How Did Joe Pilates Want Us To Breathe?

More than once I’ve heard from members wondering why there is not much instruction on the breath in some styles of Pilates but breathing is very specifically instructed in Return to Life.

So, why the difference? I asked several First Generation Pilates teachers their take on how to breathe in Pilates and here’s the answers I received (these are notes from my memory, not their exact words):

Romana Kryzanowska

When asked how we should breathe, Romana talked about getting all the air out of the lungs and if we do that, it’s not necessary to focus on the breath all the time. She would say use your common sense and make sure you are not holding your breath. In her training repertoire, there are many specific ‘breathing’ exercises where squeezing all the air out of the lungs is the goal or where breathing is directly instructed. For example: Double Leg Stretch, Coordination and Down Stretch on the Reformer, Snake/Twist on the Reformer, Breathing on the Cadillac… In my workouts Romana often instructed the breath but it wasn’t as obvious as the all capital letters that Joe uses in RtL and sometimes she would switch the breathing rhythm to wake you up. Try what Romana instructed in this Reformer workout with Carrie Russo.

Jay Grimes

Jay had a wonderful example about breathing that he related to teaching a child how to use the swings on a playground. You put the kid on the swing, give them a push and they figure it out. You don’t break down the movement by saying ‘kick your legs, lean back, lean forward…” On specific exercises Jay instructed breathing much the way Romana did. His instructions were very simple: “breathe in… now wring all the air out as you twist…” Hear Jay’s take on breathing in Pilates and the tool that Joseph Pilates created for conditioning his opera singer clients in this video: Breath-a-cizer with Jay

Kathy Grant

In my lessons with Kathy she taught breathing very specifically, often with spoken words that force you to remaining engaged in your core while moving. Her way of teaching revealed all your weak spots! Some of Kathy’s breathing she identified as Joe’s and some as her own invention like the hissing cat and methods you can see in this video with Sarita Allen and this one with Blossom Leilani Crawford.

Ron Fletcher

I took several workshops with Ron and he taught his own breathing method in them. Ron’s breathing is very specific and different from what Joe wrote in RtL but I found it effective for connecting to my powerhouse and concentration.


Check out the videos above and then if you’d like hear and move with the breathing instructions exactly the way they are written in Return to Life, do this workout with me: Return to Life Complete Workout.

Xx,

Alisa Wyatt

Chief Pilates Officer

Pilatesology