"Arms open," a soothing voice said. "Take a deep breath in..."

Nine bodies rose with air. "And...let it out naturally."

"Become aware of all the noises in the environment," he said softly.

Apart from a professor's distant voice and the heater's slight hum, 207 Sackett Building was silent as the group sat, eyes closed and palms upward. After a few peaceful minutes, the mellow sound of a bansuri, a wooden flute, slid through the air.

Last Tuesday night, members of the Art of Living club stepped away from their hectic schedules and joined together for several meditation and breathing exercises.

These techniques help to prepare them for their main activity, the Sudarshan Kriya, one component of Yoga of Breath the club uses to calm members' minds and reduce stress, said instructor Birjoo Vaishnav.

"What they commonly call yoga here in the west is not the ancient meditation practice," Vaifhnav (graduate-physics) said. "Just the physical aspect has been attended to [here]."

Meetings, which are held at least once a week, usually begin with sharing personal experiences or problems, move on to physical yoga stretches, and finish with controlled breathing and meditation, he said.

Vaifhnav teaches a six-day Yoga of Breath course to teach members how to understand and participate in the Kriya. The course is one of two offered by the Art of Living Foundation, the largest volunteer-based non-governmental organization in the world. The course provided the inspiration to form the Penn State club that exists now.

The university was one of the places that offered it, and as enrollment grew, Club Treasurer Lakshmi Gopinathan (graduate-integrated bioscience) said the students realized there was enough interest for a club, which officially started last spring semester.

She said the group concentrates on Yoga of Breath because it captures the connection between breath and emotion, much of which is backed by scientific research. "During different emotions, your breath is different," Gopinathan said. "By controlling the rhythm of the breath, we can help control and modulate the emotions."

In fact, most people use only a small amount of their full breathing capacity, club member Rituparna Basu (graduate-engineering mechanics) said.

"Most of the time, we don't breathe properly because we're stressed out or whatever," she said. "So you learn a better way of breathing."

After continually practicing the techniques over a period of time, many members say their lives have changed dramatically.

"It was easier to get your mind off worrying," club President Deepak Ramrakhyani (graduate-aerospace engineering) said. "You're more in tune with everything, and your day is so much easier."

Members agreed that in addition to making them more alert, yet relaxed, during the day, the practice has also allowed them to rise above self-concerns.

"It definitely made me more alert to a certain extent of what others are going through," club Vice President Murali Vilayannur (graduate-computer science) said. "I'm able to have better conversations with people."

That increased concern for others is why the foundation is so committed to service projects, Vilayannur said.

Members have raised money for causes like the recent tsunami disaster and have also taken their teachings to inner cities and prisons.

Although many members are Indian graduate students, club member and alumna Tara Leas said she's been able to share those life-changing experiences despite cultural differences.

"They're very welcoming," she said. "When we're there and we're all together, we're all there for the same purpose. The cultural barriers don't exist when we're all sitting there quietly."