Elsewhere in the lobby there's lots of full-body hugging among returning alumni. Now I'm really nervous. Never has a weekend of wellness loomed more arduous. Our first yoga class. Most people use just a fraction of their five-quart lung capacity, she says.
Shallow breathing allows fatigue and stress to set in.
We can do better. Shari slowly inhales, her upper abdominal muscles and diaphragm tugging downward and drawing gobs of oxygen through her nose and into her lungs. Her exhalation is even slower and more exaggerated. She bids us to do the same. Contrary to conventional exercise, Yogic breathing, or Pranayama, accentuates the exhalation because it cleanses the lungs and speeds the elimination of toxins from the body.