Yoga / Asthma, bronchitis, and hay fever - Part 3

Asthma, bronchitis, and hay fever - Part 3

In a chapter devoted to complaints of the respiratory tract one would expect that the bulk of the exercises will be breathing ones and so they are. Here is one which is called THE BELLOWS
BREATH, or BHASTRIKA.
However deeply we inhale and however thoroughly we exhale, there always remains in the lungs a residue of stale air. It is essential to clear this out to ensure a complete renovation of air and Yoga’s unique procedure of doing this is this exercise.
Sit down on a difficult chair with your feet flat on the floor,
your hands on your knees palms down and your spine erect.
Do not let your tummy muscles sag. While sitting up straight,
slowly and deeply inhale.
When you have completed your inhalation suddenly bend
forward from the waist until your head touches your knees or
as near to them as you could get and at the same time exhale with
as much force as you can. This is one of the few periods in Yoga
that you should use force.
The bending forward movement will squeeze every bit of stale air from your lungs.
3. As you slowly straighten up commence inhaling again and
complete your inhalation while sitting up straight. Then exhale
with force once more and at the same time bend your body
forward until your head touches your knees.
Perform the BELLOWS BREATH only twice at first but steadily increase the number of breaths you take until you're doing it twelve periods a day. Add one extra breath per week. After every fourth inhalation retain the breath for up to six seconds and then exhale instantly while bending forward once more. Do not perform the Bellows Breath to excess. Twelve periods is ample even for the advanced student.
The advantages of this exercise, apart from purifying the lungs and bronchial passages, are the toning up of the whole lung action with highly stimulating effects on the entire body. The bending forward and straightening movements aid to relieve constipation, and as you know by now, anything that is an enemy of constipation is a friend of the body. So this exercise is as helpful as it's simple to perform.
And now for something more hard but equally beneficial. This is another asana with an animal name, called MATSY-ASANA or the FISH POSTURE. In this exercise the chest is permitted to expand fully during deep breathing, and it also eliminates stiffness of the neck and shoulders and so is a helpful exercise with which to follow the Shoulderstand described in chapter four. It also strengthens the thyroid and parathyroid glands and tones up the circulation of the blood. If you suffer from excessive cold in the winter this is a wonderful exercise to warm yourself. There are three variations of THE FISH POSTURE and I will beginning with the easiest for all beginners.
Variation 1. Lie flat on your back with your legs outstretched and feet together. With the aid of your elbows raise your chest and bend your head as far back as you could until the crown is touching the floor. Try to hold this position for thirty seconds, and then very slowly lower your body to the floor. Relax for a few moments before proceeding to:
Variation 2. A little more difficult, this one. Sit down in the Lotus Pose, and with the aid of your elbows bend your body backwards very slowly. Bend your head back as far as you possibly can until the crown is resting on the floor. Grasp your toes with your fingers and arch your spine as fully as you possibly can. Remain thus for up to thirty seconds and then relax. (See Fig. 32, page 95.)
Variation 3. Proceed as above but instead of grasping your toes with your fingers place your hands behind your head with your arms crossed or else with your fingers laced together and placed just behind your neck.
If you're still having difficulty with the Lotus Pose, and I know that a lot of you will take quite some time to master it as it's very hard for the general Westerner, then perform the easiest of the variations of this posture until you could go a stage farther. In all three of the variations practice the Yoga Complete Breath and it's a wonderful place here to remind you that this Complete Breath should be performed slowly and fully. There should be no rushing over it. It is far better to take two or three really deep breaths than half a dozen shallow ones. All you hurried business people take note! The Yoga Complete Breath while performed when the body is in the Fish Posture helps to eradicate the spasm from the bronchial tubes and also helps to relieve asthma.

As with a lot of the Yoga asanas, this posture has a variation for advanced students only. I include it here for the sake of interest and in case there may be some readers adventurous ample to attempt it.
Variation 4. Begin in the Lotus Pose once more but this time instead of levering yourself backwards on your elbows bend forward very slowly until your face is touching the floor. You will feel considerable pressure on your hip joints so please be careful not to strain yourself. Remain thus for a few seconds only and then straighten up immediately. When you could perform this variation with ease, and it can be done easily with patient practice, steadily extend the period when your face is touching the floor, and then try to practice the Yoga Complete Breath. After this variation lie fiat on your back and relax for a few minutes.
I will end this chapter with the joker of the pack so far as Yoga is concerned. Although a highly effective and helpful exercise, it entails pulling a grotesque face, however, as Yoga is best done in solitude there should not be anybody around to take fright! Hatha Yoga being a complete science no part of the body has been overlooked, including the throat and tongue, and there is a unique exercise for this area known as SIMHASANA,
the LION POSTURE.
Method. Kneel down on the floor, hands on your knees palms upwards, and then sit back on your heels. Very slowly inhale, and when you have completed your inhalation hold your breath for an instant and then exhale via the mouth with as much force as you can. At the end of your exhalation stick out your tongue as far as you possibly can to the point of gagging. At the same time tense every muscle in your body including your arms and fingers, pop your eyes and generally make yourself look like a gargoyle. The more gruesome the face the more benefit you will derive from this exercise.

Retain this unaesthetic posture for as long as you comfortably can without inhaling and then relax and breathe naturally for a few seconds. Then repeat the LION POSTURE up to six periods in every practice session and particularly if you suffer from any form of incessant condition of the throat or tongue. You will find that the practice of Simhasana will relieve a sore throat more quickly than the the bulk powerful drugs or lozenges, as it supplies the throat and tongue with a richer supply of blood which is nature’s own cure. The LION POSTURE is beloved of singers and actors whose voices are part of their livelihood and I advocate it to anybody who has any public speaking to do.
Ideally all Yoga asanas should be performed in the open air in order to draw into the lungs the maximum amount of fresh air. However, not everyone is lucky ample to have a garden in which case you should always practice before an open window. In the case of exercises for asthma, bronchitis, and allied complaints mentioned in this chapter, this is a essential necessity.

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© Copyright In a chapter devoted to complaints of the respiratory tract one would expect that most of the exercises would be breathing ones and so they are. Here is one which is called THE BELLOWSBREATH, or BHAST | Contact Us | Terms Of Service | Privacy Policy

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