Our Lungs can hold about 6 liters of air, which is called TOTAL LUNG CAPACITY. Total Lung Capacity is the volume of air in the lungs after taking a full inspiration, normally the average adult takes 12 to 15 breaths a minute.
A breath is one complete cycle, which includes one full in inhalation, which is called PURAKA, and one exhalation which is called RECHAKA. Our lungs develop, by the time we are 20 to 25 years old. It is natural for our lungs to gradually weaken, after the age of 30, or 35 years. Also, factors like age, gender, physical health, and overall health have an impact on lung volume and capacity.
A decline in lung capacity can be caused by several physiological changes as we grow older. Our diaphragm muscles get weaker over time, lung tissues that keep our airways open, lose their elasticity and so, the decline in our capacity and so the airways become narrow.
Along with aging, there will be a decline in physical activity and so the lung capacity also gets disturbed. We do not utilize our lungs to their fullest capacity, our breathing is shallow, and our poor posture brings constriction to our lungs, play in action and avoiding smoking can just be few such things which a person should be following in their life, this will automatically keep their lungs healthy and strong.
Many people feel shortness of breath, when they do some workout or when they walk very fast, and that is because our lung capacity has reduced. The heart and lung, two of the vital organs of our body can be activated because of exercise.
The lungs provide energy, by bringing in oxygen and removing carbon dioxide from the body, the heart pumps oxygen into muscles, as we exercise. When you work out, your body requires more oxygen and produces more carbon dioxide, but when your lung function is impaired, you may feel fatigued and have shortness of breath.
Today I will share with you some powerful asanas and pranayamas, they will help you to strengthen your lungs naturally and maintain your optimal lung capacity.
1. KUMBHAKA (Retention of Breath)
Kumbhaka is one of the excellent pranayamas to improve your lung capacity. When you practice Kumbhaka, there is a favorable effect on intra-thoracic and intra-pulmonary pressure, this leads to an increase in lung capacity, regular practice of this pranayama will improve your breathing over time.
For Kumbhaka, first, the person has to sit in any of the meditative poses, with legs crossed, spine straight, head straight. Now take a long breath in, and then hold your breath for some time as long as you feel comfortable, and then exhale the breath out.
But now let us do this with a proper proportion when you are breathing in for 4 seconds, then you should be holding your breath for 8 seconds and then breathe out again for 4 seconds, so this holding of breath is called Kumbhaka.
2. PRANAYAMA – (INTERCOASTAL BREATHING.)
To improve your lung capacity, you need to strengthen the muscles, which are holding your ribs, as your lung muscles play a major role in the functioning of your lungs. When you do intercostal breathing that is rib cage, muscles hold your rib cage.
When you use these muscles, it definitely helps in improving your vital capacity of lungs and removing the stress and tension of the entire body, all this would help you to give better oxygenation.
Steps, sit in any meditative pose again, you can even do this standing, but better that you sit. Sit with any meditative pose bring your arm over your ribs, from the side.
Hold your ribs, like this, where the fingers are out, and your thumb is behind. So the rib cage you are holding with your hand.
Now inhale, and focus on your ribs to move sideways. How the frogs breathe, move the ribs sideways. The mind should be very much focused there, and while breathing out bring the ribs back to normal position.
So, here you are breathing in, your ribs are going sideways and breathing out ribs coming back to your normal position. So these muscles, which are holding your ribs are exercised, the tension from these muscles go away and your lungs can breathe much better volume much better way.
3. BHASTRIKA PARANAYAMA – (known as BELLOWS MOVEMENT)
Just like a fire, which is so necessary to meet, and purify the metal. Forceful inhalation and exhalation in this pranayama help in producing lots of heat and that in return will purify the system and enable that system to function much better.
This pranayama helps in increasing lung capacity it purifies also the lungs and really strengthens the core muscles.
Now understand how to do that Sit again in any meditative posture and focus on your abdomen, first, take one or two long breaths inhale fully, and exhale fully, again inhale fully, hold your breath and then move your abdomen in and out, in and out, fast, fast, fast without inhalation or exhalation, just hold your breath and do it.
Move, take 5 to 10 rounds 15 rounds in that position and then breathe out completely. Understand, when you laugh loudly, what is happening, automatically your abdominal is moving fast, fast. Watch this and that’s why I would always say that come on laugh.
Understand that Charlie Chaplin has mentioned “a day when you do not laugh even one that day is lost for you” in your life laugh and that it-self is pranayama.
4. TALASANA – (THE PALM TREE POSE.)
This asana is an excellent asana, to improve your lung capacity. This asana is done in different variations also, where you are using all different three sets of muscle, you are using your diaphragm, you are using your inter-coastal muscles and you are using your clavicular muscles. So all those muscles which are holding your lungs are used in one asana and that is Talasana.
This develops respiratory muscles and their vital index. A full-body stretch in this asana helps you to breathe deeply and rhythmically. This asana gives a complete stretch to your body and that helps you to breathe, rhythmically and deeply.
In Talasana, you have to stand straight with both legs 1 foot away from each other, both parallel to each other, look in front, eyes gazed at one point.
Now while inhaling raise your right hand up, right from the front up to your head, set yourself upright on your toe, and stay in that position, for some time.
So here's what you are doing is while in telling you are slowly simultaneously coming on your toe and bringing your arm as up straight as possible.
This movement, the leg movement, and hand movement, and breathing movement, all these three movements should synchronize with each other. It is like neuromuscular coordination.
So, stretch there, Stay in that position for some time, rotate your palms outwards and from behind, rotate your hands, and bring your hands down.
5. KONASANA 2
Konasana 2 also helps in improving your vital capacity of lungs. This movement helps, opening up all our alveoli because some of the alveoli don’t function only, we hardly use one-third capacity of our lungs in our life.
But when you start doing these exercises, you really breathe very much better, and your entire general
health becomes much stronger and better. So, here in this asana Stand straight, keep your both feet away from each other and at least 2 1/2 to 3 feet away, both parallel to each other.
If you are doing it for the first time, take the support of the wall, stand with the wall and do this. Now raise your right hand from the side up, inhaling let it come up to your head and your ear, your upper arm should be together, your head also should be together.
And, then start bending sideways, all this while you are inhaling, hold your breath double the time for some time and then while exhaling comes back to your normal position, and then do it on the other side.
This movement should be done very slowly and very cautiously because we are not using these muscles so regularly, but do it regularly and it would really work wonders. So in this Konasana, you start helping your underused muscle, and that works wonders.
Being active and staying fit, help your lungs to remain fit, and enhance your quality of life. A person may have some lung problems, like asthma and a few other things, shortness of breath and such things, but if you are doing your exercises, if you are remaining active,
you are walking very well, doing some asanas very well. All these problems would be overcome very easily, good oxygen in your body, good breathing capacity helps remove practically all sorts of diseases.
It helps you to remain happy and healthy, a person must focus on breathing better, on improving the capacity of your lung, more and that would help in the management of your entire life.
In life, even obesity decreases the capacity of lungs, so the person must maintain his body weight; a person must remain fit and fine, to improve lung capacity. So try and understand, that when you breathe better, you think better, you have more control over your mind too.
When you breathe better you remain healthy, and so you have more control over your body and body movements too, so try and focus on these pranayamas, what we have mentioned and you will definitely enjoy good health and a good state of your mind, do it.
