Many people these days are looking for a natural way to manage their asthmatic condition. One of the popular options in this regard is the use of yoga for asthma treatment. There is intriguing evidence to suggest that yoga breathing exercises could help sufferers of mild asthma and may help reduce their use of low-dose drug inhalers in wheezing attacks.
Clinical studies have demonstrated that yoga can be remarkably effective at managing an asthmatic condition. The results indicate that attacks can be averted simply through participating in yoga on a regular basis, thereby reducing the dependence on drugs.
Part of the reason for this is the fact that yoga relaxes your mind and body, allowing your immune system to function more effectively. But the real key seems to be that yoga breathing techniques help regulate breathing patterns and improve lung functioning.
Researchers from the Respiratory Medicine Unit, City University, Nottingham, are calling for more studies of alternative methods of improving breathing control, which they say have been largely ignored by Western medicine. While yoga practitioners have long believed in the benefits of pranayama breathing exercises for asthmatics, this has been hard to study formally. But using a Pink City lung, a device that imposes slow breathing on the user and can mimic pranayama breathing exercises, it was possible for researchers to measure the effects of controlled breathing in a clinical trial.
Two simulated pranayama exercises were tested: slow deep breathing and breathing out for twice as long as breathing in. The researchers used standard clinical tests to measure the volume of air patients were able to blow out in a second and to test the irritability of their airways. After yoga, their airways were two times less irritable.
Regularly practicing yoga postures and pranayama improves lung capacity and airflow. Breathing exercises help you maintain relaxed and controlled breathing, which is essential for preventing or reducing asthma attacks. Back bending postures help to open up the chest, thereby enhancing the functionality of the lungs. Concentrate on upper back bends and chest opening postures if you find it difficult to exhale during an asthma attack. Practice forward bends and lower back bending poses if you have more problems with inhaling. Inverted postures are terrific for draining accumulations of mucus from the lungs.
Though asthma patients should not stop their medication, they should consider experimenting with yogic breathing exercises to help manage their condition. This video shows you a simple but effective technique for yogic breathing aimed at controlling asthma.
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