#Pilates #Exercise to Love: Carola's Breathing

Ok, yes... so now that we're all over how blonde my hair used to be, we can focus on this fantastic #Pilates #Exercise. 

"Carola's Breathing" an exercise from Pilates' first protoge - Carola Trier, a german dancer who found her way to the US as a performing contortionist, met Joe in 1940 after injury.  Carola opened her own studio in the late 1950s with equipment that Joe either made for her or gave to her from his own stock of creations. 

Carola's variation of "Joe's Breathing" exercise on the the Cadillac uses the push-through bar rather than the roll-down bar from Joe's. 

For clients, I like to use Carola's Breathing as a warm-up for stiff bodies, who were sat at a desk too long.  I find it allows time to warm-up the body and to encourage movement and flow, right from the start of a workout.  Joe's Breathing I tend to use later in a workout and often times add some challenges for my clients by using handles instead of the roll-down bar or add single leg pulses at the top for healthy bodies.

For more information on the history of Pilates and the other Pilates Elders, who are responsible for spreading the love of this wonderful method of exercise, a good starting point is Balanced Body - http://www.pilates.com/BBAPP/V/pilates/origins-of-pilates.html