Physical Education · Ch 3 — Yoga as Preventive Measure for Lifestyle Disease
Ushtrasana
Ushtrasana
This asana is described in full in section 3.1.9 (Ushtrasana) above - its procedure, breathing awareness, benefits and contraindications are the same wherever it is practised. The CBSE Class 12 Physical Education syllabus lists Ushtrasana again here because it is one of the asanas recommended for this specific lifestyle disease; refer to section 3.1.9 for the complete method and the posture diagram.
Why Ushtrasana helps manage asthma
Dropping the head back and pushing the chest forward in Ushtrasana produces one of the deepest chest expansions among the prescribed asanas, stretching the front ribs, the intercostal muscles and the throat all at once. The textbook itself notes that this posture is "helpful for asthmatic people"; the wide-open chest position directly counters the narrowed, guarded breathing pattern that develops during repeated asthma episodes.
Specific benefits for a person managing asthma
- Opens the chest very fully, giving the lungs maximum room to expand.
- Loosens the vertebrae and relieves the rounded back and drooping shoulders common in people who breathe shallowly for long periods.
- Builds confidence in using the full breath, useful for calming the anxiety that can accompany breathlessness.
- A natural progression after the smaller chest-openers (Tadasana, Bhujangasana) earlier in the asthma sequence.