Breathe to Renew

Happy March!! 

Its hard to believe that Spring is on its way…behind the clouds and cold I am sure the sunny is waiting, just as we are, in eager anticipation to arrive and celebrate a warmer season! 

It’s a season of newness!   Soon the days will grow longer and warmer, new buds will be sprout through nature, and our natural energy will be perhaps a bit more buoyant and outgoing.   

Breathe to Renew   Breath is the body’s constant process of renewal.   On average, adults complete 12-20 full breath cycles per minute.  Pulling in new air from our surrounding environment, and then releasing it back. 

I think most of us are aware that when we breathe, we inhale to receive oxygen into our lungs and exhale to release carbon dioxide.  Did you know that inside the cells in your body the same process is occurring?  It’s a process called internal respiration.  Each cell is constantly pulling in new oxygen from your bloodstream to create energy and life and releasing carbon and waste product.   In a way your every cell in your body is alive with breath!

Joseph Pilates himself spoke often and strongly about the importance of breath.  “Breathing is the first act of life,” he proclaims in his book Return to Life Through Contrology, “and the last.”  He suggests full and deep breaths.  “The complete exhalation and inhalation of air stimulates all muscles into greater activity.”

I, personally, like to think of the breath as the body’s internal movement conductor.  Breath carries the flow of vitality and movement inside of every part of our bodies.  

Breath is also connected to the movement of all the tissues and muscles surrounding the body’s core.   They respond directly to the rhythm of your breath.  It is my belief that if we can then enhance the quality of our breath we can create more efficiency and support in our core tissues.

In this week’s classes we will be bringing some extra attention to our breath.   We will learn how to direct our flow of breath to create a fuller experience of breathing, and learn how the breath helps to deepen support of movement in our bodies.  

Stand Tall, Lita