I have been diagnosed with several sleep apnea and already been prescribed a bi-pap mask. I feel weird wearing this and hate it wearing while I sleep. It is very un-comfortable and also affects me pchychologically.
Is there anything in yoga that I can practice to cure my sleep apnea. As per my sleep doctor my apnea will most probably never be cured and I will have to wear the mask all my life. I am finding it very difficult to accept this and I feel old emotionally going through this.
Yoga, so far for me…I really don’t know, I am more calm these days than I use to be and feel better during my waking hours from Yoga training. I am learning Pranayama breathing and other postures to increase my flow of energy. Also I have put an air filter (not the mask they want me to wear) in my bedroom and I am told that my apnea is not anywhere near as bad. But then I was diagnosed with mild to moderate. But is the Yoga helping… I really have no idea.
But I have discovered a study published by the British Medical Journalsays that playing the Didgeridoo helps due to the circular breathing and how it trains the throat and I am going to give it a try
More here with a video
SCMT & yelgaar,
I feel for you both, as i do a dear friend who has the same ailment.
I’m speaking here only as a yogi and I’m not sure that doctors will agree or not, but here’s what I have observed about this issue, and my sense of how to improve it. Are you aware of the difference between active/passive exhalation?
Most people exhale passively, that is they work to inhale, lifting ribs and shoulders, and rest with exhalation, letting gravity push the air out. Change this!
A primary fundamental in yoga is to reverse this tendency, pushing all the air out, by squeezing your adominals, all the way down to your sphincter, and then releasing and allowing the air to come in passively: from active to passive inhalation.
It is my opinion, that “a” cause of sleep apnea is a condition of being stuck in active inhalation, all the way to the point where the body just can’t draw anymore in a relaxed state. Does that sound accurate? That is, during sleep you are not exhaling because while awake you’re also not exhaling completely. I think that abdominal breathing exercises, with an emphasis on strong and complete exhalations, practiced everyday, will help this condition. But it’s only a yogi’s perspective.
Nothing to loose here. Just focus on pushing each breath out completely, all day long, and over time, you will lower the threshold of your inhalation to where your body draws breath at rest.
good luck. Yes! yoga will help you.
siva
This is possible but it would depend on what type of Apnea I would think.
What happens to me is my throat walls (soft tissue) collapsibles and obstruct my breathing during sleep. This generally leads to me gasping for air.
Also I do train abdominal breathing and I have for years, it’s a Chinese Internal Martial Art thing (Taijiquan, Xingyiquan, and Qigong). Although admittedly it is not as forceful as what I believe you are talking about with Yoga.
But much to my surprise there are other types of apnea
But anything is worth a try and better than wearing that mask at night…thanks
SCMT.
I understand this. It’s my “non-clinical” opinion that the collapse you refer to, which I have also heard about before, “could” be an alignment issue, also related to this type of shallow breathing and the permanent lift in the shoulders and ribs people live with. This can cause one to lift the chin permanently and lose tone in the neck and throat. I can’t know this without seeing you, so I could be completely wrong in your case. Jaladhara banda would bring strength and tone back into the throat.
I write here only because I firmly believe sleep apnea is really a false diagnosis. It takes a long time and some hard work to to fix this, but when I see the alternative, sleeping with a pap mask and pump for the rest of life…I would not accept this. Don’t give up. With utmost respect for this problem, do not accept this diagnosis as true. Keep searching and find a real teacher to help you.
Peace and good luck,
siva
You could be right.
Some western medical diagnosis are giving a problem a name and looking how to fix the problem, which is generally the result of the actual problem, and then not really looking to the original caused to see how to cure it, and that cause can be different for different people. It is much easier to give someone a pill or a mask and it is quicker too and western society is a real fan of teh quick fix.
I however like the whole BMJ Didgeridoo solution so far 
However it is the circular breathing that appears to help in this case.
[QUOTE=SCMT;19265]You could be right.
Some western medical diagnosis are giving a problem a name and looking how to fix the problem, which is generally the result of the actual problem, and then not really looking to the original caused to see how to cure it, and that cause can be different for different people. It is much easier to give someone a pill or a mask and it is quicker too and western society is a real fan of teh quick fix.
I however like the whole BMJ Didgeridoo solution so far
However it is the circular breathing that appears to help in this case.[/QUOTE]
Are you using any cpap or bi-pap mask for your obstructive sleep apnea? I am using it every night. It does help me a lot to sleep better but it also concerns me that it would become impossible for me to do without it. I fear deep down that my whole breathing system, the muscles involved, lungs, through, nose will adapt this machine to a degree that there will be no way to quit it. Or maybe I am already into it so much that I will not be able to get rid of it. Even if I try what Siva suggested and what Diggeridoo would do for me, how can I even witness the effect of it’s working? I mean at this point of time, I don’t get sleep without the mask. and get good sleep with the mask.
I am not wearing a mask to sleep, however they (doctors) did want me to get one. My concern is pretty much what you are talking about; I didn?t want to become dependant on it. Also another thing, for me, would be and is, weight-loss. I had an injury a while back (suffice to say I don?t recommend standing under a falling tree) that took me out of all training and I gained some weight, but I am on my way back down now so that helps too.
The only way I know my apnea is better is from my wife who tells me that it is. She was the one that got me to go get checked in the first place and I did use to wake up gasping on occasion but that has not happened lately either. But then as I said I was told I have mild to moderate apnea.
As to the Didgeridoo I just needed an excuse to play one anyway, I have always been intrigued by the instrument and now it appears it may help my apnea as well so why not give it a go was my thought.
[QUOTE=SCMT;19275]I am not wearing a mask to sleep, however they (doctors) did want me to get one. My concern is pretty much what you are talking about; I didn?t want to become dependant on it. Also another thing, for me, would be and is, weight-loss. I had an injury a while back (suffice to say I don?t recommend standing under a falling tree) that took me out of all training and I gained some weight, but I am on my way back down now so that helps too.
The only way I know my apnea is better is from my wife who tells me that it is. She was the one that got me to go get checked in the first place and I did use to wake up gasping on occasion but that has not happened lately either. But then as I said I was told I have mild to moderate apnea.
As to the Didgeridoo I just needed an excuse to play one anyway, I have always been intrigued by the instrument and now it appears it may help my apnea as well so why not give it a go was my thought.[/QUOTE]
Very similar experience as mine. My wife was also the one who asked me to get myself checked becuase of my bad snoring, waking up after not breating episodes. But I am at a different point as compared to yours. I was diagnosed with a severe apnea and the mask is working great for me. But whenever I do not wear the mask, I have headaches and mood swings the next day. Basically I get terrible sleep without the mask. The problem taht I have is that without the mask whenever I wake up gasping for breath, I am in so much deep sleep that I don’t remember the episode and how many times I had it. So I don’t know what are my options to even try something on me. How will I even document if it is helping me at all?
The only way I see is by completely getting rid of the mask and have my wife do me a huge favor by staying awake and watch me and documet all my episodes of gasping for breath. But it would be too much of a price for her to pay and also risk me having mood swings, not able perform my job at work properly and headaches and all the internal damage it will for not getting sleep.
Suggestions?
Let go of the egoistic belief that you can sleep without the mask. Continue with any efforts you think might help you, and test it every once in a while (preferably at a sleep clinic) when you don’t need to be a nice or functional person the next day –
not breathing is bad.
[QUOTE=yalgaar;19276]Very similar experience as mine. My wife was also the one who asked me to get myself checked becuase of my bad snoring, waking up after not breating episodes. But I am at a different point as compared to yours. I was diagnosed with a severe apnea and the mask is working great for me. But whenever I do not wear the mask, I have headaches and mood swings the next day. Basically I get terrible sleep without the mask. The problem taht I have is that without the mask whenever I wake up gasping for breath, I am in so much deep sleep that I don’t remember the episode and how many times I had it. So I don’t know what are my options to even try something on me. How will I even document if it is helping me at all?
The only way I see is by completely getting rid of the mask and have my wife do me a huge favor by staying awake and watch me and documet all my episodes of gasping for breath. But it would be too much of a price for her to pay and also risk me having mood swings, not able perform my job at work properly and headaches and all the internal damage it will for not getting sleep.
Suggestions?[/QUOTE]
Well this has already pretty much been said by Techne (only better than I am going to say it) if you have severe apnea and the mask helps you sleep better and generally makes you feel better when you are awake then maybe it is what you need to do.
I fully understand not being thrilled about it and luckily my apnea is not severe so I am, so far able to avoid it, but if it was sever I would have been wearing it too.