The Health Blog

The human body operates oxygen. Make sure yours gets enough by exercising, keeping your house well ventilated, and pausing frequently to take slow, deep breaths.

Breathe Deeply:

Take a moment to try this simple breathing exercise. It will energize and refresh you.

1. Stand or sit with your back straight.
2. Exhale deeply through your mouth.
3. Now, draw the air back into your lungs through your nose. As you do, imagine it going right down into your belly, filling it.
4. Feel your stomach expand as your inhale.
5. When lungs are full, slowly begin to exhale.
6. Tighten the muscles of your stomach as you gently push the last bit of air out.

A new children’s book written by award-wining writer Debjani Chatterjee encourages young people to follow their dreams and also provides self-management tips on asthma.

Funded by Asthma UK through the Challenge Fund, the book, entitled ‘A Special Assembly’, tells the story of a young south Asian boy called Raj, who has asthma and wants to follow in the footsteps of his favourite cricket player.

The book was commissioned by the Asian People’s Disability Alliance (APDA), a voluntary organisation managed and run by Asian people with disabilities. Alongside the story it provides information on managing asthma in a south Asian cultural and social context, with guidance notes for parents in English, Gujarati, Urdu and Bengali.