Abstract
Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease that results from a complex interplay of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. There is no cure for asthma, and the management is usually as per published guidelines. As in many chronic diseases conditions, various alternative or complimentary therapies have been tried. Of these, yoga and pranayama have gained wider attention in recent years. While the term yoga is a complex term encompassing eight limbs as per Patamjai in the yoga sutras, in simple terms, yoga is described as a combination of ‘asana’ (physical exercises) and ‘pranayama’ (breathing exercise). The term “asthma” has been derived from the Greek word “panting,”, which indicates a rapid and shallow breathing. The main aim of yoga and pranayama in asthma is to synchronize and control breathing, thus decreasing hyperventilation. Besides this, they also decrease the stress/strain/anxiety, change in behavior, boost immunity, and improve strength/endurance of respiratory muscles that are helpful in any subject with asthma. There have been a good number of studies including clinical trials in children with asthma that have found some beneficial effects. In the present review, the physiology of yoga and pranayama, rationale for their use in children with asthma along with a summary of various studies conducted till date, have been discussed. These are followed by recommendations regarding their incorporation in the standard of care of children with asthma.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Mattiuzzi C, Lippi G. Worldwide asthma epidemiology: insights from the Global Health Data Exchange database. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2020;10:75–80.
Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). 2021 GINA Report, Global strategy for asthma management and prevention. 2021. Available at: https://ginasthma.org/gina–reports/. Accessed on 10th June 2021.
Yildiz Y, Yavuz AY. Complementary and alternative medicine use in children with asthma. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021;43:101353.
Trambusti I, Nuzzi G, Costagliola G, et al. Dietary interventions and nutritional factors in the prevention of pediatric asthma. Front Pediatr. 2020;8:480.
Das RR, Sankar J, Kabra SK. Role of breathing exercises and yoga/pranayama in childhood asthma: a systematic review. Curr Pediatr Rev. 2019;15:175–83.
Ramachandran HJ, Jiang Y, Shan CH, Tam WWS, Wang W. A systematic review and meta–analysis on the effectiveness of swimming on lung function and asthma control in children with asthma. Int J Nurs Stud. 2021;120.
Macêdo TM, Freitas DA, Chaves GS, Holloway EA, Mendonça KM. Breathing exercises for children with asthma. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;4:CD011017.
Ramdzan SN, Pinnock H, Liew SM, et al. Perceptions of complementary/alternative medicine use and influence on evidence–based asthma medicine adherence in Malaysian children. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2019;29:5.
Sankar J, Das RR. Asthma – A disease of how we breathe: role of breathing exercises and pranayam. Indian J Pediatr. 2018;85:905–10.
Russo MA, Santarelli DM, O’Rourke D. The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human. Breathe (Sheff). 2017;13:298–309.
Dratcu L. Panic, hyperventilation and perpetuation of anxiety. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2000;24:1069–89.
Tay TR, Radhakrishna N, Hore-Lacy F, et al. Comorbidities in difficult asthma are independent risk factors for frequent exacerbations, poor control and diminished quality of life. Respirology. 2016;21:1384–90.
Sodhi C, Singh S, Dandona PK. A study of the effect of yoga training on pulmonary functions in patients with bronchial asthma. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2009;53:169–74.
Connett GJ, Thomas M. Dysfunctional breathing in children and adults with asthma. Front Pediatr. 2018;6:406.
D’Alba I, Carloni I, Ferrante AL, Gesuita R, Palazzi ML, de Benedictis FM. Hyperventilation syndrome in adolescents with and without asthma. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2015;50:1184–90.
de Groot EP, Duiverman EJ, Brand PL. Dysfunctional breathing in childrenwith asthma: a rare, but relevant comorbidity. Eur Respir J. 2013;41:1068–73.
Bruton A, Holgate TS. Hypocapnia and asthma: a mechanism for breathing retraining? Chest. 2005;127:1808–11.
van den Elshout FJ, van Herwaarden CL, Folgering HT. Effects of hypercapnia and hypocapnia on respiratory resistance in normal and asthmatic subjects. Thorax. 1991;46:28–32.
Mark JD. Integrative medicine and asthma. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2007;54:1007–23.
van't Hul AJ, Deenstra DD, Djamin RS, Antons JC, van Helvoort HA. Hypocapnia correction as a working mechanism for breathing retraining in asthma. Lancet Respir Med. 2018;6:e14.
Miyasaka T, Dobashi-Okuyama K, Takahashi T, Takayanagi M, Ohno I. The interplay between neuroendocrine activity and psychological stress-induced exacerbation of allergic asthma. Allergol Int. 2018;67:32–42.
Sengupta P. Health impacts of yoga and pranayama: a state-of-the-art review. Int J Prev Med. 2012;3:444–58.
Karmakar S, Karmakar S. The role of yoga in bronchial asthma. J Complement Med Alt Healthcare. 2018;7:1–4.
Collins C. Yoga: intuition, preventive medicine, and treatment. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 1998;27:563–8.
Gerritsen RJS, Band GPH. Breath of life: the respiratory vagal stimulation model of contemplative activity. Front Hum Neurosci. 2018;12:397.
Santino TA, Chaves GS, Freitas DA, Fregonezi GA, Mendonça KM. Breathing exercises for adults with asthma. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;3:CD001277.
Jasrotia RB, Kanchan A. Effect of yoga on pulmonary functions in asthmatic children. Int J Life Sci Educ Res. 2013;1:110–4.
Gupta M, Jit S, Kaur P. Effectiveness of selected Yoga postures and procedures for improvement in pulmonary functions in 8–14 year old children of Nasobronchial allergy. International Journal of Medical Research and Review. 2017;5:149–55.
Azab ASR, Moawd SA, Abdul-Rahman RS. Effect of buteyko breathing exercises versus yoga training on pulmonary functions and functional capacity in children with bronchial asthma: a randomized controlled trial. Int J Ther Rehab Res. 2017;6:148–53.
Jasrotia RB, Mondal S, Gandhi A, Kumar V. A quasi–experimental study of the effects of yogic practices on pulmonary functions and exercise–induced bronchial lability in children with controlled asthma. Int J Med Sci Public Health. 2019;8:1046–51.
Somashekar AR, Panduranga A, Prabhakar SJ, Vidyasagar D. Effect of pranayama in controlling symptoms and improvement in pulmonary function in mild to moderate asthmatics in adolescent age group. Merit Res J Med Med Sci. 2020;8:153–7.
Yadav P, Jain PK, Sharma BS, Sharma M. Yoga Therapy as an adjuvant in management of asthma. Indian J Pediatr. 2021;88:1127–34.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
RRD, JS, and SKK contributed equally to the manuscript. JS will act as the guarantor for this paper.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
None.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Das, R.R., Sankar, J. & Kabra, S.K. Role of Breathing Exercises in Asthma—Yoga and Pranayama. Indian J Pediatr 89, 174–180 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-021-03998-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-021-03998-w