Inhaling and exhaling might be the most natural actions for people, but two ASU professors have created breathing exercises that lead to better health while improving musical skills.
Sam Pilafian and Patrick Sheridan, both professors in School of Music, have been working on these exercises for about 20 years and their new DVD, called “Breathing Gym Daily Workouts,” was released earlier this month, Pilafian said.
“We’ve put together three- to five-minute exercises on subjects from warming up to doing concerts,” he said. “You can direct it to a musical problem, and that’s what’s different about the new product.”
In 2002, Pilafian and Sheridan co-authored “The Breathing Gym.”
The book consists of breathing exercises that focus on how to breathe better and increase lung capacity for wind-instrument players, Pilafian said.
Pilafian has been teaching at colleges for about 40 years, and he said the exercises – which he started creating in 1976 – have been a success.
“It started to make a difference in the careers and trainings of tuba players,” he said. “Then brass players, then bands.”
The exercises were originally modeled to help one person at a time, but he started teaching them to groups of musicians, and now thousands of schools use the exercises worldwide, Pilafian said.
Music education junior Gabriel Sears said he participates in Breathing Gym sessions, led by Pilafian and Sheridan, every morning at ASU.
“It becomes part of a routine, and you have to follow what [Pilafian] says or you’re not doing it right,” said Sears, who plays the tuba. “It’s made breathing easier, less painful and less stressful.”
Practicing the exercises makes it easier to fill the lungs with air, he said.
“It’s all about form and shape — you always want the ‘O’ shape,” Sears said. “It makes playing the tuba easier.”
Sheridan, who also teaches part-time at the University of California Los Angeles, said the Breathing Gym was originally used specifically for the music market, but they found out that the exercises also have health benefits.
“It’s a way to help kids with asthma use less medication,” Sheridan said.
Kevin Bock, a first-year graduate student in tuba performance, said the exercises helped his brother who has asthma and also plays the tuba.
“My brother has severe asthma, but once he started doing this, it kept his lungs and airways more dilated,” Bock said. “Having the ability to breathe more freely is something pretty much everyone needs.”
Bock said participating in the morning sessions is definitely a unique experience.
“You’re sitting around in a circle, looking at eight other people who look like they’re hyperventilating,” he said.
Despite the interesting appearance, Bock said it’s great watching how it works and helps fix the body.
“It’s working out with a different part of your body,” he said. “We’re not lifting more weights; we’re just blowing more air.”
Pilafian said the Breathing Gym is helping people with more than just asthma.
Last August, the National Cancer Institute gave a $1 million grant to researchers from the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center and the Indiana University School of Nursing who are trying to find treatments for hot flashes, he said.
“Women going through menopause become less stressed with these exercises,” Pilafian said. “And the Breathing Gym is the most teachable way to do breathing exercises.”
Sheridan said that women who are undergoing cancer treatments also experience hot flashes, and the exercises are helping fight both cancer and hot flashes.
“The Breathing Gym teaches timed breathing, and it helps control hot flashes,” he said.
Sheridan said cancer is anaerobic, and any exercises that help oxygenate the body make it harder for cancer cells to grow.
“The crazy thing is that this started with two people trying to make musicians better,” he said.
Reach the reporter at charlsy.panzino@asu.edu.
