ASTHMA AND YOGA

I shall never forget my wife’s first attack of asthma, she woke up with a horrible choked feeling and could not get enough air into her lungs and any attempt to breathe produced a high pitched wheezing sound. Her chest was rapidly moving in and out, naturally, she was very frightened. It was about 2 O’clock in night. I and my daughter were very much afraid to see the condition of my wife. Immediately I called my family doctor and he examined her and promptly gave her an injection. She was breathing normally within a few minutes after the injection .She felt as if she had been saved from certain suffocation. Doctor declared that it was an Asthma attack. Next day he recommended to test blood and evening we got report, doctor confirmed it was ALLERGIC ASTHMA and started his treatment. He recommended to take tablet regulary-3- times a day and by this tablets she got relief and her asthma was in control but I was worrying 3 tablets per day may effect the body of my wife and therefore I started to read many books on Asthma and decided to find out some way through YOGA.I joined YOGA VIDYA NIKETAN, MUMBAI for Diploma in Yogic Education. During my course I got excellent guidance from all side scientifically as well as yogic from my teachers and therefore I dare to write this article on “Asthma and Yoga” so that nobody will be afraid as I was at the time of first attack of asthma to my wife.

SOME BASIC ABOUT ASTHMA:

Asthma is disease of Respiratory System. The purpose of this information is to bring the reader to an awareness of the symptoms and condition of asthma. Those who have experienced asthma will, of course, be familiar with these facts, but it is hoped that they will benefit from a logical and ordered.

The basic cause of an asthma attack is contraction of the breathing tubes. This is accompanied by over production of mucus, further blocking the airway. The attack manifests itself as an excruciating breathlessness, especially during the exhalation production a wheezing sound.Like, diabetes, it is humorously said that Asthma also is more than a faithful wife. A wife may take a divorce but Asthma will never.

Asthma is a chronic psychosomatic disease like peptic ulcer, dermatitis or rheumatism. The term psychosomatic is used for those diseases in which emotional and psychic factors are closely and clearly related with the onset or exacerbation of the symptoms.

Asthma originates most commonly in infancy and less so in middle life and it occurs with equal frequency in both sexes during youth. However, males are more susceptible in later life than females.

There is also hereditary factor causes asthma but these do not render a cure impossible.

Nervousness is intimately linked with the disease. Worry, smoking and pollution are major contributing causes.

Asthma often occurs in the cold months of the year when the body builds up excessive amount of mucus and cannot burn it off. That is, the body does not generate enough internal metabolic heat to handle the cold climate and as a result mucus builds up and is not expelled from the body. This is combined with spasms of the bronchioles and bronchi, preventing sufficient air getting out. The result is breathlessness, wheezing, gasping and coughing.

This condition is aggravated by any thing which produces mucus, such as cold, and starchy carbohydrates or which requires extra oxygen such as exercise. Ultimately this disease has its roots in the mind, or we suppress mental energies they are eventually expressed through dreams, the personality or in disease.

Drugs alone cannot cure asthma; they can only treat the symptoms. In time, the bronchial muscles become accustomed to drugs and their effects are diminished. Only treatment of the cause can produce a cure. When you have cured asthma with yoga you will no longer need drugs.

YOGIC TREATMENT:

Most people in the world having an acute illness will do anything to find relief, usually in the form of drugs and other remedies designed to suppress symptoms. From the yogic and natural health point of view this can be a mistake. The disease is an attempt by nature to rebalance and heal the body, ridding it of accumulated toxins, chemicals and waste products that have been stored and are clogging vital capillary, lymphatic, nervous and organic channels. These impurities disturb physiological function, converting it to the pathological and distorting panic energy fields. The mind is affected in and reciprocal interchange with distorted body energies creating pain, tension and suffering. Disease in nature’s mechanism to right the capsizing human vessel and tp restore normal function. The process must be aided and not suppressed, so that it takes place in the shortest possible time with the maximum beneficial effects and the minimum amount of suffering. To prevent and minimize the pain of asthma and attack of asthma, Yoga is a best remedy.

REMEDY:

Because of its psychosomatic nature, no medical science can guarantee to cure the asthma by treatment of only drugs. That is why it is considered as a life-long trouble. The drugs, only give relief at the time of asthmatic attacks but they never stop the tendency. Yogic treatment in chronic asthmatic trouble is much more effective to minimize the severity and the period of attacks. It may not help when the attack is on. At the time of attack, one should take the drugs to get instant relief from difficulty in respiratoration but if one builds a healthy respiratory system, along with all other systems of body and get perfect balance of mind by continuous Yogabhyas, one can surely get relief from the chronic asthmatic trouble.

Points to Remember:

1} Learn the practices from a trained yoga teacher.

2} Follow the instructions properly.

3} Changeover to a suitable diet and time of food intake are
Important points to consider.

4} Yoga takes a person as an integrated unit, it never treats a
a single part or organ of body separately.

5} Yogabhayas helps a person to get a better functioning of his
Psycho-somatic vehicle.

6} Regular Yogabhayas helps the nature to cure the troubles
and brings a patient to the state of positive health.

7} Yogic therapy is not against medicine, sometimes it
substitutes and in some cases it works as an auxiliary
measure.

ASANAS:

VAJRASANA
SWASAN MARG SHUDDI
SHWANSANA
SULABHA SUPTA VAJRASANA
ARDHA DRONASANA
POORVA BHUJANGASANA
ARDHA SHALABHASAN
PARVATASANA
TADASANA
SIMHA MUDRA
JIVHA BANDHA
BRAMHA MUDRA
KAPALBHATI
ANULOMA VILOM
SHAVASANA