I don’t recall when I first got familiar with the work of Dr. John Douillard, but I’m pretty sure it was through his book The Three Season Diet. In reading that book, I loved how Douillard made concepts of Ayurveda simple and easy to understand, and practical to implement. I observed this over again through the years in his writing and work. He writes extensively on topics such as as circadian living, daily ritual, aging, longevity, eating, gut health, sleep, breathing — all important to yogic and Ayurvedic lifestyle — but in a way that relates practically to our lives today. And he ties so much of his writing about ancient principles to modern thought and research.
Therefore, I wasn’t surprised while reading James Nestor’s book Breath last summer that Dr. Douillard was quoted. Nestor pointed to Dr. Douillard’s ground-breaking studies about nose-breathing, which he wrote about in his book, Body, Mind, and Sport. In that book, Dr. Douillard touts the benefits of breathing through the nose while exercising to increase stamina and endurance in addition to other life-enhancing qualities.
I was, however, surprised when I reached out to Dr. Douillard’s team about offering a virtual workshop on the topic of pranayama and he said yes. Dr. Douillard is the author of seven health books. He is a former NBA nutritionist and creator of LifeSpa.com, a leading wellness resource with thousands of free articles, resources and videos, nine million+ YouTube views and over 130k newsletter subscribers. (Hence my surprise.)
We’ll be hosting Dr. Douillard for a workshop on June 3rd from 4-6pm MT entitled Pranayama for Pandemics. This workshop will be part lecture, part experiential and will include time for Q&A. It will cover how to increase respiratory muscle strength, increase uniform diaphragmatic thickness and function, and help open the airways—making breathing easier. As we’ve come to learn over the past year through the pandemic, experts are now proposing screenings for respiratory muscle impairment for individuals at higher risk from a viral infection. They suggest using breathing exercises for respiratory support before, during, and after a respiratory infection. Dr. Douillard will speak to this in more detail in our upcoming workshop.
Registration is available here. The workshop will also be recorded and the replay will be made available for those who are unable to attend live.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Yours in Yoga,
Michele Lawrence, Director
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