Take five breaths, then yell!

BEARDED and with brightly colored tattoos on both his calves, Jon Shiner looks tough, but he admits he has struggled with heights his whole life. “If I have to stand on a chair I get nervous, so anything up in the air pretty much freaks me out,” the 29-year-old said.

But on a recent Saturday morning, Shiner decided to face his phobia when he attended a free class at Six Flags Magic Mountain on conquering the fear of riding roller coasters. The amusement park was hosting the course in conjunction with its promotion of Tatsu, a new dragon-themed coaster that officially begins running Saturday.

Riding Tatsu is supposed to simulate flight, the marketing materials say. Riders are strapped into a car standing up, with a shoulder harness and two calf harnesses. Once the car leaves the station, it tilts 90 degrees forward so that riders are “flying” around the track -- arms stretched forward, feet trailing behind -- Superman-style. The ride’s slogan: “Tatsu: Fly at the speed of fear.”

No wonder the park turned to Linda Bortell -- a cheerful clinical psychologist whose areas of expertise include childhood trauma, the effects of divorce and “thrills and terror” -- to facilitate the experimental three-week class held over consecutive Saturdays.

The course started off in the gray-carpeted conference room of the theme park’s administration building. A couple of lighted candles gave the room a pleasant, if slightly saccharine smell. The walls were lined with posters and framed photos of roller coasters.

Bortell introduced herself to the 10 adult participants, who were recruited by park employees in various ways, telling them she is a roller coaster enthusiast who sometimes drives to Magic Mountain for a quick ride on Viper before going to her office in South Pasadena.

She then asked that they go around the room, say their name and explain their exact fears.

Shiner’s friend Fletcher Pickett, a young man wearing a black cap and argyle socks, went first. “I guess my fear is not so much flying or roller coasters, it more stems from not having control of my situation,” he said. “I realize the physics are going to work; it’s more putting other people in complete control of what’s going on.”

The other members of the group nodded in agreement as Bortell wrote “control” on a white board. “That’s a big one,” she said.

John Crerrar, wearing black rubber bracelets and a plaid, short-sleeved button-down shirt, said his fear of coasters came from an unfortunate childhood experience. “I was a tall little kid, and I went to Knott’s Berry Farm and my aunt thought it would be cool for me to ride on some roller coaster that went upside down,” he said.

“Did your aunt say this is going to be scary?” Bortell asked.

“No, I was thrown in there. I thought it was going to be like a little-kid ride,” Crerrar said.

Bortell nodded and wrote “little kid on a big ride” on the white board.

“Hi, my name is Marianne, and I am scared of roller coasters,” said Marianne Roberts, a mother of three in her 40s, without a hint of irony. “I think the thing that scares me most is the big drop. The big, long, straight drop.”

After everyone in the room had a chance to speak, Bortell led the class outside to take a look at Tatsu itself, which the participants are to ride on their third and final class this Saturday.

“If you ride coasters enough, you learn that there are different types of screams,” Bortell said, as the group walked into the park. “There is the ‘I’m here with my cute boyfriend and I’m screaming so I can hang onto him,’ and then there are screams of fun, and some screams of fear. My husband starts screaming the second the coaster leaves the loading dock. He says it’s part of the experience.”

Tatsu was not yet completed when the group got its first glimpse. With 100-foot-tall bright orange steel tubes sticking out of the ground at different angles, it looked like an enormous modern sculpture project.

The group crossed a security line, walked up to the loading dock and took a look at the shiny green and purple cars. The class members were skeptical. Bortell was beaming.

“When you come here you just have to think to yourself, two minutes and I will have conquered this,” Bortell said.

Back in the safety of the carpeted, candlelit room, the group listened as Bortell gave a short lecture about the psychology of coasters.

She discussed Michael Apter’s book, “Dangerous Edge: The Psychology of Excitement,” in which he argues that America has become so safe that people have to create their own risk experiences that are essential for our survival. Inevitably 9/11 came up, as well as the idea of a free-floating collective anxiety that we need to place on something -- whether it is being scared of roller coasters or being afraid to drive on Interstate 5.

Then she spoke about relaxation techniques. She taught the group the “balloon breath” -- five breaths in deep into the stomach, hold for five counts, release for five breaths. She asked them to recall in specific detail a time when they were completely relaxed. “What did it feel like? What did it smell like? What did it sound like? Who were you with?” she prompted.

With everyone a bit more mellow, Bortell showed the class some high-energy video of roller coasters at Magic Mountain. After a few minutes, she paused it to gauge how the class was feeling. No heavy breathing or sweaty palms.

So she moved on to showing footage that makes the viewer feel as if he or she is riding the coaster. The background music was Yello’s “Oh Yeah,” made famous by “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and countless TV commercials (Oooooooh yeaaaaaaaah ... chk-chk-chkahhh). This time, there was some uncomfortable shifting in chairs and a few gasps among the group.

Bortell stopped the video and asked how everyone was doing.

No one spoke, until 28-year-old Ignacio Osorio raised his hand and asked simply, “What is the exact speed of fear?”

*

Tatsu

Where: Six Flags Magic Mountain, 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia

When: Opens Saturday

Price: Adults, $59.99; children under 48 inches tall, $29.99; ages 2 and younger, free

Info: (661) 255-4100, www.sixflags.com/parks/magicmountain