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Yoga for Lung
Disease
Reported November 1, 2004
(Ivanhoe Broadcast News)--Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is an umbrella term used
to categorize lung diseases like emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic
asthma. Currently, there are few effective treatments for these often fatal
diseases. But an ancient practice may help the 16 million patients with COPD
find relief.
Ginger Carrieri-Kohlman, R.N., is trying to help patients with COPD catch
their breath. "Probably everyone, would say, 'If I can't get my next breath,
if I think I can't breathe, that is the scariest symptom there is,'" she
tells Ivanhoe.This University of California, San Francisco nurse researcher isn't using
drugs. She's using therapeutic yoga -- an ancient way to connect mind and
body.
"It's about learning. It's about exploring. It's about understanding your
own body," yoga instructor Bonnie Maeda, R.N., also of University of
California, San Francisco, tells Ivanhoe.
COPD patient Bruce Gallagher stretches, poses, and meditates during his
yoga class. he says: "The positions that they put you in, I've never been in
those positions. The breathing positions, you're actually laying on your
back, and your chest opens up."
Researchers say yoga may open blocked airways caused by bronchitis or
emphysema, which are linked to COPD. The hope is yoga will ease anxiety when
patients struggle to breathe.
"That helps them increase their confidence that they can control their
shortness of breath, and they're not going to drop dead," Carrieri-Kohlman
says.
Gallagher says, "I don't know whether it's gonna help me live longer or
not, but I like it." And at least for now, he's breathing a little easier.
Researchers say yoga should not be used in place of prescribed
medications but instead as another resource to help relieve symptoms. The
most common cause of COPD is cigarette smoking
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