← Yoga & breathing

Rebuilding after illness

A small, careful practice for the weeks after an illness, when energy comes back unevenly and doing too much on a good day costs you the next one. Almost all of it is done lying or kneeling, and the aim is to finish feeling better than you started, not tired out. Do less than you think you can and build up slowly over weeks.

15 min · 10 steps · Beginner · best anytime · for post-illness recovery, fatigue

See a clinician rather than practising if:
  • you are breathless at rest, or your chest hurts or tightens
  • you faint, or your heart races and does not settle with rest
  • fever returns, or you are getting steadily worse rather than slowly better

Before you start

  • pick the steadiest part of your day, not the tail end of it
  • a bolster, blankets and something warm to cover up with
  • water within reach

0 of 10 done — tick each step as you go

  1. Abdominal (diaphragmatic) breathअधम प्राणायाम2 minutes

    lying down with knees bent, one hand on the belly

    Breath · avoid with do not push the belly out forcefully — the movement should be effortless, recent abdominal surgery or hernia: keep the movement small and painless, in later pregnancy practise seated or side-lying rather than flat on the back · how to do it

  2. Neck Releasesग्रीवा सञ्चालन6 slow rounds

    Asana · chair · avoid with cervical disc problems or nerve pain radiating into the arm, vertigo or dizziness (never tip the head backwards), recent whiplash or neck surgery, rheumatoid arthritis affecting the cervical spine · how to do it

  3. Shoulder Rotationsस्कन्ध चक्र10 rounds each direction

    Asana · chair · avoid with recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, acute frozen shoulder pain, recent rib or collarbone fracture · how to do it

  4. Cat–Cowमार्जरी–बितिलासन6 rounds

    stop well before anything feels like effort

    Asana · blanket, chair · avoid with wrist injury · how to do it · watch

  5. Extended Child's Poseबालासन1 minute

    Asana · bolster, blanket, block · avoid with knee injury, late pregnancy · how to do it

  6. Bridge Poseसेतुबन्धासन20 seconds, twice

    the smallest lift that feels useful; leave it out on a low-energy day

    Asana · block, bolster, blanket · avoid with neck injury, late pregnancy · how to do it · watch

  7. Reclining Bound Angleसुप्त बद्धकोणासन2 minutes

    fully propped

    Asana · bolster, blanket, block · avoid with knee/groin injury (support well) · how to do it

  8. Interrupted breathविलोम6 rounds

    pause only briefly between the segments, and never strain for air

    Breath · avoid with do not strain the pauses, ease off with dizziness, avoid retentions with uncontrolled hypertension · how to do it

  9. So-ham breath awarenessअजपा जप2 minutes

    Breath · avoid with this is not breath control — never lengthen or force the breath, if watching the breath itself increases anxiety, rest attention on the sound or the body instead, long seated stillness can aggravate low back pain — use a chair or back support · how to do it

  10. Corpse Poseशवासन3 minutes

    a blanket over you; getting cold undoes the good of it

    Asana · bolster, blanket · avoid with late pregnancy (lie on the side) · how to do it · watch

Cautions for this sequence

  • stop at the first sign of breathlessness, palpitations or dizziness and rest
  • if symptoms flare the day after practising, cut the length in half and build back very gradually
  • skip bridge pose entirely on days when energy is low
Cautions carried in from the individual practices (22)
  • Abdominal (diaphragmatic) breath — do not push the belly out forcefully — the movement should be effortless
  • Abdominal (diaphragmatic) breath — recent abdominal surgery or hernia: keep the movement small and painless
  • Abdominal (diaphragmatic) breath — in later pregnancy practise seated or side-lying rather than flat on the back
  • Neck Releases — cervical disc problems or nerve pain radiating into the arm
  • Neck Releases — vertigo or dizziness (never tip the head backwards)
  • Neck Releases — recent whiplash or neck surgery
  • Neck Releases — rheumatoid arthritis affecting the cervical spine
  • Shoulder Rotations — recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery
  • Shoulder Rotations — acute frozen shoulder pain
  • Shoulder Rotations — recent rib or collarbone fracture
  • Cat–Cow — wrist injury
  • Extended Child's Pose — knee injury
  • Extended Child's Pose — late pregnancy
  • Bridge Pose — neck injury
  • Reclining Bound Angle — knee/groin injury (support well)
  • Interrupted breath — do not strain the pauses
  • Interrupted breath — ease off with dizziness
  • Interrupted breath — avoid retentions with uncontrolled hypertension
  • So-ham breath awareness — this is not breath control — never lengthen or force the breath
  • So-ham breath awareness — if watching the breath itself increases anxiety, rest attention on the sound or the body instead
  • So-ham breath awareness — long seated stillness can aggravate low back pain — use a chair or back support
  • Corpse Pose — late pregnancy (lie on the side)

Source: Ojastha editorial — classical hatha yoga and modern therapeutic yoga practice

Reviewed by hraovvs@gmail.com

Educational yoga and pranayama guidance, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing a diagnosed condition, check with your clinician and learn these practices with a qualified teacher.