Breathe Fresh With Yoga
Contrary to popular opinion, bad breath is not only a result of poor hygiene. While this may be a problem in some cases, chronic bad breath is more often caused by an underlying medical condition. Health problems such as indigestion, acidity, constipation, gastritis, cold, cough, influenza, and respiratory problems can all lead to bad breath.
So what should you do if you suffer from this embarrassing condition? Well, apart from making changes to your diet and eating habits and getting regular exercise, you can also try yoga as a natural cure for bad breath. It may seem a bit far-fetched but the beneficial effects of a regular yoga practice can even help with complaints such as bad breath.
The reasoning behind this is simple. There are certain poses or yoga asanas that directly affect the digestive and respiratory organs. Through improved blood circulation and manipulation of the stomach, liver, kidneys or lungs, their functioning can be optimized. Cleansing also occurs with certain yoga poses and the removal of toxins is encouraged. All this may help cure and prevent bad breath.
Following are the yoga poses recommended as a cure for bad breath:
Lion Pose or Simhasana -- For this pose, sit in Vajrasana (Diamond Pose) and keep your knees apart
- Place your hands between your knees with the fingers facing your body
- With your hands straight, gently shift your body weight forward
- As you tilt your head back, open your mouth and extend your tongue as far out as possible. Through the entire pose your eyes should be open
- Now exhale slowly with a loud steady 'Ah' sound. This sound should emanate from the back of the throat. 'Roar' like this two or three times
- Sit in Padmasana (Lotus Pose) or with your legs crossed
- Close your eyes and breathe normally
- Slowly bend your body from the waist until your forehead touches the ground or as close to the ground as you can
- Now relax completely
- Return to starting position and repeat
- Sit in Padmasana, Vajrasana or with your legs crossed.
- Place your palms on your knees
- Extend your tongue and curl it inwards from the sides to form a tube (This might take some practice)
- Slowly inhale through the tongue
Apart from these poses, you can add different types of pranayama deep breathing exercises to your yoga routine to help with bad breath. Kapalbhati breathing for example is an excellent natural remedy for problems with digestion and acidity that may be causing your bad breath.
Read more articles from the Yoga Asana Benefits Category.
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