As entire world is grappled under the fear of COVID 19, We at Etv Bharat Sukhibhava Spoke to Dr Dr Satish D. Pathak,M.S, F.C.P.S, M.N.A.M.S (Surgery) and Astt Director of Scientific Research Department, KaivalyaDhaam Yoga Institute, on Internationa Yoga Day 2020 about how Yoga can be useful in maintaining the lung and respiratory hygiene.
Dr Pathak opined Yoga Improve Respiration: “clear air passages, strengthen lung capacity”,imroves digestion – “Cleanse”, improve Blood Circulation, tone up the skeletal system and muscles”. He also answered some very important questions that are important for overall health hygiene.
What is the best time to practice yoga?
Ideally in the morning between 4.30 am to 6.30 am or when the stomach is empty for 4-5 hours and energy levels are at its peak. This yields maximum benefits. If this is not possible then, do it in the evening once you return from office and before eating anything.
For those who do not get time to do should at least practice Anulom Vilom, Gayatri and Omkar and Ujjayi breathing. It is also important to chant the “Gayatri Mantra” precisely as mentioned in the scriptures as this chanting is known to stimulate certain vital areas of the brain which are required for maintaining health.
What is the recommended duration of Kapalabhati? Who should not do it?
Kapalbhati has to be done as per the individual’s capacity but upper limit is maximum is 100 to 120.
People who have undergone a Bypass surgery, abdominal surgeries, have High BP, hernia, back problems, suffered a major heart attack, have glaucoma, pregnant ladies should not do Kapalbhati.
Remember Yoga is a “practice” not an exercise. It has to be developed slowly over a period of time as per one’s capacity. Yoga should not be seen as a workout. With regular practice of yoga, organs do not get tired or worn out, rather get toned up.
Is there a particular sequence of doing yoga /aasanas? What is the correct practice?
Never start doing yoga after running home or after sudden exertion. Allow your body to calm down get acclimatized to the surroundings and then begin slowly by lying down on your back in “Shavaasan” for 5 minutes.
Yoga and Covid: - “Maintain immunity and strengthen our respiratory health”.
Corona virus enters our body through our nose and respiratory system is affected. The symptoms start as initially as running nose, loss of smell, irritation in the throat, then dry cough and even here too if not confronted then it enters the trachea and produces difficulty in breathing and then enters the lungs and produces pneumonia. Therefore we need to strengthen the mucous lining of the nose and respiratory tract so that the virus does not survive. This can be achieved by regular Jal Neti, Ujjayi, Bhastrika, Kapalabhati, and lion poses. This strengthens the part from nose till lungs. Local immunity is thus achieved.
Next is Immunity at mental level-Once the lockdown is undone, we start moving out and start fearing whether the person next to you will transmit the virus to you? This leads to stress and anxiety. To overcome this, we need to do Kriya Yoga daily. This builds up self confidence and allays fear.
If we introspect closely, we realize that we have been going against the laws of nature and this is a way that nature has made us do things the natural way. The lockdown made us “Stay indoors in natural ventilation, Cook at home, give enough time for your family members, Bond with family. Secondly it also gave us time to nurture our hobbies which we could never devote time for.
Westerners have started wishing by a “Namaste” instead of a “Shake hand”. Going by the world figures we see that though India has been affected by the coronavirus, the mortality and morbidity is very less. That’s because our lifestyle is very different, our immunity is better as we still maintain our culture and traditions.
Hence it’s very important that we abide by the laws of nature so that diseases like Covid will not affect us.
