Before you read this post take the biggest breath that you’ve taken all day. Feel your lungs expand and your body fill with yummy oxygen all the way to your fingertips. Feel your shoulders sink down and the muscles of your face relax. Use this moment to appreciate the ease in which you are able to perform this task. Experience for yourself how yoga is great for your lungs.

controlled breathing is one of the major pillars of yoga

As of February 2023 over 34 million Americans live with some variation of lung disease (asthma, COPD, bronchitis, emphysema…etc)_⁽¹⁾. If you are one of these people, Yoga can help improve your respiratory status. Studies are showing that it may even decrease your dependency on medications. Please always consult your doctor before changing anything with your scheduled medications.

reasons why yoga is great for your lungs

yoga is more safe than physical activity or exercise

Activities like walking, jogging and weight lifting exercise your lungs and improve their capacity. Those with asthma or COPD may not be able to safely participate without risking a dangerous exacerbation of symptoms. Yoga is great for your lungs and very safe.

Yin Yoga is a version involving slow movements and holding poses for long periods of time_⁽³⁾. Although it can be challenging, this is still a good choice for those with lung disease who get short of breath easily. Consistency in your practice will show you improvement in endurance and ability to control your breathing for longer lengths of time.

yoga is great for your lungs capacity

The breathing exercises during Yoga involve taking slow, controlled breaths with short holds in between inspiration and expiration. This expansion in your lungs with each breath helps to open the large and small airways making them more available for the intake of oxygen. Over time your lungs will be capable of taking in bigger breaths which will deliver more oxygen to your body.

In a 2019 study yoga effectively improved lung endurance and capacity. This positive finding comes from yogas ability to relax the chest muscles and increase expansion of the lungs. The increased expansion is what causes strengthening of the muscles_⁽⁴⁾.

yoga promotes bronchodilation

The yogic rhythm of breathing has been well-known to cause relaxation in all our muscles. For our respiratory system this involves our chest muscles and diaphragm. The reduction in muscle tension during inspiration and expiration allows our small and large airways to widen, or bronchodilate_⁽⁴⁾.

Just like increasing the width of a hose would let more water pass, increasing the width of our airway allows more oxygen to flow in. This means there is more oxygen available to travel to our organs, improving their function.

yoga helps reduce symptoms and exacerbations of asthma

The controlled breathing during a yoga session is proven to increase lung capacity, relieve shortness of breath, and strengthen chest muscles in asthma patients_⁽²⁾. These improvements result in patients reporting less use of their prescribed medications and decreased weekly asthma attacks. In addition, people were more confident in their ability to control their asthma with breathing exercises_⁽⁸⁾.

In a randomized- controlled trial of people living with severe asthma, participants reported a significant improvement in their health-related quality of life. They felt more confident with their health and the benefits that yoga had for their asthma symptoms_⁽⁷⁾.

yoga helps COPD patients with their symptoms

Those living with COPD have difficulties with their ventilation, or in other words their ability to exchange oxygen and CO2. This is usually due to inflammation and excess mucous. Yoga decreases inflammation and opens up the airways which means there is more surface area available for oxygen to enter into the body. This also improves the amount of CO2 that is expired which helps with the retainment issues, or CO2 trapping, often experienced in COPD_⁽⁶⁾.

Another difficulty of COPD is the destruction of lung tissue. For those at the point of permanent lung damage, Yoga was able to help them make the most of the surface that is still active so that the lungs can function to the best of their current ability_⁽²⁾.

yoga helps you cope with the stress and anxiety from living with lung disease

It’s a double edged sword really because living with lung disease causes stress, and exacerbations of symptoms are often triggered by stress_⁽⁵⁾. This emphasizes the importance of having positive strategies for coping with stress with activities like Yoga. Learning how to properly deal with stress will decrease the amount of attacks you experience.

A large population affected by lung disease are children and adolescents. The attention and focus found in Yoga trains the mind to cope with stress and anxiety which has the potential to decrease exacerbations_⁽⁵⁾.

Every study I came across that put yoga up against asthma and COPD talked about improved quality of life_{^{(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)}}. With more control over symptoms and exacerbations people can live in a more calm state without fear of having their airway threatened at any moment.

check out my other blog post which talks about 8 Ways Yoga Can Benefit Your Life —-> click here!