A few years ago there was an explosion of electronic cigarettes and shops sprang up everywhere or people were seen using it. Then there was the turn of the books to say goodbye to the cigarette, real bibles for many fans.
Even the patches had their moment of celebrity: just think that in the famous TV series "Sex and the City" the protagonist Carrie Bradshaw tries to stop smoking just using this method.
So there are many roads to an issue that is always very open: that of emancipation from tobacco and smoke, a truly compromising vice for health. Sometimes it starts at a young age with recklessness, without thinking how complicated it will be to get rid of those 20 centimeters of paper and leaves.
Over time, very important and sometimes irreparable damage is created to the body, even compromising our lifestyle or the relationship with others in the name of cigarettes.
The path of yoga to help stop smoking is little explored and probably little known. Does it sound strange to you? Read on!
There are also natural cigarettes that help stop smoking
Studies on the relationship between yoga and smoking
In India, in New Delhi, last year the international conference "Endgame for Tobacco" was held, during which the results of a study conducted with the support of the Public Health Foundation of India and the University College London (Kingdom Kingdom) concerning the possible role of some yoga exercises in programs designed to stop smoking addiction .
The trial involved 1160 smokers residing in 32 New Delhi slums. One group received teachings about yoga breathing techniques, while the control group did not; the results revealed that in the group of practitioners there was an abandonment of smoking of about 77% while in the other only 41%.
Recent preliminary clinical studies have also shown that yoga and meditation are a valid complementary tool in managing the crisis of desire that every aspiring ex-smoker is facing.
A recent study by the University of Oregon proved that the regular practice of Mindfulness meditation caused a 60% reduction in cigarette consumption even in subjects who had never expressed a desire to quit smoking. Researchers have indeed shown that meditation improves self-control and acts on those areas of the brain involved in addictions .
Obviously you don't want to say that doing yoga (or meditation) will automatically stop smoking; it is possible, however, to argue that these practices help to eradicate the behavioral defects associated with the management of anxiety and stress .
Taking the wise path that leads to abandoning the dangerous path of cigarettes can therefore make use of the contribution of yoga and meditation. Put the electronic cigarettes in the drawer and run to register at the nearest yoga school!
The importance of awareness behind the "ritual" of the cigarette
Master Osho also worked on smoking addiction. These are his recommendations on the subject extracted from his book " Orange Book ".
" You have to follow these instructions: when you take the package out of your pocket, from now on do it slowly. Enjoy this moment, so there is no hurry. Be conscious, attentive, sensitive to what you are doing. Take the package out of your pocket slowly, with full awareness. Then he takes out a cigarette from the package, slowly, slowly, still with full awareness, not in the usual hasty, mechanical, unconscious way. Then tap the cigarette on the packet, always with extreme care. Listen to the rhythm ... Enjoy the smell of the cigarette, its aroma, its beauty ... So bring the cigarette to your mouth with total awareness, always light it with great awareness, enjoy every little gesture of this operation, even divide it into as many possible gestures, so you can become more attentive and aware. Then pull the first puff (...) exhale the smoke, relax, watch the coils coming out of your mouth ... Make another shot and keep moving very slowly. If you follow these instructions, you will soon be surprised, soon you will realize how stupid this story is . But not because others have told you that it is a stupid thing, not because others have warned you that it hurts, you will see it yourself! And it will not be just an intellectual understanding, but an observation, an experience that will emerge from your whole being, will be an intuition, a vision of your totality ".
