Big News for The Breathing Gym

Today I became aware of a press release dated August 18, 2008 that relates some big news for The Breathing Gym–it is slated to be the focus of a one million dollar research study funded by The National Cancer Institute. The release reads,

Researchers from the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center and the IU School of Nursing are researching the use of exercises from ʻThe Breathing Gymʼ in a study examining techniques to help menopausal and post-menopausal women manage and reduce hot flashes. Dr. Debra Burns and Dr. Janet Carpenter from IUPUI are using a series of exercises from music educationʼs most popular tactics book, The Breathing Gym, in an effort to find effective non-drug treatments for hot flashes.

The National Cancer Institute has funded a $1 million research grant for this study. Cancer treatments often reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of traditional hot flash treatments. Researchers hope to find effective non-drug treatments for hot flashes, particularly regimens that can coincide with pharmaceutical cancer treatments.

The Breathing Gym is a book and DVD publication co-authored by Patrick Sheridan and Sam Pilafian, music professors at Arizona State University. The Breathing Gym is the worldʼs best-selling breathing method for instrumental improvement. It is currently used by more than 6500 high schools, 3600 middle schools, 4800 elementary schools and 1100 universities worldwide. In their clinic schedule, the co-authors have brought The Breathing Gym to more than one million people.

This is a great publication, I feel a “must have” for any brass player and maybe even more useful than I ever suspected. It is available through Horn Notes Edition and many other retailers, including directly from the publisher.

One thing I would add if you do purchase The Breathing Gym is don’t just pop in the DVD and do it, look at the book first. At the end of the book there is a two page chart of suggested routines (a ten minute routine, etc.) which lays out how to actually form a routine that works. Trying to do the DVD from start to finish with no prior breathing practice is really difficult!