DESPITE my tendency to sound like a hyena, I love to laugh. Yet, growing up with asthma has compelled me to control my laughter for fear of getting tight-chested and having to resort to my inhaler for relief. As a result, not only were my laughs suppressed, I couldn’t participate in a host of physical activities at school.
This frustrated me to no end as I was a naturally-active girl. When I was 11 years old, I started dancing and I remember running out of breath after every routine. This could be the reason why I did not fancy running as a kid but I’m glad I started to after practicing yoga. Thanks to open heart poses, which are excellent for people with breathing problems, I knew how to control and pace my breath.
You have to understand that wheezing attacks and breathlessness run in the family. I still remember the nights my grandfather’s coughing and wheezing would wake up the entire kampung house. Although he passed away from a heart attack, I was fearful that his afflictions could be set off in me as a result of pollution or stress. The fact that it may be hereditary also greatly concerned me as I exuded a lot of symptoms growing up.
Fortunately, my breathing problems went away the moment yoga entered my life. The last time I had an attack was right before I started practicing yoga ─ exactly 17 years ago. Now, I’m happy to say that I’m back to laughing like a hyena!
I believe that everything begins with how you breathe, especially when it concerns your health and well-being. If you aren’t breathing the right way, health problems, such as adenoiditis, tonsilitis, sinusitis, rhinitis, nasal polyp, laryngitis, and pharyngitis, will eventually lead to bronchitis and asthma.
Yoga was my answer and I think it’s one of the best and most effective ways to keep the above ailments at bay. Heart opening yoga poses can help to expand the diaphragm, lift the heart and facilitate better breathing space in our bodies. Well, more breathing space is definitely better than not having enough.
This week, let us all open our hearts and shoulders with some amazing chest-expanding poses, such as the Fish Pose, the Wild Thing Pose (you’ll have fun feeling like Freddie Mercury) and the Camel Pose. ─ The Vibes, 31 March, 2021
