‘Asan’ way out!
Feeling breathless? You can cut short your frequent asthma attacks with certain Yoga exercises.
An asthmatic, Jaya always had to carry an inhaler in her bag, until she was introduced to the world of Yoga and Pranayama. The healing experience of Neti Kriya helped her get rid of steroid tablets and now she can make do without her inhaler. The regular practice of Yogasanas, Pranayama and Kriyas controls the attacks of asthma, which can be eventually cured.
Keep a check:
Bhujangasana and Ushtrasana
They increase movement in the rib cage and the spine to try and improve the working of the lungs. The forward bend of Hastapadasana helps shift and cough up phlegm.
Surya Namaskaar
A regular practice of Surya Namaskaar done with awareness and correct breathing can do wonders. The sequence of practices is such that 95 per cent of the muscles get to work in a very rhythmic way with alternate stretch and strength, forward bend and back bend, which ultimately improve lung and airway functions and helps drain secretions.
Yoga nidra
The deep relaxation induced in the voluntary muscles with Yoganidra extends to the involuntary muscles of the airways too. This helps relax the constricted bronchial tubes and ease the job of breathing. It also reduces the element of panic during an attack as the mind learns to direct inwards and relax the bronchus.
Pranayama:
It helps the full utilisation of all lobes of lungs, normalisation of the fast breathing rate thus improving the exhalations or the breathing out by relaxing the airways. Pranayama teaches diaphragmatic breathing which is a big help during attacks. Asthma patients find it difficult to breathe out due to the spasm of the airways.
They try to cope up with this by contracting their chest wall, which does not really cooperate much due to the tightness of asthma. Here, diaphragmatic breathing done with the help of abdominal muscles is a big resort to reduce the carbondioxide build-up.
Kapaalbhati
Toxins accumulate in our lungs due to our shallow breathing. Kapaalbhati Kriya, with its active abdominal exhalations, purifies the lungs, helping it get rid of carbon dioxide. This also clears the airways making the flow of breathes easier.
Special techniques:
Jal Neti
It helps gain mastery over hyper reactive reflexes by helping develop tolerance to external stimulants something similar to desensitisation therapy for allergens. In Jal Neti, one washes the internal nose with lukewarm saline water.
Here, the water in the hyper responsive nasal lining would trigger off a whole chain of events including excessive sneezing, watery running and nasal blocking. The excitability of the nerves of the air passages gets reduced eventually and one gains mastery over the allergies. This however, should be learnt under guidance.
Medi—Pranayama
This is a special left nostril breathing technique with the left hand in the ‘Surya Mudra’.This breath meditation strengthens the immune system to fight both viruses and bacteria and thus prevent infections. This is followed by breathing with hands interlaced to stimulate the thymus gland (call it the head quarter of the immune system) . The technique has been published internationally and has to be learnt correctly.
Attack the attack - Shashankasana breathing
While sitting in Vajrasana position, hold the right wrist with your left hand behind your back. Synhronise your breathing with your movements — exhale to bend forward on your hip region and inhale to lift your body up. Do this five times. Then as you bend forward, chant a soft ‘Mmm…’ and inhale to come up. Do this five times. During an attack, one can chant ‘Aaaa…’ with the forward bending instead of the ‘Mmm…’
Feeling breathless? You can cut short your frequent asthma attacks with certain Yoga exercises.
Keep a check:
Bhujangasana and Ushtrasana
They increase movement in the rib cage and the spine to try and improve the working of the lungs. The forward bend of Hastapadasana helps shift and cough up phlegm.
Surya Namaskaar
A regular practice of Surya Namaskaar done with awareness and correct breathing can do wonders. The sequence of practices is such that 95 per cent of the muscles get to work in a very rhythmic way with alternate stretch and strength, forward bend and back bend, which ultimately improve lung and airway functions and helps drain secretions.
Yoga nidra
The deep relaxation induced in the voluntary muscles with Yoganidra extends to the involuntary muscles of the airways too. This helps relax the constricted bronchial tubes and ease the job of breathing. It also reduces the element of panic during an attack as the mind learns to direct inwards and relax the bronchus.
Pranayama:
It helps the full utilisation of all lobes of lungs, normalisation of the fast breathing rate thus improving the exhalations or the breathing out by relaxing the airways. Pranayama teaches diaphragmatic breathing which is a big help during attacks. Asthma patients find it difficult to breathe out due to the spasm of the airways.
They try to cope up with this by contracting their chest wall, which does not really cooperate much due to the tightness of asthma. Here, diaphragmatic breathing done with the help of abdominal muscles is a big resort to reduce the carbondioxide build-up.
Kapaalbhati
Toxins accumulate in our lungs due to our shallow breathing. Kapaalbhati Kriya, with its active abdominal exhalations, purifies the lungs, helping it get rid of carbon dioxide. This also clears the airways making the flow of breathes easier.
Special techniques:
Jal Neti
It helps gain mastery over hyper reactive reflexes by helping develop tolerance to external stimulants something similar to desensitisation therapy for allergens. In Jal Neti, one washes the internal nose with lukewarm saline water.
Here, the water in the hyper responsive nasal lining would trigger off a whole chain of events including excessive sneezing, watery running and nasal blocking. The excitability of the nerves of the air passages gets reduced eventually and one gains mastery over the allergies. This however, should be learnt under guidance.
Medi—Pranayama
This is a special left nostril breathing technique with the left hand in the ‘Surya Mudra’.This breath meditation strengthens the immune system to fight both viruses and bacteria and thus prevent infections. This is followed by breathing with hands interlaced to stimulate the thymus gland (call it the head quarter of the immune system) . The technique has been published internationally and has to be learnt correctly.
Attack the attack - Shashankasana breathing
While sitting in Vajrasana position, hold the right wrist with your left hand behind your back. Synhronise your breathing with your movements — exhale to bend forward on your hip region and inhale to lift your body up. Do this five times. Then as you bend forward, chant a soft ‘Mmm…’ and inhale to come up. Do this five times. During an attack, one can chant ‘Aaaa…’ with the forward bending instead of the ‘Mmm…’
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