Yoga Poses for Asthma Patients

What’s Inside?  –

• How can the benefits of yoga help your asthma condition?
• Yoga poses to try and some precautions to keep in mind
• Want to learn these and more? Head to the best yoga studio in town!

Breathing With Asthma  – Can Yoga Help?

Asthma refers to a breathing condition wherein the bronchial tubes of the lungs become narrow and inflamed, producing extra mucus and triggering coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. While the severity of asthma ranges across individuals, it can be a challenging condition to deal with, as it interrupts with something as basic and necessary as breathing.

One of the major issues with asthma is that exercising often acts as a trigger for asthma attacks, making it difficult for people with asthma to maintain a healthy exercise pattern and keep themselves fit. However, what if we told you that not only can you burn calories and tone and strengthen your entire body, but also work on your asthmatic symptoms too? How? Well, that is one of the major benefits of yoga, of course!

Yoga poses and breathing exercises have been found to have a positive impact on many chronic problems, including asthma. Here are some ways in which research has suggested yoga helps improve the quality of life for those with asthma – 

• Stress can often be a major trigger for an asthmatic attack. With regular practice of yoga poses come mind relaxation and breath and body awareness, which can help asthmatic patients remain calm and breathe normally even during times of stress.
• Yoga poses and breathing exercises are designed to help individuals learn how to breathe more deeply and evenly, even when their body is put under challenge. Thus, what is learnt at the yoga studio can be applied to everyday life to help manage the symptoms of asthma.
• The effects and benefits of yoga are cumulative, and regular practice can help improve your lung capacity and make you feel more in control of your breathing. 
• If by some unfortunate turn you do end up having an asthmatic attack, there are specific yoga poses can help you continue breathing and stay calm so that you can get the help you need without making your symptoms worse.

And as stated above, yoga opens the avenue of exercise for those with asthma, without triggering an attack the way other exercises do. 

Hence, yoga poses can be very beneficial for those with asthma.

Yoga Poses and Breathing Exercises to Try – 

• Pawanmuktasana (Wind Relieving Pose) – A great way to improve your digestion, this asana helps in reducing the feelings of tightness and bloating in the stomach and chest region, and also provides the hips a gentle stretch.

• Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) – Stretching the spine and firming the buttocks, this asana also stimulates the abdominal organs, and is great for stress and fatigue relief. It also helps in opening the chest and improving blood circulation, thus making it helpful for those with asthma.

• Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose) – A great way to engage the core, this asana helps in stretching the chest, neck, and spine, calms the mind, improves digestion and stimulates the abdominal organs and lungs. Thus, this is one of the yoga poses that can bring all-round benefit to the body and mind.

• Baddha Konasana  (Bound Angle Pose) – This pose helps in improving blood circulation, stimulates all the organs of the abdominal region, reduces stress, anxiety, and fatigue, and is considered therapeutic for asthma  and high blood pressure too.

• Shavasana (Corpse Pose) – After any stimulating yoga training session, it is important to let your body ease back into normal functioning. This pose is the perfect way to control restlessness, meditate, and to let go of mental and physical stress, both of which are essential to tackle asthma.

• Nadi Shodhan Pranayama (Alternate Nostril Breathing) – This pranayama is known to improve lung capacity and blood circulation, and is also a great breathing exercise to help reduce stress and tension. It can also be practiced virtually anywhere, making it a go-to relaxation kit.

Alongside these yoga poses and breathing exercises, there are also some important precautions that you should follow – 

• Firstly, it is important to know that asthma changes over time. It is important that you remain in constant collaboration with your doctor and take your medications. While an excellent supplementary practice, yoga should not replace medical requirements. 
• Yoga is a gentle and beneficial exercise, one that can be great for asthma too. However, there may be some poses or practices that make it difficult for you to breathe, even if they may come recommended for asthma. In such cases you would want to talk to your yoga teacher to help you out, so that they can help you correct the yoga poses, or modify them as needed.

Want To Tap Into The Benefits of Yoga?

If you want to tap into the many benefits of yoga, be it weight loss or the control of chronic problems, why not do it with Hith Yoga Studio? One of the best-known yoga studios of Delhi-NCR, Hith Yoga has had vast experience of providing a variety of yoga classes, personal training sessions, corporate workshops and yoga retreats, all led by highly qualified, experienced teachers using the best of facilities. So join Hith Yoga today, and discover for yourself how yoga can help change your life.