Like any addiction, cigarettes are difficult to quit. All addicts say they will quit tomorrow, or next week, but these promises seldom come to fruition. There are several ways that yoga can help you keep the promise you make to yourself and your loved ones and quit smoking.
Smoking stimulates the pleasure areas of the brain, which makes quitting even more difficult. In addition, smoking is temporarily calming and there is an emotional aspect to smoking that interferes with your willingness to quit.
One of the biggest ways that yoga helps to break the nicotine habit is that the practice of yoga has the same effect as acupressure on the pleasure areas of the brain that are stimulated by smoking. Some good asana to try, include camel pose, standing forward bend, bow pose and corpse pose.
Pranayama breathing can also help you get over the cravings. The pranayama practice where you breathe through alternate nostrils is effective for increasing impulse control and slow, calm breathing can relax your nerves when you are craving a cigarette. Since quitting is basically learning to get through the cravings, this can really help.
Many yogis practice meditation, and if you don’t, now is a great time to start. Yoga and meditation together is very effective for calming the body and mind and remaining strong in your resolve to quit smoking. Through meditation, you can learn to let go of the thoughts that plague your mind and contribute to failed attempts to quit smoking.
Focusing on health and wellness is a helpful strategy for people to quit smoking. Yoga focuses on wellness and the yoga lifestyle includes healthy eating, exercise, and regular practice of yoga and meditation. When you make a renewed commitment to your yoga practice, you will have the tools needed to get through the difficult first days and weeks and remain committed to breaking the addiction.