Yoga for Bronchitis

And now, for my yoga story…

When I first started going to Yoga class consistently, I was looking for something that was physically challenging and emotionally calming. At the same time. I was trying to detox from a few stressful years as a stay-at-home mom of two young kids, at the peak of the dot-com boom. I always had the notion that Yoga would be relaxing. I just had an intuition that yoga would be “good for me” — I didn’t know how, or why, but I felt drawn to it.

Then there was my Bronchitis…

The very first yoga class I ever went to…….I hated it. I remember that it was billed as a beginner class but once I got there it absolutely very clear to me that no one but me was a beginner. I found the instructor to be very persnickety and not at all welcoming. Besides, I was bored out of my mind! It was so slow! He kept waffling about moving your knee inward by 10 degrees and I just could not wrap my mind around his verbal instructions. I went a couple of times then didn’t return.

Several years later, we moved and my hubby bought me a Yoga mat for Christmas. But it wasn’t until March or April that I finally got up the nerve to go to a Yoga class at the local recreation center. The class I signed up for was called Yoga therapy. But it was really an eight-week session. Right away I was hooked on the combination of vigorousness and relaxation in the practice. I liked that there was not a lot of new-agey talk – actually, there wasn’t an overabundance of talk, at all.

Here it was that I learned – or rather, opened my mind to – my Bronchitis problem. For the first time I learned that it is caused by a bacterial or viral infection… that it may develop suddenly, following a head cold (acute Bronchitis), or that it may persist or return regularly for many years, causing progressive degeneration of bronchi and lungs (chronic Bronchitis).

That some people are more susceptible than others; men are more so than women, outnumbering them ten to one – the reasons why are unclear…and that smokers are 50 times more likely to get chronic than Bronchitis than non-smokers…..that it generally, occurs with greater frequency in winters, in damp, cold climates, and in heavily polluted environments… and that chilling, overcrowding, fatigue, and excessive smoking are contributory factors.

Here it was that I learned I also learned that Yoga exercises including the poses, breathing, and relaxation techniques put you in control of your mind and emotions, making you more relaxed and allowing you to breathe easier.

And this is the Yoga program that made all the difference to my life. I’m putting it down in the hope that it might make you feel better, too and help you get control you’re your Bronchitis together, of course, with proper medication and your physician’s help:

Asanas

Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar)
Sirsasana
Janu-Sirsasana
Sarvangasana
Bhujangasana
Paschimottasana
Marichyasana
Padmasansa
Gomukhasana
Virasana
Ustrasana
Relaxation Pose

Pranayamas. According to Yoga philosophy, a calm mind produces regular breathing and a relaxed body. So, breathing exercises can definitely help people with Asthma and Bronchitis. I tried these. They worked wonders for me.

Nadi-Sodhana
Surya-Bhedana
Ujjayi-Pranayama

In fact, all without retention.

Cleansing kriyas

Jala neti
Store neti
Vaman Dhauti
Shanka Prakshalana

The general Yoga lifestyle I learned there, to this day, serves as a good therapy for all my health - particularly respiratory – problems. A healthy diet helped build my resistance against cold, allergies, and other environmental causes of Bronchitis, and other chronic disorders. It also inculcated – and I still can’t believe it myself –a non-smoking lifestyle, for the first time in my life.