THE BEST YOGA EXERCISES FOR PULMONARY HYPERTENSION
Apr 19, 2010 | By Elaine Wiltshire
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a condition where blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs is abnormally high. Symptoms, including shortness of breath, dizziness and fainting, can be made worse by exertion, meaning patients have a decreased exercise tolerance.
According to a study published in "Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association," a certain amount of exercise can be benefit to patients suffering with PH. Part of a low-dose exercise program for PH patients can include respiratory training, such as stretching, breathing exercises and yoga. Because PH is a very serious condition and can be fatal, patients should consult a medical professional before starting an exercise program.
YOGA BREATHING
The "complete breath" in yoga incorporates all three areas of your lungs, which helps to teach diaphragmatic breathing, oxygenates the blood, expels stall air from the lungs, and relaxes the mind and body.
Laying on your back, place your hands gently on your belly. Inhale and exhale through your nose. Each breath should be slow, controlled and rhythmic. The first step is to start breathing into your belly. On the inhale, let your belly rise and feel the breath filling the lower part of the lungs. On the exhale, let the belly fall and feel all the air being expelled from your lungs. Repeat several cycles of this breath, feeling more relaxed with every exhale.
The next step is to breathe into the middle part of your lungs. On a breath in, think about your belly breathing, but this time also breathe into your rib cage. Place your hands on the sides of your ribs to feel the rib cage expanding. On the breath out, feel the belly and rib cage drop toward the ground.
Once you're comfortable with breathing into your belly and rib cage, start to incorporate your upper chest, or the clavicular area. Place once hand on your chest, just below your throat to help feel the expansion in the upper lungs. On the breath in, think of the air being drawn into your belly, then in the rib cage, then into the upper chest. On the exhale, feel your chest, ribs and belly fall toward the ground, wringing all the air out of your lungs.
APPROPRIATE POSES
Poses that are used for mediation include corpse pose, half lotus, full lotus or easy pose. All of these poses are easy on the body and would be safe for a PH patient to execute.
Balancing poses help to strengthen leg muscles, increase flexibility in the legs and back, and improve concentration. Safe balancing poses for PH patients include eagle pose, tree pose with the hand placed on the hips, and extended hand to toe.
Seated poses, such as head-to-knee pose, seated forward bend, bound angle and seated wide angle forward bend, help to stretch tight muscles and are not only relaxing but also help to increase flexibility.
POSES TO AVOID OR MODIFY
Any pose that requires the arms to be raise above the head should be avoided or modified so that hands are either at your side or placed on your hips. The Warrior poses should all be executed with your hands placed on your hips.
All inverted poses should be avoided completely. Poses to avoid include downward facing dog, half moon, Warrior III, standing split, extended side angle, and all head and shoulder stands.
Reclining poses should also be modified so the head and neck are propped up with a pillow or rolled-up
