Veggie Blog

Yoga breathing exercises, known as pranayama, are often described as a natural help for asthma. The idea is appealing: slow, controlled breathing could calm the airways. Asthma affects about 300 million people worldwide, according to Cochrane, so it is no surprise that many look for extra help. The research is more cautious than the headlines. Here is what is known, and how to approach it safely if you have asthma.

Can yoga cure asthma?

No. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute states that there is no cure for asthma, but that treatment and an asthma action plan can help you manage it. The plan may include monitoring, avoiding triggers and using medicines. About 1 in 13 people in the United States have asthma. Certain things, such as pollen, exercise, viral infections and cold air, can set off or worsen symptoms. Because exercise itself can be a trigger for some people, anyone with asthma should follow their action plan and keep their quick-relief medicine close at hand when they are active.

What do the studies find?

The best summary comes from a Cochrane review that looked at 15 randomized trials with 1,048 participants. The authors found that yoga probably improves quality of life and asthma symptoms to some extent. However, their confidence in the results is low, because most of the studies were flawed. The effects on lung function were inconsistent, there was a small amount of evidence that yoga can reduce medication usage, and information on unwanted effects was very limited. They concluded that high-quality studies with large numbers of participants are needed. You can read the Cochrane summary for yourself.

What about children?

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reports that a 2020 review of 9 studies with 1,230 children and adolescents found that yoga was associated with improvements in lung function, stress and anxiety, and quality of life. It adds that, because the populations and yoga programs varied so much, it is unclear which parts of yoga and how much of it are needed to provide benefits.

What about older reports of breathing exercises?

You may come across older news stories about small hospital studies in which controlled breathing reduced how irritable the airways were. I could not trace the original study, so I have not relied on it. The reviews above are a better guide, and they suggest a modest benefit as an addition to usual care, not a replacement.

How can you try it safely?

First, never stop or reduce your asthma medicine without your doctor’s advice. Yoga is something to add to your treatment, not instead of it. Second, tell your doctor and your yoga teacher that you have asthma. Third, start with gentle, slow breathing and simple postures. The NCCIH advises people who are new to yoga to avoid forceful breathing and extreme practices, and to learn from a qualified instructor, so skip fast, forceful breathing exercises. Fourth, stop if you cough, wheeze or feel tight and use your quick-relief medicine as your plan says. For poses to begin with, see basic yoga postures and their variations and yoga postures: an introduction, and read how to choose a yoga video for beginners before you pick a video. See also the NHLBI asthma overview.