The smoking ban is firmly in place. In the second of a two-part article, Bikram teacher Michele Pernetta suggests yoga postures to help smokers kick the habit.
Around 70% of British smokers would like to quit and about three million try every year. So how, specifically, can yoga asanas help smokers regain their health?
Pranayama breathing is great for boosing lung capacity through the controlled expansion and contraction of the lungs.
The control of the breath with the throat and the inhaling through the nose accelerates the air and pushes it down to the very bottom of the lungs, where it is more efficiently utilised.
The standing postures increase heart rate, and the cardio vascular system is strengthened. This is good for overall fitness, and especially for oxygenation of the blood, as well as for detoxification.
Try Standing Head To Knee, Standing Bow Pulling Pose, and Balancing Stick Pose.
Smokers are often deficient in vital nutrients. Wind Removing Pose helps with constipation and brings circulation to the colon, improving elimination.
This aids digestion, which can have been impaired by the chemicals and toxins in the inhaled smoke.
Half tortoise pose brings oxygen to the very lowest portion of the lungs, an area hard to reach through every day breathing.
This pose brings mental clarity and improves circulation to the skin and eyes, brain, thyroid, parathyroid and pituitary.
Rabbit pose is good for the immune system, which may be compromised from smoking. It also gives the deepest stretch to our spines, reducing the risk of compression of the nerves and discs.
Many people use smoking as a way to deal with stress or pressure in their lives. Crucially, yoga can help hugely to release stress.
Yoga is a real alternative, removing stress from the body through stretching, opening, twisting, pressing and squeezing the whole body.
Also through the breath, by taking our mind away from our troubles for an hour and a half, and by bringing oxygen to the whole body and brain, revitalizing every cell.
Re-learning about your body
Through smoking we often learn to ignore our body and what it really needs. Through yoga we re-learn what feels good, re-establishing a relationship with ourselves that is about care, and respect for our body.
Many people are afraid to gain weight after giving up smoking. Bikram yoga burns as many calories as any other vigorous exercise: 500-900 calories are shed during a Bikram class.
Even though yoga is not an "impact" sport, it has been shown to increase bone density. Smokers tend to have lower bone density due to fact that smoking causes impaired calcium absorption.
Yoga is weight bearing exercise, where the bones are loaded with weight, strengthening the large bones of the legs and promoting flexibility in the legs and hips. In squats (such as Awkward Pose), the weight load is transferred down the legs.
Smokers have higher levels of toxic metals in their bodies. As yoga helps the body to speed up its detoxification process, we are reducing the time it takes to get through the difficult first few weeks after quitting.
In summary, a consistent yoga practice can give us confidence and stability as we move through the world, providing us with the arena we need to stay stress free, healthy, and full of vitality.
These are the reasons we feel able to kick our bad habits - instead of relying on our addictions to give us a false sense of wellbeing.
The best way to change is to focus wholeheartedly on what is new and positive, helping us to forget our old ways and embrace new ones.
Read part one: Binning the habit: how yoga can help smokers quit
The author, Michele Pernetta, teaches at Bikram West, North and City -
Image source: Michele Pernetta
.jpg "Baddha Konasana - Bound Angle Pose")
