Participants breathed in calmness and breathed out worries at a workshop.

Pagan George, who has taught yoga in Los Angeles for 30 years, taught 20 participants breath work at the Hammer Museum on Sunday. George began the workshop by labeling the different body parts involved with breathing – the mouth, pharynx, windpipe and lungs. He said the purpose of breathing is to remove carbon dioxide and to receive oxygen in the lungs, describing the bronchi as tree-like structures which connect humans to nature.

“There’s nothing that we’re not connected to,” George said. “We live off the sun, eat off the Earth, drink its water, and of course, you breathe air.”

Breathing should be approached as a form of play because discoveries are found through play, George added. If someone is serious about everything all of the time, they may block off other ways of thinking, he said. Additionally, George said breathing can inform someone about their anxieties and fears. An example he provided was when people found out about the election results, some said they could not breathe. The inability to breathe could be addressed through breath work, he said.

The purpose of the breath exercises are to increase the motion of minerals and vitamins and cleanse the blood and force vitamins out, George said. Breathing also helps people be more conscious about their place in the world and can be used as a form of self-empowerment, he added. During times of useless stress, such as when stuck in traffic, George said breath work can create a feeling of movement even when nothing is moving externally.

When implementing the breath techniques, George instructed participants to be intentional about closing their eyes, sit as straight as possible and plant their feet on the ground. Closing one’s eyes allows them to be more aware of their body and how they are feeling, he said. People often feel excitement and anticipation when doing breathwork, he added. With both feet on the ground, George said one receives the energy from the Earth.

George’s wife Bahni Turpin, who attended the workshop, said she always feels better after breath work, and she hopes to do more of it in the future. Since the workshop was done outside, Turpin said she felt cold but relaxed. She added that she could understand why someone might feel anxious during some of the yogic practices, referred to as pranayama. Some pranayamas require the person to hold their breath in or out for a few seconds, she said. Turpin originally struggled with these types of breathing exercises because she has had asthma for her entire life. After practicing more breath work, she said she eventually found pranayamas to be less difficult.

Rachel Sterns, who has been attending yoga classes led by George for 10 years, said she was so relaxed by Sunday’s workshop she almost fell asleep. Sterns said, although she tends to enjoy more physical activity such as pilates with weights, she appreciated that the workshop was all about breathing and was especially fond of the standing breathing exercises. The workshop encouraged her to relieve herself from the pressure of her own thoughts and feelings, Sterns added.

“I’m still really learning and letting go. … I have trouble getting out of my head, so I’m trying to today,” Sterns said. “You’ve got to focus on the breath and let the feeling and thoughts go.”

Matty Arnold, another attendee and yoga student of George, said he found the opportunity to do breathing exercises to be exciting, differentiating it from George’s usual yoga classes. He said being outside and around many plants added to the workshop because it felt as though participants were breathing in more oxygen in harmony with each other. Breath work is the easiest way to introduce oneself to wellness, Arnold added, as it does not require a flexible or strong body and is a common and an easy way to heal oneself.

Arnold said when practicing breath work, his feelings of chaos evolve into calm. Doing breath work while he is on the bus or on walks helps him self-regulate, he added. His favorite breathing exercise during the workshop included integrating a hum because it vibrated the vagus nerve, he added. George said he hopes attendees can use what they learned at the workshop wherever they go.

“It (breathing practices) puts me in that place where I can go forward and do the things I want without bumping into the stuff that’s inside me,” George said. “I can come with clarity, receptivity and awareness, and that’s what we need more.”