Fun Facts Yoga Teachers should know

It is very frustrating for me right now, not being able to breathe fully. I can use about 70% of my lung capacity.

If you are a yoga teacher and your student population is 50+ years old, chances are a majority of people will be on at least one pharmaceutical, many will be on heart drugs. The most common pharmaceuticals designed for the heart, usually affect the breath, because heart and lungs are not isolated from each other. What affects one, most often affects the other.

Beta blockers are broncho-constrictors; they block the muscles of the rib cage from taking a deep breath. This is one of the ways beta blockers keep blood pressure suppressed. As broncho constrictors, they can be fatal for someone with asthma. Beta blockers are not fun at all, not even in the slightest, if you are into meditating on the breath and breathing practices.

89% of Americans (65+ years old) are on one or more pharmaceutical.

44% are on 5 or more drugs at the same time.

More than 50% include one of the heart medications. The numbers are soaring due to the (insane over) prescribing of statins. Here is a list of heart meds and the percentage of 65+ year olds who take them:

statins (45.0%), side effects include breathing problems.

anti-diabetic agents (23.6%), side effects include breathing problems.

beta blockers (22.3%), side effects include breathing problems.

ACE inhibitors (21.3%), side effects include breathing problems.

proton pump inhibitors (16.9%), doesn’t affect breath?

What does PPP stand for?

Persistent Postoperative Pain (PPP) which can be moderate to severe is found after 3 months in 43% of open heart surgeries. 17% experience PPP after one year.

Up to 56 million American adults (28% of the adult population) experience chronic pain (Brennan et al., 2007). The annual cost of chronic pain in the United States, including healthcare expenses, lost income, and lost productivity, is estimated to be $100 billion.

My experience is that breathing love into every thought, breathing love into every pain in my chest, is actually working. The situation is slowly getting better. Breath and awareness are free and require no prescription. There are not bad side effects. It does require daily practice and infinite patience.