Ask most people what to focus on in their first Reformer class and they'll say alignment, or keeping up, or not falling off the carriage. Almost nobody says breathing – and yet it's usually the first thing a KY Pilates instructor will cue and correct, because getting it right changes how effective everything else you do actually is.
Lateral breathing: the Pilates default
Joseph Pilates taught what's usually called lateral, or thoracic, breathing – expanding the ribcage sideways and into the back on the inhale, rather than letting the belly rise the way it does in more relaxed, everyday breathing. The reason is practical: Pilates work relies on the deep core staying gently engaged throughout most exercises, and a belly that's expanding on every inhale makes consistent core engagement much harder to hold.
Why breath is timed to the movement
In a Reformer class, breath isn't incidental – it's cued alongside the exercise itself. Typically, you exhale on the effort (the part of the movement that takes the most strength) and inhale on the return. Exhaling on effort helps you engage your core more effectively and stops you holding your breath under load, which is a common instinct but works against you – held breath raises tension elsewhere in the body and makes controlled movement harder, not easier.
What this looks like in class
You'll hear it constantly in a KY Pilates class: "breathe out as you push," "inhale to prepare, exhale to lift." It can feel like a lot to think about alongside the movement itself in your first few sessions, and that's completely normal – instructors expect to repeat these cues and will keep correcting gently rather than expecting you to get it instantly. Because our classes are kept small, there's time for that individual correction rather than a general instruction called out to a full room.
Why it's worth the focus
Get the breathing right and two things tend to follow: exercises that felt effortful become more controlled, and you'll likely notice you can hold positions and complete sequences that felt out of reach a few classes earlier. It's rarely about strength alone – a lot of what makes Reformer Pilates "click" for people is this quieter, less visible skill.
Want to work on it in person? See our class schedule or book a class at KY Pilates in Shoreditch, and an instructor will talk you through it from your very first session.
