Happy Lung Health

Find a calm place to sit tall, breathe slow and deep, and honor your lungs.

One of the most important principles in holistic, ayurvedic, and healing practices is to avoid inflammation in the lungs. Eliminating factors that can create inflammation is essential to healing the lungs and breathing easier.

We can’t completely avoid all irritants coming into the lungs, but there are practices that can reduce the inflammation that the lungs create in response to these irritants. The best advice is to prevent irritants from entering the nose. Ayurveda recommends a few drops of nasya oil into the nostrils - more details below.

(Ayurveda is the science of life is a system of holistic medicine practiced for 5000 years. It’s a sister science to yoga, and offers a natural and balanced approach to optimal health). 

The recommendations in this blog  will help reduce inflammation in the lungs and improve symptoms of lung issues. Please remember that it's very important to combine these suggestions with a healthy lifestyle to reduce overall inflammation in your body.

Eliminate and Avoid

• Avoid smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke

• Eliminate the use of chemical air fresheners and strongly scented candles, perfumes, and products that irritate the lungs

• Avoid exposure to pollution, toxins, dust, and dander

Protect your precious lungs.

Tips To Nurture, Heal, and Strengthen Your Lung Function

• Use a good quality air filter in your home

• Use a neti pot to rinse out your nostrils 

• Nasya Oil - 3 drops in each nostril as you lie down for a few minutes to allow it to penetrate your nostril cavities

• Steam Therapy can loosen mucus in the lungs, improve circulation, and remove irritants trapped in the mucus. This also reduces the feeling of heaviness in the chest. Steam can help break up mucus that’s caught in your lungs and airways, making it easier to breathe and removing waste from your body. Try taking warm showers and sitting in a steam room. Steam is useful for reducing symptoms and feeling better almost immediately.

• Use humidifiers in your home and bedroom. They can help with coughs, sore throats, and stuffiness caused by respiratory conditions. The moisture from the humidifier can loosen mucus in the chest. Humidifiers can also soothe airway tissue, which can help with breathing and reducing soreness.

• Exercise - movement reduces inflammation in the body, benefits the respiratory system, strengthens the immune system, increases circulation, detoxifies, and creates lymph drainage. Do about 30 minutes of exercise every day of the week, such as brisk walking or jogging, yardwork (gardening), cycling, swimming, dancing, etc.

Breathing Exercises (yogic breathing) can also reduce inflammation and improve lung function. Breathing slowly and deeply helps move more oxygen through your lungs and throughout the body. Try deep breathing exercises regularly, such as belly breathing or box breathing. These exercises also have additional benefits for fighting stress and helping with relaxation and sleep - belly breathing for at least 20 minutes daily has been shown to reduce inflammation. Try doing this for 10 minutes in the morning and for 10 minutes before bed. 

Belly Breathing, also known as diaphragmatic deep breathing, is a relaxing technique that involves breathing slowly and deeply using your diaphragm and abdominal muscles.

Tips:

- sit comfortably and raise your rib cage to expand your chest
- place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen

- breathe in slowly through your nose, paying attention to how your belly fills with air

- breathe out through your mouth at least two or three times as long as your inhale

- relax your back and shoulders

- try to gently breathe in and out through your nose, allowing your upper chest and stomach to remain still

- with each breath, let go of any tension in your body

(start with 5-10 breaths - the more you practice the easier it will be to calm down and breathe more comfortably)

Box Breathing, also known as square breathing, is used to calm the nervous system, especially in stressful situations. Navy Seals use box breathing as a quick way to get their nervous systems under control. We all can use that in our tool box. This technique is simple and has been studied and proven to reduce stress and anxiety, increase focus, and slow down your breathing.

Tips:

- sit, stand, or lie down on your back, with one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach, and close your eyes - when sitting, ensure that your back is supported and your feet are firmly on the floor
- breathe as you would normally for a minute
- observe the rise and fall of your chest and stomach
- if you notice that your chest is rising but your stomach is not, you are shallow breathing. If your stomach is rising, you are deep breathing, activating full relaxation in your body

- inhale slowly through your nose while counting to 4

- hold your breath while slowly counting to 4

- exhale slowly through your mouth for 4 seconds

- wait 4 seconds

- repeat 3-5 times, or ideally for 4 minutes, or until you feel calm

The key to overall good health in the body is a diet rich in anti-inflammatories and antioxidants. Below are beneficial foods to incorporate in your diet for lung and overall health. 

Herbs can reduce inflammation throughout the body but specifically in the lungs. Turmeric has antioxidant properties and reduces damage to lung tissue that can cause inflammation. Tulsi is an anti-inflammatory and improves bronchial asthma. Licorice shows benefits in reversing inflammation changes in asthma (if you have high blood pressure use with caution). Triphala is a combination of 3 dried fruits with potent antioxidants. Amalaki - one of the fruits in Triphala - is shown to reduce inflammation. 

• Green Tea: polyphenols  

• Berries: anthocyanins 

• Leafy Green Vegetables: carotenoids

• Tomatoes: lycopene

• Beans and whole grains: fiber 

• Fish: salmon, sardines, omega fatty acids

Sources:

Dr. Axe - co-founder of ancientnutrition.com 

Dr. Sheila - Chopra’s Chief Medical Officer
American Air Association

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

I order my Nasya Oil and Triphala from www.banyanbotanicals.com

Lie down or tilt head at back of your bed and drop 3 nasya oil drops in each nostril. Inhale deeply to allow the oil to penetrate into each nostril. You might notice one nostril is more clogged than the other. Continue breathing to open your airways. Relax and breathe gently for 2-3 minutes. In these pics I’m sitting upright and continuing my breathing practice as the oil penetrates deeper.

Genia’s Spoon Me Tips

It is important to control inflammation in the lungs. A cough needs attention. Please follow the above recommendations. I intentionally and diligently pay attention to my posture, elevating my chest, and breathing deeply and mindfully.

I’ve noticed that when I clean my home, if I’m on my hands and knees dusting the floor, it sometimes causes me to cough. A mask is recommended while cleaning. Vacuuming regularly also helps keep dust and dander from accumulating. And if you can breathe through your nose instead of your mouth, that’s very helpful. The nose has natural hairs that block dust and toxins from entering your body and reaching your lungs. These are great ways to avoid accumulations of environmental toxins.

I use nasya oil during my seasonal cleanses, when feeling congested, and before and during travel. This way I support my lungs from inhaling airborne pollutants.

I take my Triphala before bedtime. It reduces inflammation, constipation, and weight loss.

Every breath you take is a blessing - keep it clean and calm,
Genia Taub