Breathe Easy

Allergies can turn even the most beautiful summer day into a sneezing, wheezing ordeal, but Viniyoga can help keep your immune system strong and your head clear.

By Alice Lesch Kelly

Seasonal and environmental allergies have been part of Jessica Levinson's life for as long as the 23-year-old can remember. As a child, Levinson, now a law student at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, remembers her family having to tear out wall-to-wall carpeting to cut down on allergens in their home. At 13, she began taking allergy shots to reduce her reaction to pollen, dust, and mold, but they did little to help her. Anxious for relief, Levinson went from doctor to doctor and tried one medication after another, but to no avail—nothing seemed to relieve her symptoms, which included itchy eyes, a runny nose, a scratchy throat, and congestion. Finally, when she was 19, one of her doctors suggested she try yoga. "The doctor didn't know whether it would help but thought it certainly wouldn't hurt," Levinson says.

So she signed up for yoga lessons with Larry Payne, Ph.D., a yoga teacher in Los Angeles and coauthor of Yoga Rx: A Step by Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments (Broadway, 2002). "I had to start with private lessons, because I wasn't in good enough shape to participate in a group class," recalls Levinson, whose allergies had always limited her participation in outdoor activities and sports.

Under Payne's tutelage, she learned a range of asanas as well as several pranayama techniques. Over time, she gained strength, began taking group yoga classes, and developed a home practice. Now she practices yoga daily, doing 45 minutes of asanas in the morning and 15 minutes of pranayama in the afternoon. She is, she says, a whole new woman.

Allergies Are Everywhere

Before trying to understand how yoga can help alleviate allergies, it's important to understand what they are and why they occur.

An allergic reaction occurs when a person's immune system attacks a substance that is usually harmless—such as pollen, pet dander, or dust—as if the substance were an organism out to cause disease. The immune system kicks into defensive mode, releasing histamine and a host of other powerful chemicals to attack what it sees as the enemy, says Pamela Georgeson, M.D., board-certified allergist and assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine. "These chemicals cause the allergy symptoms patients experience: stuffy and runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, teary eyes, postnasal drainage, and sometimes headaches." Although less common, allergic reactions can also include hives, itchy welts on the skin, and difficulty breathing.

Seasonal allergies occur during much of the year, though their patterns depend largely on where you live. In areas with cold winters and warm summers, tree pollens tend to be most bothersome in March through May; grass pollens wreak havoc during May, June, and July; weed pollens cause trouble beginning in July; and ragweed pollen appears in August and stays in the air until the first frost. In areas that stay relatively warm year-round, allergy sufferers may never get a break. Likewise, people who are allergic to nonseasonal environmental substances such as pet dander, mold, and dust may suffer all year long.

Some 36 million Americans experience seasonal allergies, also known as seasonal allergic rhinitis. Allergies take a staggering toll: The estimated overall cost of allergic rhinitis in 1996 was $6 billion in medical care and lost productivity, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. Beyond the financial loss, people with seasonal allergies suffer physically and emotionally. As anyone who has seasonal allergies knows, the symptoms of hay fever can make you miserable and can sentence you to months of debilitating discomfort and fatigue. "It can significantly affect a person's ability to function," notes Richard A. Nicklas, clinical professor of medicine at the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

"The incidence of allergies, asthma, and allergic rhinitis has gone up, and we're not exactly sure why that is," Nicklas says. "It's substantially greater than even 20 or 30 years ago." And as the incidence of allergies increases, so do related problems. People with allergic rhinitis are more likely to develop asthma as well as colds and infections in the sinuses, bronchial tubes, and ears.

Pollution may be partially to blame for the rise, and stress may play a part too, according to Richard Usatine, M.D., vice chair for education in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio and coauthor with Payne of Yoga Rx. "Stress affects the nervous system and the immune system, and a lot of conditions are mediated by our nervous system and immune system."

In a stressful situation, your breathing rate, heart rate, muscle tension, and blood pressure all increase, and the body releases adrenaline. These reactions—which are known collectively as the fight-or-flight response—can be helpful if you need physical energy to confront your stressor.

However, in the crazy-busy 21st century, most of our stresses are emotional, not physical, and they tend to be chronic. As a result, our bodies are constantly prepared for stress—muscles stay clenched, breathing remains shallow, and, over time, the immune system is challenged and allergies may worsen.

Chances are, you can't eliminate all the sources of stress in your life. But if you can cut out as many stressors as possible, the ones that remain may feel less taxing. Yoga and pranayama can also help break the stress cycle, and give the body the time and space it needs to heal.

"Clearly, stress adds an extra burden on the immune system—not only in allergies but in asthma and other illnesses," says Clifford W. Bassett, M.D., an allergist who is medical director of Allergy and Asthma Care of New York. "Yoga and postural exercises exert a relaxation response that may modify the negative effects of psychological stress on proper immune function."

This was certainly Levinson's experience. She believes that yoga eased her allergies in three ways: Asanas helped her build a stronger, more agile body; pranayama increased her oxygen intake and improved the way she breathes; and together, asana and pranayama bolstered her body's ability to fight off environmental assaults. "I feel that yoga ups my immune system so I can just deal with environmental invasions better," Levinson says.

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