The Art of Living Club, which teaches breathing techniques to control emotion, is playing host to the Youth Empowerment Seminar starting Thursday.

The Art of Living club is part of a course that teaches breathing techniques to reduce stress and focus the mind. Art of Living teaches that for every emotion there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath, which can be used to create harmony of mind, body and spirit.

At 17, Manas Bhatnagar, Bhotal, India, sophomore and president of the Art of Living Club, felt he was too old to learn to play an instrument. He figured it was too late in life to master a new skill. After attending an Art of Living course and practicing the techniques it taught, he learned how to play classical Spanish guitar.

He felt that the breathing techniques that Art of Living teaches empowered him and allowed him to take on challenges.

“We build boundaries that through the Art of Living, we can shake off,” Bhatnagar said.

Bhatnagar said that Art of Living was different from yoga and meditation because he could do it anywhere and without a teacher.

“You can’t meditate or do yoga in an airport,” Bhatnagar said. “With this you can approach anything with a level-head.”

Lurleen Brinkman, Lawrence graduate student, said that Art of Living was an alternative for people who didn’t have time to meditate for 10.000 hours or 25 years like Tibetan monks.

“They create an ultra-supportive environment, conducive to healing, conducive to optimal academic performance,” Brinkman said. “It makes you much more aware. You don’t need as much sleep, and you have all the energy in the world. I had never studied a practice that was that instant, that you could easily replicate by yourself.”

Santosh Thakkar, Karad, India graduate student, heard about Art of Living while in India, and was curious about it for a long time.

He joined a group of friends who contacted an Art of Living teacher in Kansas City to start a group at the Univeristy.

Thakkar said he was not very good as multitasking before he began the breathing practices, but completes work much faster now.

“I can focus and finish my studies in half as much time as before,” Thakkar said.

Thakkar said that with meditation he always felt alone after ending a course. He said Art of Living helped him to connect with other people.

“I was equally connected on an emotional front and a social front,” Thakkar said.

James Farrow, medical director for the Art of Living Foundation, said that he told people with anxiety to try the course before taking medication.

“People under stress have higher cholesterol, higher oxidative chemicals, and studies all show that these levels go down, [with the breathing techniques],” Farrow said.

Patricia Gerbarg, assistant professor of physchiatry at New York Medical College, studies a variety of mind-body practices that employ advanced breathing techniques. She said there have been several studies of people with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder that have shown benefits from breathing techniques. Gerbarg wrote a book called, “How to use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care.”

Nicole King, principal of Scuola Vita Nuova Public Charter School, Kansas City, Mo., implemented an Art Excel program four years ago. The program is similar to Art of Living at the University. She said the exercises the students practice had improved the whole culture and climate of the school.

“They deal with family issues that would be difficult for an adult to live in,” King said. “So if we can give them a safe place to have calm for a few hours, that’s important to our society.”

King said that many children were put on medication immediately for attention deficit disorders, but Art exercises helped them deal with stress and anger management.

“Make a new friend each day, live in the moment, laugh and let go,” King said. “There’s a lot of character-building.”

The Art of Living conference starts this Thursday, 7 p.m., at Ecumentical Christian Ministries and lasts throughout the weekend.

For more information about the conference, contact Manas Bhatnagar at 785-979-3179.

— Edited by Mandy Earles