Pilates Breathing

The Accordion of Billows Breathing-

.Place your hands on either side of your rib cage.
.Take a deep breath in and let the space between your hands expand to the sides (creating a big gap in the middle).
.Then breathe out (exhale), slowly allowing the rib cage to decrease in size and letting your hands come together.
.Allow all of the air to leave your lungs, and feel your abdominal muscles activate to assist. 
.This lateral expansion allows the ribs to remain stable on the spine and keeps the torso balanced.

Percussive Breathing-

.The percussive breathing method is smooth and deep on the inhale and percssive (resisted) on the exhale.
.You should be able to feel the abdominals forcing ther air out of your lungs on the exhale, and you can use the shh, shh sound with the breath out. 
.This breathing is typically used for the Hundred exercise.


Even Breathing-

This technique allows breathing without displacing any part of your body.  The inhale and exhale occur without a lot of movement in the rib cage or stomach.