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Take a Deep Breath The ability to breathe deeply can take on a life and death urgency for
20 million Americans who suffer from asthma. Asthma, which causes the blockage or
constriction of the airways, is reported by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation
of America to have no cure, but practicing Pilates can relieve its symptoms,
and may also help to reduce dependence on an inhaler. The Pilates breath encourages optimal
movement of the ribcage, which improves the ability of the lungs to
fill with air. Pilates strengthens
the deep abdominals, which are accessory muscles used to expel air from
the lungs. A number of studies
published between 1998 and 2005 reported that Pilates
exercises improve body awareness, help costal breathing, increase spinal
mobility and help correctly contract and expand core muscles. Workout of the
Week The Spinal Twist: To Increase Air in your Lungs Sit on the floor with your legs together, straight out in front of you.
Sit up tall, with your arms reaching out in a ‘T’
shape. Keep your arms at
shoulder height, and make sure you’re keeping your shoulders down.
Inhale, and as you exhale, twist to your right.
Sit up taller, inhale, come back to center, then exhale and twist
to the left. Make sure your
hips do not shift as you twist, and engage your obliques. I’ll admit it, I’m a slacker, especially
when it comes to exercise. I
might work at a Pilates studio, but I’m
not the picture of health and fitness.
I wear ungodly high heels, stay up late, and eat, well, like
a college student. When
you’re only twenty-one, I suppose it’s relatively normal
to believe too strongly in your own mortality. But it got me. About two weeks
ago (at my other, notably less pleasant job) I threw my back out. When I went to the doctor, she told me
that the muscles along either side of my spine had knotted up so tightly
I would need to spend my weekend in a haze of muscle relaxants, try
to stay off my feet, and consider sleeping on the floor (yeah, right.) I was miserable. I was in constant pain for almost a week,
I could barely walk, I couldn’t do either one of my jobs very
well, and I felt like an old lady.
Well, the R&R did the trick, but my back was still very stiff. I didn’t feel entirely mobile when
I came into work on Monday morning, but I knew that if I didn’t
do something to help myself, my back would continue to deteriorate as
I got older. So I set up
an appointment to try out Gyrotonic with Chris. I already knew a lot about the ideas
behind it from brochure-making and newsletter-writing, and I’d
heard from a number of clients that it was wonderful, particularly for
their backs. And so I did my very first Gyrotonic session
last Thursday. When I walked
in, Chris was helping to adjust me during one of the exercises, and
he commented on how tight the muscles were in my back, particularly
around the lumbar spine. Over
the course of the session I worked on loosening the muscles in my spine,
on stretching myself out so that I wouldn’t find myself limping
around again. When I left the room, like everyone else
who’d taken it, I was amazed at how great my back felt. Sadly, since I have been in middle school,
I’ve suffered intermittent, mild back pain. After that single hour with Chris, I felt taller, stronger, and amazingly
pain-free. I’m almost
grateful I threw my back out, because I discovered the wonder of Gyrotonic as a result. But I’d recommend that you come
in and try it out before that happens.
–Maria Sitzmann |
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