Breathing

Make sure you breathe slowly and deeply. In pilates, you breathe through the nose and out through your mouth. As you breathe think of an imaginary string pulling through your navel and out through your spine. You will also hear your instructor refer to this as "scoop the belly". You will focus on breathing in through your nose and out through you mouth. This active exhalation out through your mouth encourages a stronger contraction of the abdominal muscles, which forces the breath, up and out of the lungs. This will strengthen and stretch the muscules of the lower back, and create a flat abdominal wall.

Focused breath helps the body's ability to stretch, release any tension, its a relaxed state of mind.

RELAX.

I call this excerise, a total mind-body, focusing-state-of- mind workout.
Lie on your back with your legs bent or straight. Close your eyes, inhale and exhale. Start with your head, and direct your focus energy through to your entire body. As you do this, visualize your entire body. Relax all the muscles in your face, your mouth, your eyes. Think aout your ears, relax the jaw, move down to your shoulders. Feel that energy across your shoulders. Breathing deeply, in through the nose and out through your mouth. feel your breath move down through yor arms and now into your hands. With your eyes still closed, visualize your chest, back, abdomen, hips, pelvic area, soften your knees, down through your legs and your feet. As you visualize each area feel the energy flow through each part of your body. Aware of each specific area. As you inhale trhough your nose and exhale through your mouth with slowly and rhythmically, Release any tension you may have out of your body.