Ways to Improve Lung Capacity Through a Yoga Regimen

Keeping your lungs healthy helps improve breathing and avoid infections. Studies have shown that pranayama breathing exercises and a yoga regimen of yogic postures may help with lung functions.

The American Lung Association recommends breathing exercises to keep the lungs healthy. Breathing techniques practiced by most yoga enthusiasts include the regulated practice of simple, deep yogic breathing. 

What are the ways to improve lung capacity through a yoga regimen? Can yoga benefit those with lung problems? What would happen if you didn’t take care of your lungs?

The article discusses ways to improve lung capacity through yoga and how yoga affects the lungs. The write-up also looks into the importance of lung health.

Taking care of your lungs is important because neglecting them may lead to respiratory illnesses, like mesothelioma, a cancer type that affects the lining of the lungs. The stages of mesothelioma depend on the severity of the symptoms.

Improve Lung Capacity: Yoga’s Top Benefits to Your Lungs

You must keep your heart healthy because it keeps every organ functioning by taking out carbon dioxide from your body and providing oxygen.

Yoga for lungs, or yoga in general, has highlighted its practice on the correct way of breathing. Your respiratory system is involved in this practice.

You may not consider caring for your lungs until you feel various health problems connected to them.

There are several ways of taking care of your lungs, including yoga or goat yoga. Here are the benefits of yoga for your lungs.

You can improve the mobility and flexibility of your muscles with yoga. Some products like pso-rite can help with muscle pain and breathing regulation and you can also add them in your daily yoga session to help with back pain. Moreover, doing yoga also increases the flexibility of cardiovascular muscles, providing more air in the lungs and leading to better breathing.

 A study showed that yoga regimens may improve the lung diffusion capacity and cardiovascular functions of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). 

This ancient practice is also seen as supplementary therapy with standard medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Your body notices if you’re aware of how you breathe, allowing you to modify breathing and lung capacity patterns. Yoga may help with breath awareness for lung capacity, vital for stress and anxiety. 

You can lessen the damage in your lungs and maintain your health condition by doing physical activities and breathing exercises which anyone can do. 

Breathing exercises deeply involved in yoga are the easiest way to maintain your healthy lungs.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

The COPD Foundation recommends that you practice diaphragmatic breathing to help lung capacity. Here’s how:

• With one hand on your abdomen and another on your upper chest, focus your breathing on your abdomen.
• Your hand on your abdomen should rise and fall as you breathe in and out. 
• Breathe in through the nose, and slowly breathe out through pursed lips.
• Practice this breathing exercise two to three times daily for about five to ten minutes. 
• You can do this routine by lying on your back, sitting, or standing. 

Pursed-Lips Breathing

• Inhale slowly through your nostrils for about two seconds.
• Purse your lips like you’re about to blow on something or as if you’re pouting.
• Breathe out slowly through pursed lips. This exercise should take at least twice as long as you breathe in. 

Types of Yoga 

Various types of yoga may improve your lung capacity. Let’s check out some of them.

First, let’s look at the only pet show you can be part of while doing yoga – goat yoga, which involves trained goats and alpacas while doing the entire yoga session. 

Goat yoga gives you the experience of doing yoga on green grass, and fresh air, with charming baby goats walking and running around your feet and across your back.

Goat yoga, which combines animals and nature, was popularized in 2016 by Arizona Goat Yoga.

Next in the type of yoga is Hatha, a traditional type of yoga that practices balance in the nervous system. Hatha yoga involves doing relaxing poses, which help with flexibility. 

Your breathing will also be practiced while doing Hatha yoga, which is an integral part of the session. Try this type of yoga to relax and calm your mind and body while improving your poses.

Next up is Vinyasa yoga, which means “a flow.” Poses flow from one to another, breathing three to five in each pose. If you want to learn how to utilize the breath as a tool, try this class. Vinyasa yoga is good for cardiovascular fitness, endurance, and stamina.

Suppose you’re looking for a type of yoga that is good for awareness of breath, mental endurance, and restoring balance. In that case, hot yoga may be the one you’re looking for. You’ll do yoga in a hot environment.

The reason behind doing yoga in a hot environment is it’ll enable your body to move freely. Remember to keep yourself hydrated as you’ll sweat more in hot yoga than in other types of yoga. 

Types of Lung Illnesses You Can Get When You Don't Take Care of Your Lungs

Taking your lungs for granted has its consequences. If you're smoking or frequently exposed to indoor and outdoor pollution, you’ll be more likely to be at risk of getting lung illnesses. Let’s look at the types of lung illnesses you can get when you don’t take care of your lungs.

Lung diseases have different effects, some in the airways, air sacs, and chest wall.

Asthma is a disease that can affect your airways. The airways are continually inflamed, leading to shortness of breath. Pollution can trigger symptoms of asthma.

If you are smoking, you should stop now. Smoking is one of the most common causes of COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD prevents you from exhaling normally. 

But remember, smoking isn’t the only cause of COPD. You can also get COPD from exposure to pollution and fumes, not treating your asthma, or even secondhand smoke.

References

1. Effect of yoga regimen on lung functions including diffusion capacity in coronary artery disease patients: A randomized controlled study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4278137/

1. Breathing Exercises

https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/wellness/breathing-exercises 

1. Mesothelioma

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/mesothelioma/ 

1. Air pollution and asthma

https://www.asthma.org.uk/advice/triggers/pollution/

1. Smoking and COPD

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/copd.html