Breathing demystified

For your own practice

Draft: lightly edited from Tania’s original article, for her approval.

Breathing is the process that moves air in and out of the lungs. We can survive far longer without food and water than without oxygen. As we breathe in, the lungs fill with oxygen, and the heart powers the flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide around the body through the circulatory system.

The lungs are delicate and protected inside the rib cage. They aren’t symmetrical: the right lung is larger and has three lobes, while the left is slightly smaller, with two lobes, to make room for the heart.

Breathing in

The dome-shaped diaphragm sits just under the lungs, separating the chest from the abdomen. As you breathe in, it contracts and moves down towards the pelvis, making room for the lungs to expand. To make the most of each breath, let the ribs expand through the sides and back as well.

As the diaphragm moves down, it presses on the organs below it, so the abdominal muscles need to lengthen to make room. If you pull your abdominals in as you breathe in, the diaphragm can’t descend properly, and the tension usually moves into your shoulders, which lift as they try to make space for the lungs.

The abdominals expand as you breathe in, but they don’t need to bulge. When the rib cage and the abdominal wall expand together, the whole “container” gets bigger and the movement is spread over a larger area, so each part moves less.

Breathing out

As you breathe out, the abdominal muscles shorten. They help the diaphragm rise by gently moving the organs back towards the spine. The ribs fold back in, and the breastbone softens towards the spine. Completing the out-breath naturally sets up the next in-breath. Learning to let the air out slowly, without forcing it, is calming for body and mind.

Why breathe through your nose

Wherever you can, breathe in and out through your nose. Breathing out through your mouth tends to get rid of too much carbon dioxide, which makes it harder for your body to deliver oxygen where it’s needed.

Breathing and exercise

Most people breathe through their mouths when they exercise, which can lead to over-breathing and tiredness. Notice when you start mouth-breathing. Focus on breathing through your nose, and only move as fast as you can while keeping your breath in your nose. Let your breath set the pace. It will feel strange at first, but you’ll soon be able to speed up, and your endurance will improve. Within a month you’re likely to notice a real difference in your stamina and energy.

Breathing, posture and emotion

Good breathing depends on good alignment. When the body isn’t well aligned, breathing becomes less effective and tension builds. How we feel affects our breathing too: when we’re angry or scared, we tend to breathe more shallowly than when we’re happy and relaxed. Aligning the whole body helps us organise ourselves, so we move well without wasting energy.

Learn to drop your ribs

The most common postural habit that gets in the way of breathing is flaring the ribs in an effort to stand up “straight”. Biomechanist Katy Bowman explains that we lift our rib cage because the muscles of our chest, shoulders and arms have adapted to desk work and minimal use. The result is ribs that sit forward of the hips.

Standing “chest out, shoulders back” is a quick fix for looking taller, but it doesn’t solve the real problem, and it stops the diaphragm from working fully. Instead, imagine the very bottom of your breastbone is a light switch. “Switch it on” by letting your ribs drop slightly, moving the bottom of your rib cage back so it sits over the bony points of your hips. Run your hands down from the bottom of your ribs to your hip bones: you should feel a smooth line.

You may feel your shoulders relax. Keep it gentle. If you feel as if you’ve shrunk, or breathing feels harder, you’re doing too much. Think of it as a sigh through your body, and find the point of relaxed comfort.

How to breathe in a Pilates class

Breathing fully and deeply is a cornerstone of Pilates technique, so it is worth learning the pattern we use. As you inhale, take a long breath in through the nose that expands your back and your ribs sideways. Put your hands on either side of your rib cage, thumbs back and fingers forward, and feel your ribs press into your hands as you breathe in.

As you exhale, feel the ribs deflate and the abdominals draw in like a corset around the bones of your pelvis and lower back. Two images help: balloon lungs, inflating and deflating, and corset abdominals, slowly tightening around you. What should not change is the alignment of your bones as those muscles engage.

Learning to engage the abdominals as you breathe out is the first step to the abdominal strength that supports your spine through every position it takes: neutral, flexion, extension, side bending and rotation. The muscles work differently in each, which is why we train them to support you when you are still as well as when you move.

If you are new to this pattern, you may feel light-headed or a little flat after your first few sessions. Drink a few extra glasses of water on the days you do Pilates.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Please check with your doctor before starting a new exercise programme.

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