Our breathing is inseparable from the movement of the lungs, which are like two airbags in a closed gas bucket. If the chest is compared to the barrel wall, the diaphragm is the bottom of the barrel. In order to make the airbag open to inhale air, we usually adopt two strategies:
1, try to change the size of the surrounding barrel wall to change the volume, that is, contract the muscles connecting the ribs to change the chest volume.
2. Change the height position of the bucket bottom to change the volume of the air bucket, that is, change the chest volume through the up-and-down movement of the diaphragm.
No matter which method mentioned above, negative pressure is formed by changing the space of chest cavity to assist the lungs to inhale air.
Breathing skills can be used to assist movements, increase the flexibility of practice, improve vital capacity and concentrate on thinking. In fact, Pilates has many breathing methods that we can all use. In addition to the commonly used side breathing, others include diaphragm breathing, nasal breathing, unilateral intercostal breathing, back breathing and so on.
Different breathing techniques have different physiological functions in exercise. In fact, in most cases, several ways of breathing coexist, but they are dominant in some form.
The muscles involved in breathing include the diaphragm, which we often say, and other auxiliary breathing muscles of the body: the muscles that assist inhalation include the external intercostal muscle, pectoralis major muscle, pectoralis minor muscle, sternocleidomastoid muscle, scalene muscle, serratus anterior muscle, serratus superior muscle and serratus posterior muscle. The muscles that assist exhalation are intercostal muscle, transverse thoracic muscle, rectus abdominis, external oblique muscle, internal oblique muscle, quadratus lumborum, lower posterior serratus muscle, iliocostal muscle, etc.
Due to the mechanism characteristics and working mechanism of the above respiratory muscles, the general relationship between different exercise modes and breathing during exercise is that trunk flexion is more conducive to exhalation, whereas shoulder adduction and horizontal adduction are more conducive to exhalation. In other words, when exhaling, it is more conducive to the inward contraction of the core and helps to maintain the stability of the body trunk; Inhalation is more conducive to the extension of the trunk, as well as the abduction and horizontal abduction of the arms, which is conducive to the formation of the sense of extension of the spine and limbs. Another special breathing state is "holding your breath", which can be divided into two situations: holding your breath after inhalation and holding your breath after exhalation. When these two situations appear in different postures and different movements, they have different effects on the human body.
In practice, there is no absolutely unchangeable so-called "correct" breathing pattern. According to different training movements and training purposes, the breathing mode and rhythm can be changed. Natural breath passes through it. For some beginners, holding your breath relatively unconsciously may be the most practical.
Lateral breathing (lateral breathing)
Breathing is a very important principle in Pilates. Breathing skills can be used to assist movements, increase the flexibility of practice, improve vital capacity and concentrate on thinking. It is true that there are many kinds of breathing methods we can use in Pilates, including diaphragm breathing, nasal breathing, unilateral rib breathing, back breathing and so on. But lateral breathing can help our core contract inward, which is beneficial to the coordination of movements in most exercises. It is the most commonly used and classic breathing method in Pilates practice.
Generally, before we start formal exercises, we will adjust the breathing mode and enter the side breathing mode. Beginners, especially those with loose abdomen, can do this breathing exercise alone at any time, which will have unexpected effects on tightening your waist and abdomen.
Basic exercises:
Stand, sit or lie on your back, and put your hands next to the ribs on both sides of your chest. When inhaling, the chest expands, the ribs open to both sides, the abdomen does not protrude outward, and the shoulders keep sinking and relaxing.
When exhaling, the ribs on both sides relax, feel the ribs collapse, slide to the middle, shrink each other, get closer and closer, and then the abdomen contracts slightly inward.
abdominal respiration
"Diaphragm Breathing", also known as "abdominal breathing", is a breathing method with the main purpose of relaxation, which can calm and concentrate thoughts and help strengthen the diaphragm. Diaphragm is the main respiratory muscle of the body, also known as "diaphragm". It is arched, separating the chest from the abdominal cavity. When inhaling, the diaphragm contracts, pulling the arch top toward the bottom of the chest. The diaphragm can move down about 4 cm when inhaling completely. This can increase the capacity of the lungs and inhale air. When the diaphragm is relaxed, the dome is upward and air is squeezed out of the lungs. Besides the diaphragm, human intercostal muscle, posterior upper serratus muscle and posterior lower serratus muscle, scalene muscle and trapezius muscle also participate in breathing.
Diaphragm breathing can be used for some sports that do not require continuous abdominal contraction. In Pilates practice, we can mainly strengthen the core control when exhaling. When inhaling, the dome of the diaphragm goes down, inhaling air and squeezing it down. When exhaling, the abdomen inhales in the direction of the spine and squeezes out air, which constitutes the natural contraction of transverse abdominis, pelvic floor muscle and multifidus muscle.
Basic exercises:
Lie on your back and put your hands on your abdomen. When inhaling, your chest stays stable and you feel your abdomen bulge slowly. Imagine that air is slowly introduced into your body.
When exhaling, the abdomen slowly sinks. Keep the time of exhaling and inhaling equal, and keep the shoulders and neck relaxed all the time. When you are proficient, gradually slow down the breathing frequency and extend the time of exhaling and inhaling.
Smell breathing
"Nose Breathing" is very helpful for the composition of impactful movements, such as slapping hundreds of times and kicking the side. It is also used for actions that require a small amount of inhalation when it is difficult to inhale completely in practice, such as the beginning and end of all tumbling actions.
Basic exercises:
Short and powerful breathing, with the rhythm of the action. Inhale through your nose and pout your lips slightly when you exhale, as if blowing out a candle.
One-lung respiration
Unilateral intercostal breathing, also known as "unilateral lung breathing", can improve expansion during lateral flexion, such as mermaid stretching. For people with scoliosis, concave "unilateral intercostal breathing" can be used to improve the mobility of spine and thorax. For some people with lung problems, such as pneumonia or asthma, targeted breathing exercises are also helpful.
Basic exercises:
Sit or stand, put your hands under your chest, open only one rib every time you inhale, and inhale air into this side of your lungs. When you inhale air into a lung, you will feel the ribs on this side expand outward. Note that if one side is easier than the other, your breathing muscles may be out of balance.
If you don't feel obvious, you can lie on your side, put a towel on your chest, and then try to keep your ribs stable, and do unilateral intercostal breathing exercises with your upper lungs.
Reverse breathing (reverse breathing)
Although every healthy adult breathes more than 20,000 times a day, if carefully compared, everyone's habitual breathing patterns are different. Habitual posture in life, the strength of breathing muscles, structural changes caused by illness or muscle compensation may all change our breathing patterns.
Back breathing mainly helps to expand the chest volume through the contraction of respiratory muscles, which can be felt more in the action practice of Pilates prone position.
Basic exercise: If sitting exercise is not obvious, you can lie on your stomach, overlap your palms downward, rest your forehead on the back of your hand, relax your shoulders and neck, then try to feel your back open when inhaling, and imagine your back slowly slipping back when exhaling.