A better breath to cure what ails you

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Expectation reduces joy. Live in the present. Be 100 percent in all that you do.

Those three mantras welcomed us, the participants in a five- day course for the Art of Living movement.

That was after shaking hands and greeting each other by looking straight into each other's eyes and saying, "I belong to you".

Our teacher then taught us several breathing techniques which were promised to result in a calm expulsion of toxins, the release of pent-up emotions and a sizzling spurt of energy.

That is what Art of Living is all about.

In India where the movement originates, the metropolitan elite is wholeheartedly taking up the technique, which is known as the sudarshan kriya (Sanskrit for "proper vision, purified action").

The technique transports oxygen to parts of the brain that other kinds of breathing fail to reach.

Conceived by the founder of Art of Living, 45-year-old Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the sudarshan kriya supposedly enables people to use about 80 percent of their lung capacity as opposed to the normal 30 percent.

Thousands of people in India and some 140 countries have attended the short workshops. Faithful practitioners claim it has banished, or at least subdued, depression, diabetes, sinusitis and hypertension.

The movement also says that drug addicts and prisoners benefit from it, too. In the United States, the technique has been taught to people with AIDS, and the claim is not just that they attain the regulation "bliss", but also that they live longer.

The Art of Living Foundation has also reached these shores, with its branch located in Sunter, North Jakarta.

It was quite an absorbing experience to attend their workshop last week, consisting of five days in a row, with a three-hour session each day, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. or sometimes even to 10 p.m.

Here are the day-to-day details of getting into the Art of Living.

Day 1

Our teacher, Meenu Topandasani, asked each of the 15 participants about our ambitions in life, the obstacles in reaching them and our expectations of the course.

She then pronounced that we would not get anything from the course, and so the first mantra mentioned earlier was given.

"I'm not asking you to drop your expectations, but expectation really reduces joy," said Meenu, who has been teaching since 1994. Well, that makes sense.

Meenu said she studied everything from yoga to reiki in a bid to find some peace of mind, but her answer came in Art of Living.

She told us about the seven layers of ourselves which includes body, breath, mind, and ego; the four sources of energy (food, air, meditative mind and rest); and the importance of breathing, but that most of us do not do it properly.

We took our first ujjay breath, that is, breathing through the throat instead of nostrils. It may sound weird, but it is actually quite easy to do. Just imagine that the nose is blocked and the air is inhaled through your larynx.

We then did three stages of pranayama, which combines ujjay breathing with three poses.

The whole exercise was refreshing for our respiratory systems.

At the end of the session, Meenu told us to stop smoking, be vegetarians (meat is not good for health, she said, as human teeth are not meant to chew the red stuff), drink at least a glass of water in the morning, half an hour before brushing our teeth, and do ujjay before sleeping.

Day 2

We started with some yoga positions, including 12 postures of suryanamaskar. We also did some meditation, which was aimed to increase the awareness of our body, mind and thought.

Meenu also taught about how chanting can send good vibrations to our internal organs.

"Every religion has the A, U, M sounds. It is actually good for our health to chant it," she said.

While chanting each sound, I could feel the A vibrate the stomach, U vibrate the chest and M vibrate the throat and head.

We also talked about responsibility. Meenu said that we are responsible for everything and that we have to take all of the responsibility. All of it? Little old me? Excuse me?

For the next day, our homework was thinking about what makes us happy and what we need to be happy. We were also asked to call people who we were not speaking to. As I am speaking with everyone, count me out.

Day 3

It was time to do the main technique, sudarshan kriya.

But first we did all the postures taught in the first two days plus bhastrika, a fast nostril breathing. The latter left me with a painful nose (smoking too much?).

The kriya is the rhythmic technique of long, medium and short breaths. Through a cassette, the movement's guru himself accompanied us by chanting "So, hum" at different rhythms.

We had different reactions to the exercise. Some of us had stiff mouths, dizziness, heightened emotional feelings, while I felt pain in my nose and chest, and had a sore throat. I do have problems in that area as I am asthmatic.

According to Meenu, the technique works as a form of detoxification.

"So, all of the disease will come out. You have to get to sleep as soon as you get home tonight."

Two women came and talked about the benefits they obtained by attending the workshop.

"I was in real pain from my sclerosis although the doctor said that I shouldn't feel anything. I guess it was all in the mind. I was such a whiner," said Angela, 26.

The other woman, Angel, said she threw away her inhaler on the second day of the workshop as her asthma was relieved.

For the next day, we were asked to do something good for other people.

Day 4

We did all of the postures and technique, including the kriya. Miraculously, my sore throat was gone.

We also talked about the good deed we had done. Mine did not really impress Meenu apparently, as she told me that I should have gone straight to bed like she told us to, instead of being a shoulder to cry on until 3 a.m. for friends with problems.

Day 5

The last day of the workshop was similar to the previous one, with the addition of some bowing down processes. We also had to sit face to face with different partners, staring into their eyes ("accept them for what they are, imagine God is in his/her form") which, of course, reduced some of us to giggles.

It was closed by dancing to Indian tunes (with eyes closed, thank God), and that "I belong to you" ritual once again.

Conclusion:

As a reporter, I was taught to be skeptical, so I did not expect a five-day course would instantly change me into Ms. the- glass-is-always-half-full.

I also initially thought that this smacked of a cult as there was the picture of the guru, with his long hair and beard, dressed in white, watching over us from a table. Meenu also always spoke about him in such full, glowing adoration.

I also found some of the philosophy rather utopian. But health and emotional-wise, I feel good for taking it. My asthma has not been cured entirely, but as I practice the breathing technique every day, it has offered some relief.

I also feel happier and when I laugh, the vibration spreads through my veins. It just feels good. It may sound cheesy, but somehow, through this workshop, I feel like I understand my religion, Islam, better.

The course costs Rp 450,000, and you can contact Art of Living, Jl. Danau Indah Raya Blok A1 No. 2, Sunter Podomoro, Ph. 6513123 or visit http://www.artofliving.org.