Excerpt from Metaphysical Pilates Community: September 2026 Edition.

“Breathing is the first act of life and the last. Our very life depends on it.”-Joseph Pilates Breathing is something we all do—all day, every day, usually without thinking about it. We're born knowing how to breathe. Why then should we worry about how we’re breathing, or whether we're breathing “correctly”? The answer is simple: The quality of our lives directly correlates to the quality of our breathing. This blog is divided into two parts. Part one introduces the core body, breathing mechanics, and pressure within the core. Part two explores problems that arise with improper breathing, and how to correct these problems. The Core Body To understand breathing mechanics, we must first define the core body. Think of your core as a cylinder: The diaphragm and pelvic floor form the top and bottom, respectively. The walls are made up of multiple muscle layers, including the muscles between each rib (intercostals); the deepest abdominal layer (transverse abdominals); the inner and outer obliques; the six-pack abs (rectus); and many layers of muscles that run along the spine (paraspinals). Breathing Mechanics Breathing is controlled by our involuntary nervous system, meaning it happens unconsciously. But we can also control our breath with conscious thought, meaning we can inhale and exhale when we choose to. When we inhale, the diaphragm descends (contracts), pulling the ribcage open. At the same time, the external intercostals contract to lift the ribs, and the pelvic floor lengthens (relaxes) to accommodate the descending internal organs. As air enters the lungs, the ribs expand in all directions–front, side, and back–evenly distributing pressure in the core. On a passive exhale, the ribs recoil to their resting position as the diaphragm and intercostals relax. On an active exhale, the internal intercostals and abdominals contract to draw the ribs down, compressing air out of the lungs. Pressure Within the Core Our abdominals and diaphragm, combined with our breath, drive pressure within our core cylinder. Pressure might sound bad, but in reality, pressure stabilizes and supports our spine like a brace. Pressure protects our lower back and decreases compression of the discs that cushion each bone of the spine. Core pressure allows us to transfer force through our bodies, such as when we pick up a child, throw a ball, or push a heavy bookshelf. The core body is truly marvelous in the way it coordinates breath, controls the movements of our spine, and provides the foundation for generating power and transferring force to our upper and lower limbs. Great breathing and core function allow our body to operate at its best. Unfortunately, we sometimes develop suboptimal breathing habits, causing a host of malfunctions in the body. In next month's blog, we will discover how breathing can go awry, the problems we encounter with poor breathing, and how we can correct our breathing to enjoy better health. With sincerity and grace, Ashley, Instructor and Marketing Liaison

Ego Replacing Consciousness We are watching it happen in real time. Ego — pride, greed, boastfulness, contempt — dressed up as strength. Cruelty rebranded as policy. Callousness mistaken for leadership. It moves through nations the way it moves through people: quietly at first, then all at once, until what was once unthinkable becomes routine. This is not new. It is old rot wearing new clothes. Consciousness — compassion, honor, reverence, unity — has never been the loud thing in the room. It doesn't perform. It doesn't need an audience. So when ego takes the stage, consciousness looks weak by comparison. It isn't. It's just quiet in a world addicted to noise. Look at what's celebrated now. Domination over dialogue. Winning over wisdom. Walls over bridges. A body politic that mistakes the loudest voice for the truest one. This is what happens when perception itself is captured. There's an old teaching: you have eyes, but you cannot see; you have ears, but you cannot hear. A warning about the conditioned mind, closed to what's actually in front of it. Ego rewrites the warning into a creed. Its version runs backward: you have eyes, but you cannot hear; you have ears, but you cannot see. Senses scrambled on purpose — because ego cannot survive clear sight. It needs the crossed wire. It needs you looking at cruelty and calling it strength, listening to truth and calling it threat. Consciousness asks for nothing but clarity. It has no story to sell, no image to protect. Ego is pure narrative — self-serving, self-preserving, endlessly rewriting the evidence to keep itself at the center. That's the real inhumanity — not the cruelty alone, but the scrambled perception that mistakes it for truth. Gloria Santiago, Owner and Founder of Metaphysical Pilates 

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