A five-week class at the Greenfield YMCA will teach participants how to optimize their health and well-being through breathing techniques.
The hour-long classes will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. in the YMCA’s Social Room on March 26, April 2, April 9, April 16 and April 23.
The course will include the demonstration and practice of many breathing exercises and the theory behind them. Participants will also learn how to manage the nervous system, blood pressure, moods and endurance.
Carol Ann Pedigree McConnell, a professor at Fitchburg State University and Berkshire Community College, will lead the class. She teaches courses in breathing techniques for better health and well-being. Pedigree McConnell has mastered the practice of coherent breathing under the instruction of Richard Brown and Patricia Gerbarg, authors of “The Healing Power of the Breath: Simple Techniques to Reduce Stress and Anxiety, Enhance Concentration, and Balance Your Emotions.”
John Terry McConnell, who has also received training in coherent breathing and is the author of “Running with Asthma: An Asthmatic Runner’s Memoir,” will assist Pedigree McConnell in leading the class.
The course costs $40 for five sessions. Sign up at the Greenfield YMCA’s front desk.
For more information, contact John Terry McConnell by phone at 413-834-9041 or by email at runnerwithasthma@gmail.com.