Best Pilates Classes in Stony Plain, AB

And about the exhale…nnAfter yesterday’s post about inhaling through the nose, I have had several questions about the Pilates exhale. When doing any Pilates exercise, we are generally working for the strongest and fullest exhale we can muster. A strong exhale is driven by the abs pulling the ribs down to squeeze the air out of the lungs. A strong exhale will recruit more abdominal fibres than any other core exercise. Test this out: put your hands on your abs and cough. What do you feel happen under your fingertips? You should feel those abs tense up and draw inwards, tightening up like a corset around your waistline. If you can feel that, you have four layers of abs totally coordinated. nnAnd we exhale through the mouth making a shaped aperture. Test this out, as well. Try forcefully exhaling with a wide open mouth and then with deliberately shaped mouth. How well do you engage the abs with the wide open mouth? Probably not very well. A little shaping of the lips changes the ab coordination.nnThe simplest exercise to organize this breath out is to play with a pinwheel. Blow on the pinwheel, making it spin well, sustaining the spin until you have totally squeezed all of the air out of your lungs. A complete, strong, full exhale through the mouth is a Pilates exhalation.nnI am not suggesting that have to walk around breathing like this all day long. We use this breathing technique when we do the Pilates exercises to optimize the core recruitment for these movements. You are compounding the strengthening intended in the exercises. You are also simply strengthening your respiratory muscles for when you need a greater respiratory output, like when you are climbing up that hill on your bicycle ride or being chased by that bear on your camping trip. And you have to admit - skipping down the street while blowing on your pinwheel, what could be more fun?