After initial diagnosis of Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) I was very sceptical. In fact, I thought the specialist physician had made a huge mistake! I was utterly stunned to realise that rather than prescribe me an inhaler or oral medication, he was simply referring me to a Speech Pathologist!
During the months I had to wait to see the Speech Pathologist (SP), I struggled daily with this newly diagnosed condition. In a futile attempt to try to breathe a bit easier I know I overused my asthma medications. Finally, my appointment rolled around and I attended the local hospital where the SP (who specialises in this condition) had her office. To say I had a complete turn around in my mind set (from my first diagnosis, then to meeting with the SP) is an understatement. I felt relieved and intrigued. I was amazed that the SP was able to explain exactly the symptoms I was experiencing and confirming that the asthma medications were providing no relief at all.
Rather than feeling distressed at the thought that no "magic pill" was going to cure me, I was intrigued by the fact that simply implementing a range of breathing techniques was going to be the answer.
The SP provided me with a number of different techniques. Some worked well, others not so well. The main problem I have observed since being diagnosed as a "VCD sufferer" is that once my breathing is well controlled I tend to forget to do my breathing exercises, which then leads to a gradual rise in VCD symptoms (coughing, shortness of breath, etc). Slowly I have realised it is crucial to continue with my breathing exercises daily, whether my symptoms are present or not. For this reason I have included a link (under the tab titled: "Exercises") to an article by Kate Holcombe on the Yoga Journal website. This article outlines three breathing techniques which help keep your breathing in check, with the added benefit of reducing stress! How's that for a win-win situation?!
I hope you get some benefit after reading and practicing the different techniques mentioned in the article Yoga Journal website, titled: "Breathe Easy: Relax with Pranayama".
N.B. Credit to Kate Holcombe of the Healing Yoga Foundation for this article. For more information please follow the link
http://www.yogajournal.com/article/practice-section/healing-breath/
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