When I was a kid I had asthma. The doctor claimed my triggers for wheezing were cats, dust and cigarette smoke, and in the 80s it seemed like those things were always around.
I remember being in PE class and not being able to breathe when we were running. I was told that I should sit down and rest while all the other kids would run and play.
I didn’t have an extreme case of asthma, but l felt excluded.
I remember the fear that I would have an asthma attack... and the feeling that I couldn't get enough breath in. The sound and feel of wheezing. Breathing through my mouth.
Fast forward to today. I stopped carrying a rescue inhaler years ago.
I still have a moderate cat allergy, but the others are gone.
I attribute the practice of yoga to expanding my lung capacity.
For many years, as an asthmatic, I was told to slow down and breathe deeply, but I was never able to. In addition to the physical response my body was having, I would go into a sympathetic nervous system state of panic and could not get any air in. The only breath I could get in was shallow, in the top of my chest. Panting.
I’ve been practicing yoga now for around 20 years, diverse types and styles. When I started practicing heated power yoga a few times a week, around 2004, was when I noticed a major difference in my lung capacity.
I stopped worrying that I forgot to put my inhaler in my purse... because it was less and less often that I needed it. I could ride my bike longer without getting winded. I even stopped having to take a pre-exercise puff on the inhaler.
I’m not sure exactly when I stopped using my inhaler, but the more yoga I did, the less I used it.
I share this story because so many of us have a "thing" that we think is weird, scary, or shameful. My 'thing" was being the kid who wheezed.
Yoga taught me to breathe deeply.
Has it taught you something too?