17/08/2026
Pilates breathing: perhaps we are asking the wrong question? When I walk on the beach I use nature to help me reflect on things that have been bothering me and allow them to float away on the waves or the clouds or sometimes I use my walk to form a better picture of something thsts been said or written.
Like the tide, the human action of breathing always comes in and out.
I’ve been following discussions on various groups about whether Pilates breathing should be nasal, oral, or a combination of the two….its not a case of either or , it’s working to what the body “should do” and how we work with the body towards uniform development and natural breath. Like the waves on the tide or the movement of clouds , a lot depends on what’s in the air - strong and crashing waves or barely audible.
I was originally taught classical Pilates: nasal breathing, but I think the more interesting question is why we breathe in a particular way during Pilates.
I’m a co-author of research examining the Pilates stance and Pilates-based matwork. The Pilates method isn’t simply about “working the abs”. Our paper found measurable changes in height, waist circumference and interscapular distance associated with the Pilates stance and matwork training. The stance involves the familiar Pilates instruction to draw the abdomen “in and up”. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38876684/
However, respiratory physiology is fascinating, the diaphragm isn’t simply a breathing muscle.
Research by Hodges and colleagues demonstrated that the diaphragm and transversus abdominis (TrA) are coordinated during postural tasks. During limb movement, both were active, with their activity impacted by respiration as well as movement. Further work by the same team showed that when respiratory demand increases, postural activity of both the diaphragm and TrA can change. In other words, respiratory and postural control are integrated systems. Pilates was indeed ahead of his time !
So when I read;
“Mouth exhales can create a stronger core engagement.” I as usual thought- where did that idea come from?
I think we need to be cautious on repeating what we think we know and what we have been sold. Where is the evidence that mouth exhalation itself produces a superior “core”?
An increase in abdominal activity during expiration isn’t the same thing as demonstrating that oral exhalation produces better trunk control. And a stronger sensation of “core engagement” isn’t necessarily a better physiological or movement outcome.
The body doesn’t have a separate breathing system and “core” system. The “core” is not well defined and is a fitness /1990s catchphrase- I don’t use it.
The diaphragm, abdominal wall, ribcage and trunk musculature are continuously coordinating respiration with postural control. That, to me, is much closer to the original Pilates concept.
Joseph Pilates described his method as developing the body and mind together. If we reduce Pilates breathing to “exhale to switch on your abs”, we’ve potentially lost something important.
I find the emerging research on nasal breathing interesting. Current research suggests that nasal and oral breathing have different effects on respiratory muscle activity and brain function. That doesn’t make oral breathing always ‘wrong’, but it does make the assumption that mouth exhalation automatically produces better “core strength ”.
The body and the brain need to do what it can to work together for balance - sometimes systems fail and the back up is used. Got a blocked nose due to a virus? - the mouth is used to breathe.
Mouth breathing has an entirely legitimate physiological role, and there are circumstances where oral breathing is necessary or appropriate more likely in the hands of a clinician -not a Pilates teacher.
I believe that we perhaps we should stop look more closely at breathing as discussed by Pilates himself and today’s literature. His full work was about coordinating respiration, posture, movement, attention and the nervous system to bring balance and a clear mind.
That is a much more interesting conversation than nose versus mouth.
And perhaps the real question is:
Are we teaching people to breathe in order to move better — or are we making breathing another thing they have to “get right”?
For a method whose founder stated aim was the integrated development of body and mind, I think that distinction matters, the body and the brain are one, the bresth is a natural inborn action.
Join me in my workshop in September for hypermobility- uniform development when we will discuss breathing and more. More details to follow.
Ps Cloud picture for inspiration.
References
Bayrak Ö, Polastri M, Pehlivan E. Effects of Nasal and Oral Breathing on Respiratory Muscle and Brain Function: A Review. Thorac Res Pract. 2025;26(3):145–151. doi:10.4274/ThoracResPract.2024.24061.
Dent M, McPherson L, Lewitt MS. Effect of the ‘Pilates stance’ and Pilates-based matwork training on measurements of height, waist circumference, and interscapular distance. Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies. 2024. (PubMed)
Hodges PW, Gandevia SC. Changes in intra-abdominal pressure during postural and respiratory activation of the human diaphragm. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2000. (PubMed)
Hodges PW, Heijnen I, Gandevia SC. Postural activity of the diaphragm is reduced in humans when respiratory demand increases. Journal of Physiology. 2001. (PubMed)
