How to Target the Lungs With Yoga
For anyone with asthma, recovering from a cold or simply looking to increase lung capacity, yoga may offer a way to improve breathing. Practicing yoga and yogic breathing work out the lungs and numerous poses target the chest and lungs.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Include yoga poses in your routine which strengthen your shoulders, neck and upper body. Strengthening the muscles around the rib cage can improve lung function. Poses you might add to your routine include inversions, such as the shoulder stand, headstand, the feathered peacock, the bridge and the locust pose.
-
2
Practice yoga poses which open the chest and target the lungs to improve your depth of breath. Poses include the extended puppy pose, the cobra, the cat and cow poses, the half frog and the king pigeon pose.
-
-
3
Add poses that stretch the abdomen. While many chest opener poses also stretch across the abdomen, add the low lunge, the upward facing dog, the upward staff and the wheel poses to your routine.
-
4
Perform yoga side bends which stretch the intercostal muscles. Appropriate side bends include the half moon pose, the gate pose and the revolved side angle pose.
-
5
Practice yogic breathing at the end of each session. Sit in a resting pose, such as the lotus or the bound angle pose, and practice deep breathing to improve lung function.
-
1
