This section for the health challenge asthma comprises energetically oriented treatments that have to do with intention, energy healing, prayer, and in some cases god. These terms may be volatile for some, and for others they resonate. Some of these treatments have proven to be profoundly healing for certain individuals. Though some people are skeptical, prior notions of these words should be set aside when reading about these spiritual healing treatments, as many of the are truly incredible!
Many of the treatments that live in other sections could easily live in this spirit section as well. For example, Yoga, though a treatment that mostly involves the body, certainly has spiritual undertones and components to its practice. Meditation lives under the Mind category, but really is a blend of body, mind and a spiritual/energetic component as well. Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda are examples of healing systems that have branches that span all six of foundhealth’s treatment categories, including spiritual components.
So take a look at which spirit treatments have been used for asthma, or add any that are missing!
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Acupuncture can help to support the breathing processes that are compromised for people with asthma by helping lymph and energy better circulate throughout the body.
Acupuncture can help to support the breathing processes that are compromised for people with asthma by helping lymph and energy better circulate throughout the body.
The medical community is uncertain as to the mind-body connection between asthma, anxiety and depression. Both anxiety and depression alter the body's healthy balance of hormones and brain chemistry, and this alteration may somehow set the stage for disease. Once a person has been diagnosed with asthma, feelings of sadness or worry can cause subtle physiological changes that may play a role in further asthma attacks.
Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo tested this theory by showing the movie ET: The Extraterrestrial to a group of children with asthma. During the sad parts, the children's heart rates and blood oxygen levels became erratic. Such physiological changes may leave the asthmatic vulnerable to further adverse physiological changes that could lead to the symptoms of asthma.
Depression can also contribute to a higher incidence of asthma symptoms by suppressing the immune system. People suffering from depression report more frequent viral and respiratory infections. Once such an infection takes hold, it can inflame the airways and trigger an asthma attack.
Asthma patients who feel depressed might not monitor their breathing and take medications as promptly as when they feel normal and emotionally healthy. Treatment aimed at resolving depression and anxiety may improve the effectiveness of preventative asthma medicines and decrease the occurrence of asthma attacks.
National Institutes for Health and National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2005. Traditional Chinese Herbs May Benefit People With Asthma. (Online) http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/061609.htm accessed 02-01-2010
Staff. 2006. Natural Herbs for Asthma. (Online) http://www.hebalsupplementesourcement-resource.com/herbs-for-asthma.html accessed 02.01.10
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/skullcap-000273.htm
Asthma: What is it?
Asthma causes symptoms such as recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing frequently occurs at night or early in the morning.
Asthma can affect people of all ages, but it most frequently begins in childhood. More than 22 million people in The United States alone have been diagnosed with asthma. Nearly 6 million of these people are children.
It’s important to treat asthma symptoms when you first notice them. This will help prevent the symptoms from worsening and causing a severe asthma attack where the airways become obstructed. Severe asthma attacks may require emergency care, and they can cause death.
Asthma: What is it?
Asthma causes symptoms such as recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing frequently occurs at night or early in the morning.
Asthma can affect people of all ages, but it most frequently begins in childhood. More than 22 million people in The United States alone have been diagnosed with asthma. Nearly 6 million of these people are children.
It’s important to treat asthma symptoms when you first notice them. This will help prevent the symptoms from worsening and causing a severe asthma attack where the airways become obstructed. Severe asthma attacks may require emergency care, and they can cause death.
People who have asthma have inflamed airways, and sometimes, blocked airways. This makes the airways swollen and very sensitive. The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs. They tend to react strongly to certain substances that are breathed in. These strong reactions are sometimes referred to allergies. While allergies do not cause asthma, they can be a common complication of asthma.
When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. This muscle constriction causes the airways to narrow and less air flows into your lungs. The swelling also can worsen, making the airways even narrower. Cells in the airways may make more mucus than normal. Mucus is a sticky, thick liquid that can further narrow your airways and at times, obstruct the airways.
This chain reaction can result in asthma symptoms. Symptoms can happen each time the airways are irritated, and may become chronic in many individuals.
Sometimes symptoms are mild and go away on their own or after receiving minimal treatment. At other times, symptoms continue to get worse. When symptoms become more intense and/or additional symptoms appear, this is known as an asthma attack. Asthma attacks also are called flare-ups or exacerbations.
More on Asthma Symptoms
People who have asthma have inflamed airways, and sometimes, blocked airways. This makes the airways swollen and very sensitive. The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs. They tend to react strongly to certain substances that are breathed in. These strong reactions are sometimes referred to allergies. While allergies do not cause asthma, they can be a common complication of asthma.
When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. This muscle constriction causes the airways to narrow and less air flows into your lungs. The swelling also can worsen, making the airways even narrower. Cells in the airways may make more mucus than normal. Mucus is a sticky, thick liquid that can further narrow your airways and at times, obstruct the airways.
This chain reaction can result in asthma symptoms. Symptoms can happen each time the airways are irritated, and may become chronic in many individuals.
Sometimes symptoms are mild and go away on their own or after receiving minimal treatment. At other times, symptoms continue to get worse. When symptoms become more intense and/or additional symptoms appear, this is known as an asthma attack. Asthma attacks also are called flare-ups or exacerbations.
More on Asthma Symptoms
Asthma and mood, anxiety and depression
If you have been diagnosed with asthma, a bout of depression or anxiety can trigger asthma attacks and require more medical intervention in order to manage, according to recent medical research. Studies have found that asthmatic children suffering from psychological distress need higher doses of medication and spend more time in the hospital than emotionally settled children with asthma. It has become routine for some health care providers to inquire of their patients seeking medications for exacerbations of their asthma symptoms to ask them questions such as “What has gone wrong in your life lately?” and “Are you feeling upset or depressed recently?”
In 1999, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study that, for the first time, provided strong evidence that depression and anxiety can actually help cause the respiratory disease. Investigators gave psychological tests to more than 5,000 asthma-free people aged 25 to 74 and then checked their health records 13 years later. After adjusting for age, sex, race, and other factors, the researchers found that severe depression and anxiety more than doubled a nonsmoker's risk of developing asthma.
Depression and asthma symptoms
The medical community is uncertain as to what the mind-body connection between asthma, anxiety and depression are. Both anxiety and depression alter the body's healthy balance of hormones and brain chemistry, and this alteration may somehow set the stage for disease. Once a person has been diagnosed with asthma, feelings of sadness or worry can cause subtle physiological changes that may play a role in further asthma attacks. Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo tested this theory by showing the movie ET: The Extraterrestrial to a group of children with asthma. During the sad parts, the children's heart rates and blood oxygen levels became erratic. Such physiological changes may leave the asthmatic vulnerable to further adverse physiological changes that could lead to the symptoms of asthma.
Depression can also contribute to a higher incidence of asthma symptoms by suppressing the immune system. People suffering from depressionreport more frequent viral and respiratory infections. Once such an infection takes hold, it can inflame the airways and trigger an asthma attack.
Asthma patients who feel depressed might not monitor their breathing and take medications as promptly as when they feel normal and emotionally healthy. Treatment aimed at resolving depression and anxiety may improve the effectiveness of preventative asthma medicines and decrease the occurrence of asthma attacks.
More on Depression
Breathing exercises for asthma
Since asthma is a breathing disorder of the respiratory system, poor breathing habits may aggravate the symptoms of asthma. Breathing exercises involve manipulation of the breathing pattern, and include deep breathing, relaxation sessions, and other exercises. If done regularly and properly, and when combined with medicine and other treatment guidelines suggested by your health care provider, they may provide some additional relief from asthma symptoms, as well as bring about greater mind-body balance in concurrent conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Breathing exercises, while not commonly given as part of an asthma treatment or action plan, have proven beneficial by many asthmatics, especially those with intermittent and mild asthma.
You can acquire the necessary control of the respiratory muscles which will assist in controlling the symptoms of bronchi-spasm and muscle constriction, as well as increase your PEF (peak expiration force) scores, which is one way that many people with asthma monitor their condition between visits to their health care provider.
The aim of breathing exercises for asthma are:
Breathing exercises for asthma
Since asthma is a breathing disorder of the respiratory system, poor breathing habits may aggravate the symptoms of asthma. Breathing exercises involve manipulation of the breathing pattern, and include deep breathing, relaxation sessions, and other exercises. If done regularly and properly, and when combined with medicine and other treatment guidelines suggested by your health care provider, they may provide some additional relief from asthma symptoms, as well as bring about greater mind-body balance in concurrent conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Breathing exercises, while not commonly given as part of an asthma treatment or action plan, have proven beneficial by many asthmatics, especially those with intermittent and mild asthma.
You can acquire the necessary control of the respiratory muscles which will assist in controlling the symptoms of bronchi-spasm and muscle constriction, as well as increase your PEF (peak expiration force) scores, which is one way that many people with asthma monitor their condition between visits to their health care provider.
The aims aim of breathing exercises for asthma are:
Breathing exercises for asthma
Since asthma is a breathing disorder of the respiratory system, poor breathing habits may aggravate the symptoms of asthma. Breathing exercises involve manipulation of the breathing pattern, and include deep breathing, relaxation sessions, and other exercises. If done regularly and properly, and when combined with medicine and other treatment guidelines suggested by your health care provider, they may provide some additional relief from asthma symptoms, as well as bring about greater mind-body balance in concurrent conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Breathing exercises, while not commonly given as part of an asthma treatment or action plan, have proven beneficial by many asthmatics, especially those with intermittent and mild asthma.
You can acquire the necessary control of the respiratory muscles which will assist in controlling the symptoms of bronchi-spasm and muscle constriction, as well as increase your PEF (peak expiration force) scores, which is one way that many people with asthma monitor their condition between visits to their health care provider.
The aim of breathing exercises for asthma are:
Breathing exercises for asthma
Since asthma is a breathing disorder of the respiratory system, poor breathing habits may aggravate the symptoms of asthma. Breathing exercises involve manipulation of the breathing pattern, and include deep breathing, relaxation sessions, and other exercises. If done regularly and properly, and when combined with medicine and other treatment guidelines suggested by your health care provider, they may provide some additional relief from asthma symptoms, as well as bring about greater mind-body balance in concurrent conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Breathing exercises, while not commonly given as part of an asthma treatment or action plan, have proven beneficial by many asthmatics, especially those with intermittent and mild asthma.
You can acquire the necessary control of the respiratory muscles which will assist in controlling the symptoms of bronchi-spasm and muscle constriction, as well as increase your PEF (peak expiration force) scores, which is one way that many people with asthma monitor their condition between visits to their health care provider.
The aim of breathing exercises for asthma are:
Breathing exercises for asthma
Since asthma is a breathing disorder of the respiratory system, poor breathing habits may aggravate the symptoms of asthma. Breathing exercises involve manipulation of the breathing pattern, and include deep breathing, relaxation sessions, and other exercises. If done regularly and properly, and when combined with medicine and other treatment guidelines suggested by your health care provider, they may provide some additional relief from asthma symptoms, as well as bring about greater mind-body balance in concurrent conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Breathing exercises, while not commonly given as part of an asthma treatment or action plan, have proven beneficial by many asthmatics, especially those with intermittent and mild asthma.
You can acquire the necessary control of the respiratory muscles which will assist in controlling the symptoms of bronchi-spasm and muscle constriction, as well as increase your PEF (peak expiration force) scores, which is one way that many people with asthma monitor their condition between visits to their health care provider.
The aim of breathing exercises for asthma are:
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An important part of any healthy lifestyle is good nutrition. Good nutrition includes choosing healthy foods that can work to heal and repair your body and make it more disease resistant.
An important part of any healthy lifestyle is good nutrition. Good nutrition includes choosing healthy foods that can work to heal and repair your body and make it more disease resistant.
An important part of any healthy lifestyle is good nutrition. Good nutrition includes choosing healthy foods that can work to heal and repair your body and make it more disease resistant.
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