Can Yoga Help Asthmatics? If Yes, Then How & To What Extent?
Asthma- an intolerable respiratory disease can be breathtaking, especially if negligence towards medication, or inhaler is shown. Thousands and even more individuals globally suffer from this serious condition every year and some of them even die eventually.
How bad can asthma be?
Once started asthma can be a rollercoaster ride, giving constant ups & downs in your life. Where one side you may have relief using an inhaler, on the other hand, trouble breathing, chest pain, fatigue, and sleeping differences can make your life a living hell.
How worse or bad this condition can be judged from the statement that in the year 2019, around 262 million people were affected by this respiratory ailment, and around 4,55,000 have lost their lives against this breathing battle.
- Says WHO
How Can We Treat Asthma?
However, multiple measures are available that can be effectively utilized for asthma treatment such as making wise dietary choices, doing healthy lifestyle changes, practicing yoga, and breathing practices.
In this article, the emphasis is laid on analyzing the connection between yoga and asthma. Not confined to the linkage but the names, and benefits of yoga for asthma are also explained.
How yoga and asthma are interlinked?
Although, yoga and asthma are not connected directly but yes, performing yoga can help asthma patients a lot. Asthma- a respiratory disorder mainly affects breathing functioning, thus delivering adverse impacts on both your physical and mental health. On the other hand, yoga solely aims to improve your overall health so that your body remains safe and far from health complications including asthma. Thus, yoga offers multiple counter-effects through which asthma can be eased.
Benefits of Yoga for asthma patients:
- Open up chest muscles
- Better flow of blood to the lungs and heart
- Help reduce respiratory inflammation
- Improves posture
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Betterment of the cardiovascular system
3 Things to consider while performing yoga for asthma:
- Be easy on yourself, prefer mild yoga postures over hard, or strenuous ones. Otherwise, it may result in asthma complications such as shortness of breath.
- Follow the pattern- Rest | Do | Rest. This means relaxing 1-2 minutes before and after performing yoga.
- Prefer a well-ventilated environment for doing yoga over congested rooms. Additionally, make sure your mind and body both are relaxed.
3 Best Yoga Asanas For Asthma Patients:
Several yoga asanas are there to help out patients with asthma patients. All that it takes is your commitment towards performing them on a routine basis along with other necessary measures like proper medication, active lifestyle, and healthy/fresh/warm meals. Below are the names of the yoga asanas that are often recommended for asthma treatment in Ayurveda:
1. Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose)
Performing this yoga asana can help in multiple ways. Where one side, it helps to open up the blocked respiratory paths, at the same time, it also helps to strengthen the muscles of your body.
How to Perform?
- Lie on your back, placing your palms on the floor.
- Bend your knees above, and keep your heels close as possible to your butts.
- Hold your ankles, and slowly uplift your hips all the way up with a deep breath.
- Stay in this bridge position for a couple of breaths, and then slowly come back to the normal posture.
2. Sukhasana (Easy Pose)
As the name itself clears- The Easy pose, and requires no major effort. But it does not mean that this posture is no, or less beneficial than other asanas for asthma. In fact, it is both easy, and advantageous for your whole respiratory, and digestive well-being.
How to Perform?
- Sit on the floor with your legs stretched straight in front of you.
- Bend your left leg, and place it close to the right thigh.
- Repeat the same thing with the right leg, and left thing to make a position of cross-legged posture.
- Keep your spine straight, and rest your arms over the knees.
- Stay relaxed, close your eyes, and inhale- exhale deeply.
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Badhakonasana (Butterfly pose)
One of the best breathing exercises, or yoga asanas for asthma is Badhakonasana. It has shown very effective results in restoring respiratory and digestive health. It firstly aims to improve the flexibility in your body, and thereby works on alleviating stress, which is a crucial aspect in the management of asthma.
How to Perform?
- Sit with a straight back, and keep the soles of your feet together.
- Interlock your fingers on the toes, and begin to flap your thighs.
- Make sure your breathing is quite normal.
- Now pull your feet close to the pelvis, and repeat this flapping a couple of times.
- Now gently release the posture, and relax.
To get more such information, you may read the blog- yoga for Asthma Patients as mentioned above. Also, it is highly vital to mention that yoga alone can not treat your asthma, seeking medical advice and making the required changes in your diet/ lifestyle is crucial.
For more information, you may consult the experts at Dr. Sharda Ayurveda, Hospital where thousands of patients have successfully gotten relief from their respiratory problems including asthma. Unlike other treatments, traditional and natural measures are prioritized so that asthma can be cured, and the patient’s inhaler dependency can be reduced.
