The Secret of Pilates Breath

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by Bob Hannum July 1, 2013

        Table of Contents  – What Is Pilates Breath  – How To Do It  – The Importance of Oxygen

Pilates emphasizes proper breathing above all else. Joseph Pilates first emphasized this nearly 100 years ago, long before medical research fully grasped the importance of oxygen for our health. This is one of many reasons I refer to him as the Einstein of fitness.

What exactly is proper breathing according to Pilates? Although Joseph Pilates did not push any particular breathing technique, his students introduced an interesting method known as ‘bellows breathing’, a rarely taught but easy technique where you inhale as deeply as you can and exhale forcefully just like a bellows. Exercise science confirms that a prolonged exhale allows more oxygen absorption into your lungs.

How To Do It

There are a couple of ways to achieve bellows breathing. I find it easiest to simply exhale forcibly with lips pursed or the tongue pressed against the palate. Don’t get caught up in the position of the lips or tongue, but rather simply force out your exhale and your lips or tongue will follow in whatever position is natural for you. Interestingly, weight lifters and high altitude mountain climbers have always used this technique. Joseph Pilates was himself an accomplished weightlifter early in his career and was no doubt familiar with the technique. I believe that he introduced it on occasion to a couple of his advanced students who promoted it after his death.

The Importance Of Oxygen

Let’s look at just how important oxygen is. Many scientists consider oxygen the most important ingredient for the healthy functioning of the body. We get oxygen not just from breathing, but also from what we eat and drink and even to a lesser extent from absorption through our skin. But our major source of oxygen is breathing. Increased breathing during exercise not only delivers more oxygen to our system. It also cleanses our lungs. The mild coughing and clearing of the throat that often occurs during exercise is the loosening and expectorating of the coating in our lungs which traps dust and particles that would otherwise hinder our absorption of oxygen.

Oxygen is our life-support. Without it we quickly die. Clean air is made up of 19-21% oxygen. Paleontologists who analyzed air bubbles trapped in fossilized amber discovered that oxygen levels were as high as 40% when the dinosaurs roamed the earth! The level of oxygen in our air today continues to decrease. Exercise and good nutrition are the best ways to insure that our body gets the oxygen it needs. Here are interesting facts about oxygen, and why it’s so important to our health:

  • 80% of all our metabolic energy production is created by oxygen.
  • Oxygen helps the body in its ability to rebuild itself and maintain a strong and healthy immune system.
  • You can survive without food for about 40 days, without water for about 7, and without oxygen for only minutes.
  • Foods which most deplete our bodies of oxygen are processed sugar, white flour, alcohol, and caffeinated drinks.

  • Our abilities to think, feel, and act require oxygen-related energy production.
  • Oxygen plays a vital role in blood circulation, assimilation of nutrients, digestion, and the elimination of cellular and metabolic wastes.
  • Eating junk food on a regular basis forces the body to use more oxygen in order to metabolize the added chemicals.
  • Complex carbohydrates and raw fruits and vegetables are high in oxygen – as much as 50% of their weight which is why I encourage juicing. Get started with free juice recipes and juicer reviews at Juicing-Secrets.com. Get daily juicing tips on Facebook.
  • The percentage of oxygen in fats is less than 15% while the percentage of oxygen in protein is between 20% and 40%.
  • Excessive stress, such as working too much, traumatic events in your life, and prolonged depression or anxiety greatly depletes your body’s oxygen.
  • Infection also depletes the body’s oxygen which is used to fight bacteria.
  • Individuals with chronically acidic systems also use up oxygen reserves.
  • The body absorbs more oxygen when it exercises.
  • Oxygen heightens concentration, alertness, and memory.
  • 90% of our energy comes from oxygen, and only 10% from food and water.

  • Oxygen speeds up the body’s recovery after physical exertion.
  • Oxygen provides a natural remedy for headaches, migraines, and hangovers.
  • The steady decrease in our earth’s oxygen level is due to pollution, burning of fossil fuels, and the destruction of the ozone layer.
  • Everyday we breathe 20,000 times.
  • The brain, which makes up 2% of our total mass, requires 20% of the body’s oxygen.
  • Research shows that our lung capacity decreases 5% with every decade of life.
  • By mass, oxygen makes up 90% of the water molecule, and water makes up 65-75% of the human body.
  • Cancer attacks every organ in our body except the heart because of its higher supply of oxygen.
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