Yoga for your lungs: Effective exercises to increase your lung capacity and breathe easier | Health

Yoga experts claim that this fitness practice offers a holistic approach to improving lung capacity and managing respiratory diseases by combining breathing techniques, strength exercises, stress reduction, and mindful movement. In other words, yoga offers several benefits that improve lung capacity and ease the symptoms of respiratory diseases.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Himalayan Siddha Akshar, founder of Akshar Yoga Kendra, claimed that by incorporating yoga into your daily routine, you can experience improved respiratory function, reduced symptoms, and improved overall health. Here’s how:

1. Breathing exercises (Pranayama): Pranayama focuses on breath control and can greatly enhance lung function. Techniques such as deep breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, and alternate-nostril breathing expand lung capacity, increase oxygen intake, and improve respiratory efficiency.
2. Strengthening respiratory muscles: Yoga poses (asanas) such as Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana), Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana) and Fish Pose (Matsyasana) exercise and strengthen the muscles involved in breathing, such as the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. Stronger respiratory muscles improve lung capacity and efficiency.
3. Improve your posture: Poor posture can restrict lung expansion and reduce respiratory function. Yoga can help correct postural imbalances by improving alignment and awareness of your body. Poses such as Mountain Pose (Tadasana) and Warrior Pose (Virabhadrasana) encourage proper spinal alignment, improving lung expansion and airflow.
4. Reduce stress: Chronic stress can worsen respiratory diseases and impair lung function. Yoga’s emphasis on relaxation, mindfulness, and stress reduction techniques, including meditation and deep breathing, can reduce stress, enhance mental wellbeing and improve overall respiratory health.
5. Increase lung flexibility: Certain yoga poses stretch and expand the chest and rib cage, which can increase lung flexibility and capacity. Poses such as Camel Pose (Ushtrasana), Bow Pose (Dhanurasana), and Cow Pose (Bitilasana) encourage deep inhalation and full lung expansion.
6. Increased oxygen circulation: Yoga practice, with its emphasis on breath control and mindful movement, improves oxygen circulation throughout the body. Increased oxygenation supports the health of the entire respiratory system, increases energy levels, and reduces symptoms of respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
7. Promoting the relaxation response: Yoga stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, triggering the body’s relaxation response, which helps relieve symptoms associated with respiratory illnesses, such as wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness.
8. Boosts immune function: Regular yoga practice has been shown to strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of respiratory infections and illnesses. By boosting immune function, yoga can prevent respiratory illnesses from worsening and speed recovery from respiratory-related illnesses.
9. Improves Lung Efficiency: Yoga encourages conscious breathing techniques that optimize lung function and efficiency. Practicing conscious breathing patterns can improve respiratory rate, tidal volume, and total lung ventilation, improving oxygen exchange and carbon dioxide elimination.
10. Supporting lifestyle changes: Incorporating yoga into a comprehensive treatment plan for respiratory illnesses can support other lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding environmental cues that may worsen respiratory symptoms.