Respiratory Health and Wellness- Quarantine Edition

DISCLAIMER – I am not a health professional or an Ayurvedic expert, you must consult your physician and dietician before taking up any of the recommended respiratory exercises and herbal drinks.

Lung detox, Lung cleanse, terms that can be used interchangeably was the most googled term after ‘CORONAVIRUS’ in the past few weeks. Pre-Quarantine people with chronic respiratory illnesses, heavy-smokers, construction workers were considered the ideal candidates for a lung cleanse, but in the light of the current health crisis and the fatal respiratory symptoms it’s notorious for, ALL HUMAN BEINGS should now make respiratory health their priority.

While overall health/wellness and hygiene should be prioritized, giving some extra love and care to your respiratory system aka lungs now would sure warranty longterm health benefits. Needless to say- the internet is inundated with information, tips and everyday practices for respiratory hygiene, I as an influencer and someone who is susceptible to constant cough production owing to my reflux, personally feel responsible to equip myself and my readers with tried and tested tools and hacks to maintain and practice a good respiratory hygiene.

Your overall wellbeing is determined by your DOSHA- the energetic forces of nature and functional principles that help us to better understand ourselves, and our bodies. There are three different doshas– Vata, Pitta, and Kappa ( read about it in detail HERE ). While people with Kappa imbalance are more susceptible to congestion in their respiratory organs, an imbalance in the three doshas combined can lead to an imbalance in your body and your life. The need of the hour is to keep your lungs free of mucus/phlegm and increase your lung power, so let us focus on some of the corrective measures you can adapt today to restore KAPPA balance.

YOGA AND PRANAYAMA

I spoke with my yoga guru ji ( instructor ) back in India right when everything was shuttered and we all went into a lockdown ad he has some recommendations. He has been my mentor and my muse for the last 9 years. He is 85 years old, practices yoga everyday, has no underlying health issues, and teaches one-on-one yoga at his student’s houses. He believes every person is different, their healing needs are different and thus builds a personalized yoga plan for each of his student. Every time I go to India, he makes sure to spare some time for me out of his busy schedule to work on my individual health needs. Anyways, as per him SURYA NAMASKAR ( sun salutation ) and NADI SHODHANA pranayama are the two important yoga asanas you should be doing everyday. While, practicing pranayama in general is advisable, NADI SHODHANA pranayama in particular helps pump oxygen into your lungs and clears up your respiratory channel.

EXERCISING

While, exercising is highly recommended and is a must to keep both your physical and mental sanity, there are a few exercises that you can do to engage and stretch your diaphragm. Cycling, running, jogging, jumping jacks, high-knees, jump-squats, all are very effective in engaging your diaphragm thereby increasing your lung capacity. Remember to take deep breaths thereby filing up your lungs with as much oxygen as you can. My cousin who happens to be an ER doctor in NY, unfortunately contracted this virus while at work. She has almost recovered and luckily she did not have any chest tightness or breathlessness, her recommendation- climbing up and down the stairs in your house. She would do this a few times or as much as her stamina would permit on a given day while she was recovering, to ensure her lungs were pumping hard and her diaphragm was stretching to it’s maximum capacity.

FOOD

As someone with an imbalanced KAPPA dosha ( thanks to my reflux ), I am more likely to have mucus accumulation. There are a few things that I have been advised to avoid to reduce mucus production and we all should limit the intake in case you are feeling too congested.

• Dairy products – limit intake, don’t eliminate completely as golden milk ( milk with turmeric ) helps breakdown mucus buildup.
• Caffeine
• Fried Foods
• Alcohol
• Excessive sugar

DRINKS

We all know by now that drinking warm/hot fluid/green teas/clear soups throughout the day is a good respiratory practice as it helps breakdown mucus buildup. Plain water might sound a little boring, how about adding some ingredients from your kitchen pantry to make it all the more effective and palatable.

• boil water with some FENUGREEK seeds till the water turns golden. Drink it like an herbal tea. Consume it the same day as it does not taste good the next day.
• Add some lemon and honey to warm water. This enhances the taste and breaks up excessive mucus.
• Boil water with some minced ginger and turmeric and drink it like tea. You can make this in a small batch but make sure to consume it the same day.
• One herbal concoction that my mom makes, that I have been making these days is not so pleasant to drink but it is the holy grail of all at-home herbal medication. My mom would make us drink this every time we would have a chest congestion as kids and girl, did we feel better right away. The recipe calls for fresh TULSI ( holy basil) leaves, but since I don’t have fresh TULSI I use a few drops of this LIQUID tulsi . The ingredients that you would need for this concoction ( 3 servings) is as below.
  • 1 inch of ginger, grated
  • few tulsi leaves ( a couple drops of the liquid tulsi )
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper powder
  • 2-3 tbsp of jaggery
  • 1 tsp of carom seeds
  • 1 tbsp turmeric powder
  • 2-3 cloves
  • Boil all of this in about 3 cups of regular tap/drinking water, long enough to infuse the medicinal goodness of all of the above in your water. Strain and drink hot and praise me later…

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