ribs expand to the sides and into the back. Imagine your lungs are balloons gently swelling with air.
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Exhale through your mouth, pushing out as much air as you can ( imagine the air being squeezed out from the bottom of your lungs), while contracting your abdominal muscles. Put your hand on your stomach and you should feel your hand move in as you exhale because the abdominal muscles are gently contracted in towards the body’s center. This gentle contraction of the core also helps to protect the muscles of the back and around the spine.
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Continue practicing to breathe laterally, keeping upper body straight, neck and jaw relaxed, engaging the abdominal muscles.
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Take some time to get used to lateral breathing, it will become easier and more fluid with practice.
Pilates is rhythmic and mindful movement
The idea of exercising may not sound particularly soothing, but Pilates is a rhythmic exercise that gets you into a flow of repetitive movement that can be very relaxing. On top of this you get the mental health benefit of mindfulness to your workout, i.e. helps with depression, anxiety and stress.