Some Ideas about Breath

Breathing in movement can be confusing at times.  There is so much to be said about breath and movement--it really is an endless exploration.  Dance has really been my road into how breath can support movement.  Breath is really a dance between your body moving and your body breathing.  The two work together to offer a deeper, more fun exploration.

While teaching Pilates classes, I get a lot of questions about when to inhale and went to exhale because I will often cue specific breath patterns.  Oftentimes, I tell people that inhalation helps with expansion and extension.  For example, when you wake up in the morning and stretch, reaching your arms over head and lengthening out through the toes.  This is often accompanied by a big inhalation.  When engaging in effort, such as abdominal work or even spinal articulation, I often prescribe an exhalation to go along with this movement.  Imagine lifting a heavy object from the floor--one will often exhale to hep gain more strength.

However, there is no right or wrong way to breath.  The guidelines above can be helpful, but allow yourself to experiment with breath and see what works for you.  Think of your breath and your movement like two dance partners, trying to work together in a symbiotic and free way.  During class, experiment with your rate and pace of breath.  What is a comfortable breathing pattern for you and how does your quality of breath change from the beginning to the end of class?  What helps you feel the most connected and calm inside your body?  Let the breath guide and support your movement, as if it were a call and response.  The breath calls, the body responds.

Recently, I experimented with rotating my spine on an inhalation and this felt amazing (thanks, to the amazing teacher, Kea Kapahua).  I actually felt myself deepen into the rotation in a relaxed and lengthened way.  Give it a try:

• Sit on a chair, or even on the floor, in a comfortable position
• Fold your arms over your chest, relaxing your shoulders
• Breath length into your spine, as if you had little rabbit ears perking up towards the sky
• As you exhale, gently twist your upper spine and ribcage to the left, keeping your pelvis stable
• Take a deep breath in while in this rotation and see if it can gently carry you a little further into the rotation
• Exhale back to center
• Repeat to the other side
• Try doing this 3-5 times on each side

Notice how there is a lull between the inhale and exhale.  Feel your body in constant motion as you transition from neutral to rotation and back to neutral.  The movement, while simple, should flow freely in your body, allowing you to feel vitalized, lengthened and connected.  Be gentle and don't force the rotation--let your body be where it is and allow it to open more into that space.