austin_statesman

SERVING SOCIETY BY STRENGTHENING THE INDIVIDUAL

Breathing techniques said to reduce stress
Groups gets city money to teach students.
By Claire Osborn
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, March 19, 2007

An engineer at Dell Inc. said it helped him quit smoking. A former airline executive said it took away her migraines. The
City of Austin believed in it so much that it gave a $20,000 grant to the nonprofit group that teaches it.
What is it? Breathing.

The Art of Living Foundation, a nondenominational spiritual group that started in India, teaches students, combat
veterans and others a series of breathing exercises frequently used in yoga to help them relax.
"I don't even know how it helped, because basically, I was just sitting there breathing," said Pascal Nicolas, a 29-year-old
project manager at Dell. He said that after he took the four-day class, he stopped stuttering and smoking.
"Also, I just figured out how to handle people better and became more friendly," he said.

The Art of Living used a $20,000 grant from the City of Austin in 2005 to work with students, parents and teachers in a
four-month pilot program at Mendez Middle School.
The grant, awarded by the City Council, came from the city's general fund, part of which the city gives out annually to
nonprofit groups that work on issues including mental health and youth services, said Leslie Browder, deputy chief
financial officer for the City of Austin.

"Since stress management affects everyone, and they were focusing on an area that's pretty much universal, the
program was appealing," said Stephanie Hayden, a manager at Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services
Department.
The breathing exercises taught by the Art of Living Foundation can help reduce stress and lower blood pressure, said
Patricia Gerbarg, an assistant professor in clinical psychiatry at New York Medical College who has studied the
foundation's work.

"Over time, people that practice it are not only calmer but have more energy," she said.
The classes at Mendez Middle School reduced stress by 50 percent for more for 61 percent of the students, according to
a performance report done by the Art of Living for the city.
Mendez Principal Connie Barr said she referred studentswho had difficulty controlling their tempers to the program. She
said she has noticed a difference in many of them since they took the classes last summer.
"They don't come into the office as often as they did the year before, and if they do, it is not for being belligerent or
insubordinate," she said.
Patti Montella, a former marketing executive at American Airlines in Dallas, said she was able to get off all her medicine
for migraines and allergies after practicing the techniques for three months. She is the director of Art of Living in Texas.
The breathing exercises have been taught to more than 30 million people in more than 150 countries, said Arvind
Raghunathan, an Art of Living instructor in Austin.
The foundation is nondenominational and offers free classes to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It will also
offer a free session at 6:30 p.m. March 28 at the North Village branch of the Austin Public Library, 2139 W. Anderson
Lane.
Started by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in 1982, the Art of Living is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a new goal of making
America stress-free and violence-free.
Shankar is still the leader of the foundation, and the teachers are volunteers, Raghunathan said. The group receives
money from donations and class fees, and uses it for service projects, he said.
Laura Garnett, a University of Texas shuttle bus driver, said she got her children involved after she took the classes.
"I used to yell at my children 24 hours a day and was a drill sergeant, but now I'm a little more mellow," she said.
Breathing techniques
The techniques include one in which participants inhale as they raise their arms and exhale sharply as they lower them.
Another technique is one in which participants breathe through one nostril while holding the other shut with two fingers
and then release the other nostril and exhale through it.
cosborn@statesman.com; 445-3871

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