Yoga May Improve Lung Function

New research indicates that yoga may benefit lung function.

Yoga is an ancient system of relaxation, exercise and healing that has origins in Indian philosophy. As a system of healing, it takes a primary approach of prevention, or keeping oneself well by the daily practice.

Yoga has undergone much scientific study, with various psychological and physical theories suggested. In human research, yoga has been shown to reduce heart rate and blood pressure, increase breath holding time and lung capacity, improve muscle relaxation and body composition, cause weight loss and increase overall physical endurance.

The recent study reviewed data from ten other studies that examined the effect of yoga on lung function. Researchers analyzed data on lung strength and how much air could be expelled in one breath.

Researchers found that lung function improved after ten weeks of yoga practice. Participants who were less fit before the study and participants who practiced more breathing exercises showed the greatest improvement.

For more information about yoga, please visit Natural Standard's Health & Wellness database.

Comments

[AM]

Yoga is great! Anything that gets people up and moving and reduces stress is wonderful. I encourage anyone who's considering to give it a try.

[MS]

This is very interesting, the article states that at least 10 consecutive weeks of yoga has to be performed to start to see the benefits. Did the review find Yoga as effective for smokers or people with a certain lung condition? Yoga has been used as a complimentary treatment in smoking cessation.

[NL]

Yoga may be an excellent addition to my work out regimen. I commonly recommend yoga to patients looking for relaxation techniques as a result of stress. This new data on its benefits in improving lung function will only strengthen my recommendation.

[KS]

I'm so glad I read this blog. I have always been interested in practicing yoga, but I've had some issues with finding the time to incorporate it my schedule. This blog has sparked my interest again though and I hope to start taking yoga classes soon! I am also a runner so it is great to know that yoga will help improve lung function. I'd love to have two great workouts that not only help exercising different parts of the body but also complement one another!

[nb]

Many people think that yoga is just for young women in spandex pants who are body-conscious, but they do not realize that yoga has been around for centuries and has great health benefits. Incorporating an effective exercise with a Natural Standard grade of A to improve flexibility, lung function, and increase overall body endurance is a great way to a healthier life, without the risk of side effects and adverse reactions from drugs.

[ss]

It is wonderful to see more scientific evidence of the positive effects of yoga on respiratory health, especially in the case of asthma patients (Natural Standard gives a grade A). It goes without saying that yoga is gaining increasing attention across the U.S. though it has long been recognized as beneficial around the world. What would be interesting to see would be more longitudinal studies following patients from initial diagnosis of a respiratory ailment forward ten years, especially in the treatment of pediatric patients? Schools (even preschools) now incorporate yoga into physical education classes, which my children really enjoy and I feel it has really helped them, especially with regard to running games like playing soccer, tag, etc.

[nh]

This research showing that Yoga “may” improve lung function comes as no surprise to me. As mentioned in other comments, yoga is a form of exercise so it should, like other exercises, increase your lung capacity. Also, Yoga relaxes you so this aspect should also help increase lung function. But as with anything, it is promising to have research and documented evidence showing these findings. Hopefully, this data will be used, as it should be, by physicians to increase lung function in patients that other treatment modalities might not work.

[ML]

It is neat to learn from Carla that yoga has a Natural Standard evidence grade of A for strong scientific evidence for asthma. Natural Standard also gives yoga an evidence grade of B for good scientific evidence for altitude sickness (which relates heavily on breathing capacity and breathing patterns). Perhaps there is more to these breathing exercises and controlled breathing patterns than initially realized!

[Robynholman]

These results don't surprise me, but I am pleased to see strong scientific evidence supporting yoga therapy and practice. I have been practicing yoga inconsistently for years, and I find that with a few weeks of consistent practice I have better exercise endurance. I usually use yoga as an adjunct or cross-training exercise for distance running. Combining the two helps improve my lung function and air capacity during my long runs (>15 miles).

[ee]

Considering Yoga is a form of exercise that focuses on breathing control and relaxation, it will only make sense it should help lung function. During yoga session, I believe a person can control how the lung expands or can practice something as simple as breathing freely and allowing the lungs to fill and empty as they naturally are supposed to.
Recently, a friend and I attended a yoga session which focused on breath control and posture. After this session, I found myself standing up straight and breathing more easily.
Nowadays, life feels like one is always on the go, yoga should help not asthma patients but everyone else breathe better.

[NA]

I consider the results of the systematic review mentioned in the article to be positive as yoga may be used as an adjunctive or alternative therapy for improving lung function. Though yoga is an ancient practice, I am surprised at how widely studied it is nowadays. I also think it’s interesting that studies can use objective measures such as forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume (FEV) to measure lung function in an activity that has a strong spiritual or subjective component. Since there are different forms of yoga, I wonder if different types such as Bikram or Acro would yield differing changes in lung function. A future study may be able to study participants with a similar level of fitness, rather than looking at a wide range. I would also be interested to know what the long term benefit would be from regular yoga practice beyond a 10 week period.

[weezy]

This is great news. What a wonderful benefit from such a relaxing form of exercise. It's nice to know there are additional benefits to yoga other than the ones that are already well associated with it such as the muscle tone and relaxation aspects. Is this because of the breathing exercises performed during the workout? The heart rate and blood pressure lowering benefits are promising as well. Many more patients may become interested in this sort of exercise. I believe a lot of people think that yoga is strictly a form of meditation or relaxation that mainly focuses on one's mind and does not provide much benefit for the body. However, this finding proves that theory wrong.

[Marina]

I love practicing yoga so much! One big misconception is that only flexible and athletic people can partake in yoga. That is not true! Yoga is for everyone! The most important thing about yoga is learning how to breathe correctly when our body is under stress, and the outcome is improving our posture and bringing the body and mind into a relaxed and unstressed state. I need to practice it more often. One question I had about the article, I'm wondering what kind of yoga was studied to improve the respiratory function? Kundalini, bikram, hatha, ashtanga, yin, etc? Does one work better than another?

[My Lien T. Nguyen]

Yoga provides many benefits. This review of improvement in lung function highlights a benefit less discussed. As it can be a gentle , yoga is beneficial for those new to exercise - as the review noted that lung function improvement was greatest in less fit people - but it may be extended to those with physical disabilities that limit their exercise abilities as well.

[Carla]

According to Natural Standard, there is good scientific evidence for use of yoga in treatment of asthma. That is consistent with this study’s assertion that yoga improves lung function. This particular study concluded that greater improvement in pulmonary function occurred in patients who spent a longer time doing breathing exercises, so I wonder if the helpful effect is from the entire yoga experience or from the breathing exercise alone.