Yoga Breathing Techniques (YBTs) in Exercise Induced Asthma: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Yoga Breathing Techniques (YBTs) have been claimed to be beneficial in patients with asthma during acute bronchospasm. This study was undertaken to verify this claim under controlled conditions using objective data. Six adult asthmatics (4 female, 2 male) in the age range of 23 to 48 years (mean age 34 years) volunteered to participate in this study. All the volunteers were taught YBT by a senior Yoga instructor over 2 sessions and were instructed to practice these sessions daily with the help of a prerecorded guiding tape over a period of 2 weeks. Subjects acted as their own controls. During the "control day," their baseline vital signs were measured, including pulse rate (PR), blood pressure (BP), peak flow measurements(PEFR), and spirometry (PFT). They all then underwent exercise testing by climbing up and down 14 steps indoors with controlled temperature and humidity. Serial PFT, BP, and PR were measured and recorded at 1 minute, 7 minutes, and 15 minutes post exercise. On the"control day," subjects sat on a chair resting after exercise. They were treated by bronchodilator aerosol if their PFT dropped 30% or more from their baseline values or if they complained of increasing difficulty in breathing during that period. On the "Yoga day," subjects underwent similar baseline studies as well as exercise testing as outlined above, and all the subjects were requested to perform the YBT immediately after they had completed their exercise test. A drop of 20% in FEV1 (one of the PFT parameters measured) was considered as being consistent with exercise induced bronchospasm (EIB). Three out of 6 subjects on the "control day" needed bronchodilator nebulizer treatments to relieve their EIB,whereas only 1 out of 6 subjects on the "Yoga day"needed a nebulizer treatment. The average time for the PFT to return to baseline from the post-exercise drop was shorter (18 mins. vs. 24 mins.) on the "Yoga day"compared to the "control day." Five out of 6 subjects subjectively felt better after the YBT compared to none on the "control day." Conclusion: Yoga Breathing techniques can be useful in relieving mild attacks of asthma.