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doing breathing exercises for UC

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 3/24/2008 9:26 PM (GMT 0)

I have been doing breathing exercise nearly every morning and they I think have helped my UC to some extent. If anyone wants more information let me know can write in detail. At the moment am on probiotics.

Posted 3/24/2008 10:37 PM (GMT 0)
THERE ARE YOGIC BREATHING EXCERCIES CALLED PRANAYAMA ARE YOU DOING THEM?
Posted 3/24/2008 11:52 PM (GMT 0)
dare5555 question THERE ARE YOGIC BREATHING EXCERCIES CALLED PRANAYAMA ARE YOU DOING THEM?

Yes they are called pranayama and are a set of 7 exercises which takes me about 25 to 30 minutes which i do everyday.

Posted 3/25/2008 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
i am originally from india and i hear so much about pranayama which literally means to balance the prana or life forces in the body . There is one guru BABA RAMDEV he is taking India by storm and ppl r watching his shows everyday on TV . He is an advocate of pranayama , he started his journey in yoga after he had a paralysis attack but now he's fully cured! also i have heard pranayama can cure asthma and many many other chronic problems....
Posted 3/25/2008 4:20 PM (GMT 0)
Where can I find info on these breathing exercises?
Posted 3/25/2008 5:33 PM (GMT 0)
These pranayam (breathing exercises) will heal the ulcerative colitis and you will be in remission.Do not be pushed into going for an operation.Do the pranayam everyday and you will feel the benefits gradually over months.After you are better continue the pranayam once a day to keep the ulcerative colitis away.Also take aloe vera.
Build up your timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume later.It is so natural, that you will feel generally healthy all round.
Anulom Vilom –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril
then -keeping the left nostril closed deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 20 to 30 minutes twice a day(maximum 60 minutes in one day).
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.

Kapalbhati -(Do it before eating) Push air forcefully out through the nose about once per second. Stomach will itself go in(contract in). The breathing in(through the nose) will happen automatically. Establish a rhythm and do for 20 to 30 minutes twice a day.(Max 60 min/day) Not for pregnant women. Seriously ill people do it gently.
Posted 3/25/2008 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
search PRANAYAMA ON YOUTUBE and read books

pranayama nicely explained on youtube , GURU Ramdev is also there...
Posted 3/26/2008 12:51 AM (GMT 0)

Thanks dare 5555 you are right I am following Swami Ramdev's breathing exercises. you can buy his pranayam dvds on amazon.com I feel it has benefited me to some extent. I don't know much about the aloe vera though but will read up on it and then will give it a try.

Posted 3/26/2008 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Pinky,

If you have mild colitis then this ayurvedic formula called "JOINT SUPPORT FORMULA" from AYUSHAKTI USA in New york city will help you without the side effects of drugs! It has helped me

Posted 7/18/2009 10:21 AM (GMT 0)
For colitis, kapalbhati must NOT be done. No matter what baba ramdev or patanjali guys tell you, _do not do it_. the only time kapalbhati will be helpful in colitis is if you have mucous colitis (ibs) and constipation. other wise the jerking is only going to make you go to the loo more.

i did all the pranayamas for 2 months and didnt see any benefits in my colitis. but when i stopped doing kapalbhati (cuz my panchkarma vaidya advised me to do so), i saw an improvement in my defacating urgency routine. if you are doing kapalbhati stop doing it and see it for yourself. bhastrika and anulom-vilom were very helpful in calming the nerves down.
Posted 7/18/2009 9:42 PM (GMT 0)

dare5555 said...
These pranayam (breathing exercises) will heal the ulcerative colitis and you will be in remission.

While breathing exercises may help, they are not a cure. I've done these exercises (and still do in yoga class) with little benefit to my colon. The reasons for my flares are two-fold--an imbalance in my fecal flora from having taken antibiotics for many years and poor colon health from eating poorly for many years. Fecal transplantation and probiotics help to balance the fecal flora. A changed diet helps to improve colon health. Breathing exercises may improve my overall health, but they are not going to fix my colon issues.

However, breathing exercises may be of more benefit to others who don't have colitis for the same reasons as me.
Posted 8/5/2010 4:53 PM (GMT 0)
This is an old thread.... i started my breathing exercise this month ..will update if it helps. I do it 20-30 minutes early morning before breakfast ...i leave a gap of 30 minutes between prayanam & breakfast.
Posted 8/5/2010 5:18 PM (GMT 0)
This is interesting. I was VERY skeptical about Swami Ramdev. My family are devotees and actually organized his yoga camp in our city, the first one ever organized there. They are part of his "inner circle" of members and follow him around the world when they can. He has very highly dubious political views and allegiances in my opinion. HOWEVER, I have personally seen what I would call "miraculous" results with his yoga in my family and friends for conditions such as colitis and type 2 diabetes. I've heard of many other "miracles" but of course who know how much of that is true. If I could get my kid to do alom vilom and kipilbharti I definitely would but she's too little to do it correctly. It's worth a try.
Subdued, what type of yoga do you practice? Most of the yoga I've done focuses on stretching and not correct breathing, which is the key to Ramdev's approach.
Posted 8/5/2010 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
Yes i am also doing Swami Ramdev's prayanam. Did it really help in colitis problem in your family.... did they do kapalbharti as well(rahul in abv post wrote not to do it).... i do mostly anulom vilom for 10 minutes at a stretch(100 counts) and all others except the stomach ones. for kids i have heard not to do till they r atleast 4-5 years old.
Even i have heard few people i know in india have cured their BP, THyroid problems by prayanam but never heard of any colitis case.
Posted 8/5/2010 7:12 PM (GMT 0)
Zamba,
Yes they did those two but I think they did more. I don't get into it too much with them because it turns into a lecture about all of the miraculous things prayanam can do. But it has helped them. I don't know about Rahul's experience though. Try it and see how it goes. Ramdev himself recommends those for colitis/digestion so if you're following his program then follow it completely. If it makes you worse, stop. Are you in India? Maybe Rahul could recommend his doctor?
Posted 8/5/2010 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
i am in US but i know people who do prayanam in india and have cured many diseases within 3months- an year. Most of our family is in india. Hoping it will help me... i found his complete UC prayanam/yoga on you tube.
Posted 8/5/2010 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
Zamba, can you post the link for that site.

Killcolitis- I was supposed to go to that conference with Swami Ramdevji but was out of town. My husband and I were invited as part of a group we belong to. My mom has been telling me about him for years, in fact she even sent me his DVD, for no reason other than relaxation and peace.I wasnt having UC issues then. I even believe my MIL hs been to his place in India to get some meds. for family member for one thing or another... I am going to hunt down my DVD and see what he says. I have free time when my baby naps, could try it out, I dont think it will hurt a bit.
Posted 8/5/2010 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kweeks,
Yes, my family came up (from Toronto) for that as well. They are part of his "executive members" group or something like that. Like I said, I have very mixed feelings about the phenomenon but I have seen his yoga do things that western medicine has said were not possible. When he was in Toronto for a yoga camp a few years ago (my family organized that one) he actually spoke at a hospital in Missaugua. It was organized by a group of Indian doctors (cardiologists I believe) who had seen the efficacy of his exercises. I can't remember the name of the hospital but I know he has many Docs attesting to his yoga. So, it can't hurt and it can only help. Let me know how it goes if you try it.

Post Edited (killcolitis) : 8/5/2010 2:58:17 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/5/2010 8:52 PM (GMT 0)

kweeks said...
Zamba, can you post the link for that site.
.

Kweeks, i have pasted the link for Swami Ramdev prayanam for UC.... its pretty long & in Hindi. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWblZunDk7Y&feature=related

I was trying to look for English version also for many here in forum who do not understand Hindi & i found prayanam in English. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Jnra2O9Fc&feature=related
Posted 8/5/2010 10:28 PM (GMT 0)
Excellent to see this thread ! I was just wondering about breathwork today as I noticed during stressful life events my breathing becomes very shallow so I will look into this. The deep breathing cycle, not the nostril thing is I believe what helps its also how I help myself calm my mind and body and fall asleep.
Posted 8/5/2010 11:07 PM (GMT 0)
This is quite different than 'circular breathing' where you pause with a full breath which is what I was doing.

Better do this stuff on an empty stomach 1st thing in the morning.
Posted 8/6/2010 12:12 AM (GMT 0)

aguywithuc said...
This is quite different than 'circular breathing' where you pause with a full breath which is what I was doing.

Better do this stuff on an empty stomach 1st thing in the morning.

yes! it should be done empty stomach early morning or 4hrs after lunch maybe around 3-4:00pm ...i prefer the morning one. He says if u can do it twice a day then it is even better. Also we should not eat or bathe for atleast half an hour after prayanam plus we should not drink water in between prayanam.
Posted 8/6/2010 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the link Zamba!
Posted 8/6/2010 3:14 PM (GMT 0)
He makes a caution to UC'ers that I cannot quite makeout, does he say to not use max effort for UC'ers ?

Also it seems this would not be advisable to begin in the middle of a bad flare yes ?
Posted 8/6/2010 6:06 PM (GMT 0)

aguywithuc said...
He makes a caution to UC'ers that I cannot quite makeout, does he say to not use max effort for UC'ers ?

Also it seems this would not be advisable to begin in the middle of a bad flare yes ?

Caution for UC'ers is especially for the Kapalbharti prayanam(where you exhale once every second and keep pulling your stomach in) & Bahay prayanam (dnt remember the name correctly-the one where u breathe out and keep your stomach pulled in for a few seconds) ..... this time i am skipping both these prayanam and concentrating more on Anulom Vilom (inhaling from one side and exhaling from other)- i do it continuously for 10-13 minutes everyday . i also do the rest of prayanam except those stomach ones i mentioned abv. I am also in the middle of a flare so was planning not to take chances right now. All these prayanam + few exercises take me around 30 minutes. The first few days u will find it very difficult to do any prayanam for more than a minute.... so dnt do it- dnt over exert........ my husband took 1 month to do them for the time required...he loves it now and is very regular. Even i had started yoga with him but had to stop because i had laproscopy in march.

In case u want to do kapalbharti u should do it slow...dnt pull your stomach too much in i.e not too much stomach movement...all exhaling should come naturally we should not over exert. I am guessing you dnt understand hindi so i will try to translate for you : in the hindi link (pasting again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWblZunDk7Y&feature=related) at 17:56 seconds he is telling how a person with UC should do Kapalbharti and then 17:58 he says if u have too many ulcers( flaring bad!!) then you should do it like the person in white clothes does it. So u can see he is not pulling in his stomach too hard like Swami Ramdev and not exhaling with too much pressure. Hope it was more clear now. I would suggest to skip the Bahay prayanam - where u pull your stomach in after exhaling out completely for a couple of seconds ....that is too strong on stomach.
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