This May, yoga guru Matthew Cohen promises to help Beijingers breathe a little easier with a three day workshop focusing on qigong and pranayama practices derived from hatha yoga.

As Cohen explains, "Heavy winds and bad air can scatter chi and disturb one's mental focus." How true. How many times has Beijing's foul weather kept you captive inside? With this in mind, and after his many years of experience teaching yoga in Beijing, Cohen has tailored a regime specifically catering to long term expats. He is more than sensitive to the fact that daily battling dirty winds, filthy smog, heavy traffic and the general "experience" of living in China clogs the lungs, as well as the mind.

Cohen is quite an interest character in his own right. He has studied yoga since childhood, later combing it with study of Taoist teachings and energetic healing. He also holds a fifth degree black belt in Shaolin Temple kung fu and is trained in Indonesian martial arts, taiqi and qigong, as well as traditional Asian medical practice and modern alternative healing methods.

All this adds up to a basic philosophy for healthy living which revolves around "sitting up straight and inhaling deeply"coupled with techniques for focusing energy and pulling in the much needed air. While Cohen believes Beijingers are open to the concepts of chi (life energy), in regards to this most vital of elements he feels they have a long way to go in cultivating it. "Students should develop a regular practice that is calming, detoxifying and strengthening," he advises, "this will help combat the stresses of big city life. I feel it is important for students to integrate simple and effective practices into their lives; for example proper posture and alignment. This can be applied not only in yoga class but in driving, walking, sitting, working, lying."

The program of the three-day workshop he has designed is rigorous. Friday's lecture will begin with the study of Taoist breath and ujjayii pranayama. Bring a pen, because this is a real lecture. On Saturday, he covers nadi sodhana pranayama, kapalabhati pranayama, cleansing breath and boost breath techniques, combined with some real-time practice. The workshop wraps up on Sunday with guidelines on teaching ujjayii in hatha yoga courses.

"All aspects of this workshop will be of benefit for Beijingers,"Cohen stresses, "but in order to achieve long-term benefits, I recommend practicing daily, especially early in the morning, when the lungs are open and there are less distractions, like traffic, noise, pollution, and before the day's mental anguish sets in."

Breath Inside the Breath Workshop:

Yoga Yard

Tel: 010-6413-0774
Address:6/F, 17 Gongti Beilu,Opposite Worker's Stadium north gate, same building as Bodhi and Olive
Date:May 11-13
£¤800/3 days or £¤260-320/day
Tel: 6413-0774
Website: www.yogayard.com