Yes it does. Somewhat.
What yoga can do:
- It instills a sense of discipline.
- It increases the awareness of breathing and breath control
- It trains those respiratory muscles which have but don’t ordinarily use for breathing.
- It helps the asthmatic to learn diaphragmatic breathing
- So when there is breathing difficulty these muscles come to your rescue
- It generally strengthens the respiratory muscles and thus aid breathing.
- The discomfort associated with breathing difficulty of asthma is felt lesser
- Yoga helps the body to become fitter and leaner. This makes breathing easier
So what I am saying is that yoga is a very special exercise that makes breathing better and easier. An asthmatic who does regular yoga feels his breathing to have become better and easier.
What yoga cannot do:
- It cannot reduce the atopy i.e. the tendency to have allergy
- It cannot reduce the airway hypersensitivity
- It cannot open up the constricted air tubes
- It cannot cure asthma
So what should be done?
- Each system of medicine or therapy has its own strengths and weaknesses.
- None has a monopoly. So my advice would be take help from wherever you can get.
- Use them complementarily. Have realistic expectations.
Yogic exercises particularly useful in asthma are:
- anuloma vilom
- bhastrika
- kapal bhati
- bhramari
- shitali
- taad asana
- surya namaskar.
These can be learnt from a knowledgeable yoga teacher or a reputed institution. Do yoga and pranayama regularly. They are very good for health promotion in general. But do not discontinue your medication. If yoga is to do some good to your asthma, then your medication dose may come down.
ALLTHE BEST !!