[pianotech] working out

[William Truitt]

And Duaine:

Lest you think this is all pretzel logic, many of the breathing exercises
are quite simple and do not require that you sit in uncomfortable positions.
You could even sit in a straight backed chair to perform them, if that is
what you need to do.  Your asthma would benefit for the same reasons that it
benefits the rest of us with more normal lung function:  The exercise opens
both the diaphragm and the upper part of your lungs, increasing your lung
capacity and making normal breathing easier.  5 or 10 minutes a day will
bring noticeable benefit.  Plus, when you are done, you will usually feel
relaxed and refreshed.  What's not to like?

Will Truitt

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of David Love
Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 3:26 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] working out

Duane:

My wife who is a Yoga instructor recommends that you find a good Iyengar
(there are different styles) teacher to work with.  There are lots of
restorative components to Iyengar Yoga and it's fairly non-aerobic.  A good
teacher will customize the practice to your own particular needs.  There are
specific sequences designed for asthmatics to open the chest area and
improve breathing.  There are several different types of Yoga and probably
some that you should avoid.  Current "flow" styles are designed to be more
aerobic and more recent styles like Bikram (where they heat up the studio to
some ungodly temperature) would probably aggravate your situation.  The
Iyengar style of Yoga, fwiw, was first brought to the west by none other
than Yehudi Menuhin who studied with B.K.S Iyengar in India to overcome the
many physical problems he had and helped introduce him to Europe and the
West.  

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com