YOGA FOR ASTHMA

SYMPTOMS OF ASTHMA

• 1. Dry cough

• 2. Difficulty in breathing

• 3. Shortness of breath

• 4. Feeling of lightness in the chest

• 5. Wheezing (hissing or whistling sounds during exhalation.)

• 6. Sometimes an attack is preceded by a running nose, irritated eyes, or an itchy throat.

CAUSES FOR ASTHMA

Factors that precipitate an asthma attack are called triggers. They cause the air passages to get clogged and constricted, making it difficult for the patient to breathe. The inflamed bronchioles generate more mucus and also cause the muscles around them to tighten and get irritated, constricting the airways. This is called a bronchospasm.
However, asthma has a variety of causes.

1. Allergy: For most it is an allergy to foods, perfumes, scents, body sprays, deodorizers, the weather, drugs or any other irritants. They vary from person to person. However, dust allergies seem to be the most common factor.

2. Combination of Factors: For others, it is triggered off by a combination of allergic and non-allergic factors including stress and tension, air pollution or infections.

3. Abnormal Body Chemistry: Asthma may result from the abnormal body chemistry involving the body’s enzymes or a defect in muscular action within the lungs.

4. Heredity: In 75 to 100 per cent cases it has been found that when one or both parents suffer from asthma, the children have similar allergic reactions.

• Tests carried out at Yoga Therapy Centers, across the world, have shown remarkable results in curing asthma. In some cases it has also been found that attacks can actually be averted, without the aid of drugs, just through yogic practices. There is ample research evidence to substantiate the fact that Yoga Therapy makes the treatment so much more successful. Nowadays, even allopathic and homeopathic doctors have arrived at the consensus that Yoga is an excellent alternative therapy for Asthma.

YOGA AASAN TO RELIVE ASTHMA

DANDASAN

Procedure

1. Sit with your spine erect and your knees bent. Position the blocks on their broad sides on either side of your hips. Then place your palms on the blocks.

2. Straighten each leg, one at a time,and join the inner sides of your legs and feet. Lengthen the calf muscles, and stretch your knees and toes. Keep your knees straight. Press your palms down on the blocks and stretch your elbows and arms.

3. Lift your abdomen, freeing the diaphragm of tension. Hold the pose for 1 minute. Beginners may find it easier to separate their feet slightly, and should hold the pose for just 30 seconds.

BADDHAKONASAN

Procedure

1. Sit on a bolster placed at right angles to your body. Place a side of your hips. Sit Dandasan in Bend your knees and join both soles together. Pull your heels closer to the bolster. Beginners mayfind it easier to use a bolster positioned parallel to the hips.
   

   
   

2. Push your knees away from each other and lower them gradually onto the blocks. Open out your chest and draw in the abdomen. Initially, hold the pose for 1 minute. Gradually increase the duration of the asana to 5 minutes.

UPAVISTA KONASAN

Procedure

• Sit against a wall. Then sit Dandasan in with your shoulders and back touching the wall. Keep your backerect. Sit on your buttock bones. Place your palms on the floor, beside your hips, fingers pointing forward. Look straight ahead.

• Press your palms down on the floor to push your torso upward. Exhale, and spread your legs as far apart as possible. Use your hands, one by one, to help you push your legs even further outto the sides.Move your hands behind your buttoc

• ks, and place both palms on the floor. Press your heels and highs down on the floor. Lift your waist and the sides of your torso. Rotate your thighs to the front so that the kneecaps face the ceiling. Shift your weight from the buttocks to the pelvic bone. Stretch each leg from thigh to heel. Hold the pose for 30 - 40 seconds.

ADHOMUKHA SAVASAN

Procedure

1. Stand in Tadasan facing a wall, about 1m (3.5 ft) away from it. Place 2 of the blocks on their broad sides, shoulder- idth apart, against the wall. Place the third block on its long side, 45cm (18in) away from the wall. Separateyour feet to a distance of 45cm(18in). Kneel, and place your palms on the two blocks against the wall.
   
   

2. Press your palms down on the blocksand walk your feet back, until they are 1.2m (4ft) away from your hands. Make sure that your feet are in line with your hands and the same distance apart. Raise both heels, stretchyour legs, then lower your heels to the floor. Stretch your arms fully.
   
   

3. Consciously stretch each leg from heel to buttock, and from the front of the ankle to the top of the thigh. Raise your buttocks, stretch your chest, and push your sternum toward your hands. Exhale, then rest your head on the third block. Press your hands down on the blocks,extending your arms fully. Stretch your spine and expand your chest. Keep your throat soft and elongated. Relax your eyes and keep your brain passive.

UTTANASAN

Procedure

1. Stand in Tadasan. Separate your legs to a distance of 30cm (1ft). Keep your feet parallel to each other, with the toes pointing forward. Pull up your kneecaps.
   
   

2. Inhale and raise your arms toward the ceiling, your palms facing forward. Push your spine up.
   
   

3. Bend from the waist toward the floor. To increase the stretch of your spine, vital for correct practice, press your heels down on the floor.
   
   

4. Rest the crown of your head on the blocks in front of you, and place your palms on the blocks beside your feet. Pull in your kneecaps. Extend your hamstrings and pull your inner legs upward. Feel one single stretch from the crown of your head to your heels. Hold the pose for 1 minute

VIRASANA IS ALSO VERY HELPFUL IN CURING ASTHMA.

REFERENCES

-WWW.WOMENFITNESS.NET