YOGA FOR INCREASING LUNG CAPACITY

You dont need to think that yoga can only be done by some. All of us can find some basic exercises that can be done for certain specific requirements. A core component of yoga is its focus on controlled breathing, or pranayama.  Although researchers are not sure why or how yoga improves lung function, several studies have shown that it does, indeed, have a positive affect on respiration. Many allergies and asthmatic disorders can be treated with certain yogic exercises. “Chair breathing”: a yogic relaxation breathing technique helps in reducing asthmatic symptoms.

Chair Breathing Exercise

The yogic chair breathing exercise is simple to perform, but has proven to be effective at controlling asthma and other breathing-related malfunctions.  A 1993 study done at the University College of Medical Sciences in New Delhi found that chair breathing improved lung capacity by 10%.

In this exercise, the patient sits on a mat on the floor facing a folding chair. The patient extends his or her legs beneath the legs of the chair and rests his or her arms on the seat of the chair.  The following steps are then performed in sequence:

1.      Slowly tense all of the muscles of the body
2.      Progressively relax each of those muscles
3.      Repeat step 1 and 2 five times in sequence while slowly leaning   the head backward and then forward toward the seat of the chair
4.      Inhale slowly and deeply while leaning the head backward
5.      Exhale slowly while leaning the head forward and down toward the seat of the chair
6.      Repeat steps 4 and 5 five times in sequence
7.      Repeat steps 4 and 5 five more times in sequence while slowly chanting “Ah” on the exhale

8.      Repeat steps 4 and 5 five more times in sequence while slowly chanting “MM” on the exhale 

Pranayamas

The chair breathing exercise is not the only pranayama that is thought to improve lung function.  Indeed, the whole practice of yoga is, in a sense, a pranayama because of its continual focus on the breath.

Pranayamas range from simple deep breathing exercising (a series of deep inhalations and deep exhalations) to alternate nostril breathing (a series of inhalations and exhalations that utilize only one nostril at a time.)

But they all play an important respiratory function.

One of the ways in which yoga is believed to improve lung function is through exercises that expand the chest wall, thus providing more room for the lungs to expand.

Yoga Exercises that Improve Chest Wall Function

Some of the yoga postures (called asanas) that are believe to improve chest wall function are:

-          The tree (Vrksasana)
-          The camel (Ushtrasana)
-          The cat ( Bidalasana)

Other asanas that are believed to improve chest wall function are:

-          The cobra (Bhujangasana)
-          The swan (Hansasana)
-          The bow (Dhanurasana)