Pilates Breathing & Butterfly Wings

I'm always looking for good new visual imagery to use with my clients that will help them better relate to their body, movement, AND better understand how to improve their technique.(I can't take credit for this one, came from one of my teachers newer clients this week.) Since we want clients to breath into their posterio-lateral ribs for Pilates, try explaining the feeling of breathing into this area like a butterfly, opening it's wings to fly. Breathing into your wings might help your clients associate to where they should put their air, and if they continue the breath out to the tips of their wings, you'll really be able to open & widen the back ribs on every breath. My last hint for the day on this - Suggest that their butterfly wings are attached very close to the spine. This way as they fill there will be a better sense of using the breath to elongate the spine as the ribs are opening. Without this, they might just be widening the sides of the ribs and not using the breath for the benefit of opening and lengthening the natural curves of the spine. What color are your Butterfly Wings? Happy Breathing!