Yoga for Asthma: Stretch to destress

If you are prone to getting frequent bouts of asthma, it is important to exercise and practice postures that emphasise on stretching the lungs and the respiratory system. Practicing the downward facing dog pose, or Adhomukhashwanasana, helps in opening the chest, thus enabling better capacity to breathe. The posture helps in exercising and toning the lungs, extremely vital to improve immunity towards allergies. This is a full body stretch which is beneficial overall. Though the following postures are simple to practice and can be easily done at home, we suggest you seek medical advice before starting them. Procedure: 1. Get on to all fours, knees right beneath the hips and the palms a bit ahead of the shoulders. 2. Exhale and raise your knees off the ground. 3. Raise your hips up further towards the ceiling, lengthening your tail bone. 4. Lengthen your thighs and stretch the calves so that the heels touch the ground. 5. Keep your knees straight but still apart. 6. Press your palms on the floor and straighten your arms from the wrists to the tops of the shoulders. 7. Open up your shoulders and move them towards the tailbone. 8. Keep your head facing the floor in between the arms. 9. Maintain this final position for up to a minute; breathe normally. 10. Return to initial position in reverse order. Benefits: • The yoga pose can be used to overcome stress and depression • It improves the lung capacity • Beneficial if suffering from asthma • Relieves fatigue and rejuvenates the body Caution: If your wrists are sensitive or injured, do not perform this yoga posture. In case you are suffering from high blood pressure, do not hold this posture for too long. From : Gulf News,