Yoga doctor
Combat summer allergies with yogic breathing techniques
Combat summer allergies with yogic breathing
Just as the sun comes out and being in nature isn’t down to lockdown but because you actively want to be outside, hay fever season arrives.
Not fun for those who succumb to a blocked nose, itchy eyes and fit of sneezing as soon as the leaves start appearing on the trees. Almost one- in-four Brits experience allergic rhinitis, as it’s also called, according to NHS data. We’re joint first with Sweden for having the most sufferers in Europe and enjoy the dubious honour of having the fifth- highest rates of hay fever in the world. Allergic rhinitis is a common condition that causes sufferers to react to proteins in pollen, in turn increasing histamine and inflammation levels and causing irritation to your nose, eyes, throat and sinuses. While some people like to take antihistamines or use eye drops to help ease symptoms, if you prefer a natural solution, yoga can also help. One small study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Allergy and Immunology found significantly reduced hay fever symptoms and greater peak flow (how fast you can exhale, a measure of tight, inflamed airways) in volunteers who practised yoga three times a week for two months. In India, another study found significant improvement in pulmonary function tests (which measure the amount of air inhaled and exhaled, plus total lung capacity) and decreased airway resistance (aka difficulty breathing) in the allergic rhinitis patients who practised yoga regularly. Ready to try yoga?
TAKE A STANCE
Practising any form of yoga can help boost your immunity, which will reduce your susceptibility to allergens, but you can use specific poses to target problem areas. Backbends will help to open your chest, increase lung capacity and make breathing easier, so add poses like bridge, fish and camel to your practice. If your sinuses are inflamed or swollen (which can lead to pain in the cheeks, upper jaw, eyes and ears) try inversions that ‘drain’ your nasal passages, such as shoulder stand and headstand. Don’t stay in them too long, however, as they can cause pressure to build in your neck and head – just a minute or two at a time is best. To open the muscles at the base of your neck, try plough pose, which will also help with drainage.
Restorative postures such as standing forward fold, downward dog and wide-legged standing forward fold while resting your head and hands on a block or brick, or legs up the wall, savasana and supported bridge
using several bolsters, blankets or pillows to support your body, can also be super helpful.
BREATHE EASY
When hay fever symptoms are making breathing uncomfortable, add some pranayama (breathing exercises) to your practice. Yogic breathing practices improve your immune system, making allergic reactions less likely, strengthen your lungs and help increase breath capacity. When your symptoms are focused on your nostrils, bellows breath and skullshining breath can help as they have a cleansing effect on the lungs. And if one nostril is blocked, try alternate nostril breathing – this practice helps to balance the left and right sides of your body, clears congestion and strengthens your respiratory system.
Alternatively, if you’re experiencing most of your symptoms in the back of your nose or throat, spend more time on ujjayi breathing or humming bee breath, both of which will help to move the energy in these areas and leave you feeling a little clearer mentally.
Finally, if you’re feeling particularly brave, you might like to try the ancient yogic practice of nasal irrigation – flushing your nostrils with a saline solution. Not convinced? A study published in the journal Chest found nasal irrigation significantly reduced levels of histamine and leukotrienes, the inflammatory chemicals your body releases after coming in contact with an allergen. Yogis traditionally use a neti pot filled with a saline solution to flush the nostrils and temporarily ease breathing. Find one at yogabliss.co.uk
(£12.99).
‘Yoga is light, which once lit will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame’ BKS Iyengar