One of the most effective ways of easing COPD, both mentally and physically is by assisting others. Claudia Deyton found it very difficult to play the harmonica when she started as managing three notes prove quite difficult to manage. This was because of the breathing difficulties that were caused by COPD- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The 72 year old woman from Austin, Texas said that she was unable to breathe in- between the notes.

But this is no longer the case as she can now play most of her favorite ballads in full such as ‘you are my sunshine’ and ‘oh! Susanna’. This is all thanks to the harmonica therapy, a common complementary therapy for COPD. This chronic lung condition is usually associated with breathing difficulties and affects over 12 million people in US.

Harmonica therapy for COPD

When the Seton Outpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center started offering Harmonica therapy for COPD, Deyton is among the first people to get enrolled in the classes in 2013. She decided to try the classes out after a respiratory therapist mentioned them to her in an outpatient pulmonary rehab. Dayton says that she was very right about the fun of the therapy as she found that she was able to improve how she played the tunes and thereby improving her breathing capacity remarkably. Together with weight loss and exercising, harmonica therapy has been of great assistance to Deyton as she is now able to walk much further as well as stand longer compared to the way she did when she signed up for the classes.

Yoga eases COPD symptoms

Yoga makes a great difference to blood oxygen levels and this is something that Mary Wolaver, a 74 year COPD patient knows too well about. She says that through yoga, she has managed to keep herself calm when she experiences breath shortness and is now able to breathe deeper. After being involved in yoga thrice in a week for a period of six weeks, study participants found a great improvement to the lung functioning.

Better lung function with walking

Hagar, a COPD patient got treatment of this condition when he was promoted at work. For seven years, he had been a Pepsi employee, driving a forklift after he was promoted to a yard boss. Here, the work involved was more physical as his duties now included walking around to get the trucks. Later on, he realized that his weight was dropping and combined with her meds, he can now barely notice his COPD.

Volunteering- an incredible COPD strategy

Helping others helps to stay healthier through elevation of COPD lung pain. For COPD patients, this is an awesome coping mechanism since it helps to boost their mood and makes them feel they aren’t alone with their health ills.