Years ago I injured my back due to an attempt to return to dance at a professional level without having the abdominal strength to maintain it. I needed the abdominal strength to support the challenging movements required, yet had failed to understand the process of recruiting them and would use the strength of my back, hips or legs instead of my abdominal muscles.

I was so good at cheating through most exercises designed to strengthen the abdominal muscles that I never actually strengthened them so a movement therapist I was working with kindly pointed out to me that abdominal muscles are voluntary muscles-which meant that I needed to focus on utilizing them because it was not going to happen automatically.

He taught me breath work to gain more control over these supporting muscles. We started with belly breathing, however I found that I often let my stomach go on an inhalation, which would create a weak moment while executing difficult movement patterns, especially ones that required speed.

What helped solve this problem was mastering the art of ribcage breathing. In learning how to move the rib cage to take in air rather than the belly, I was able to maintain my lower abdominal strength even as my breath progressively got deeper.

This breath is the basics behind the Pilates hundred, which is the first exercise of his mat work. It is what allows one to inhale for so long during the exercise without expanding the belly.

Ribcage Breath:

Stand or sit with your back against a flat wall, maintaining a neutral spine throughout the exercise.

Establish the placement of you lower abdomen by taking a few diaphragmatic breaths. On the exhale of the belly breath, pull your naval back toward your spine and down toward your tailbone. While keeping the naval back and down, place your hands the outer sides of your rib cage. Inhale into your hands and expand your ribcage out to the sides, like an accordion pulling apart. Close the ribcage to exhale, like and accordion squeezing the sound out. Be sure not to round your shoulders as you exhale.

This ribcage breath has us recruit more intercostal muscles then we normally do. Most people only use the intercostals for 25% of the strength it requires to breath. The intercostals are the muscle between each rib. Knowing that may help one picture what they have to use to take the breath in or push it out.

Pilates Hundred:

Start lying on your back and establish your neutral spine. Keeping your arms by your sides, bring your legs to a tabletop position.
Prepare by curling the head and shoulders off the ma t while simultaneously extending knees and arms (legs are 6-7 inches off the floor and arms are 3-4 inches off the floor).

Movement: Lightly pump arms up and down in time with breathing in (5 counts) and out (5 counts) for 10 repetitions (equals 100 breaths)

Pointers: Maintain stability of pelvis through out exercise and maintain the vertical position of the head by imagining you are holding a squash ball between your chin and collar bone. Keep tongue touching the roof of your mouth and sniff in through your nose on the inhalation; exhale through the mouth while making a “shhhh” sound. Keep your arms land legs long.

Modifications: Keep knees bent. Leave head on floor or support head with a towel. Shorten the breath time (i.e.: 3 breaths in and 3 breaths out 8 times.)