Asthma UK, a research company, has found that 69% of people with asthma say that stress is a trigger for their asthma.
 
They reported the main reasons for stress causing asthma is:

• Stress hormones cause the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome which causes a faster heart rate, with more shallow and faster breathing. This type of breathing can put someone at risk for an asthma attack
• When one is stressed, they have more of a tendency to become angry and anger is a trigger for stress.

 
Dr. Raja Amarnath says “Emotional stress is the main contributor to the worsening of asthma symptoms” and later in the article said “Meditation is an effective tool to thwart asthma attacks.”  He regularly uses it to help his patients.  Research also supports the use of meditation for asthma.

The Art of Ascension invokes the relaxation response which turns off the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome. It slows breathing, relaxes the body, reduces blood pressure, and, in effect, reduces stress very effectively.

We love comments from our readers in connection to our favorite studies... Do you have any first hand experience with meditation in any form improving asthma symptoms?

Research, published the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, investigated the link between meditation and sexual function in women by asking 450 participants aged between 17 and 70 about their experience of meditation, sexual desire, awareness of their own body sensations, their health and mood – and the 193 women who meditated scored higher than other women in sexual function and desire.

 “In particular, our findings show that women with meditation experience have higher scores related to arousal, lubrication, orgasm and desire than women with no meditation experience," study co-author Lori A. Brotto, a professor at the University of British Columbia and author of Better Sex Through Mindfulness.

It appears that in the women who meditated, mood was a significant factor and was also a predictor of improved sexual function and desire.

Another study of women with low arousal showed improvement in arousal, lubrication, and sexual function amongst women who learned to meditate.

The meditations, Brotto says, can also help men with specific sexual problems, such as impotence. 

Brotto says, “To be fully present with each sensation, without judgment or commentary, is what I think has been missing for the countless people who are dissatisfied with sex.”

Being distracted and unable to halt the incessant chatter running through the mind is a big passion-killer.  Learning a simple technique like Ishayas’ Ascension can teach you how to be present in any situation and I might add, can be used at any time, even sex.