Your company is hosting a party for a recent success and every employee and board member is going to be there. You are dressed in your best evening gown, matching accessories and a pair of gorgeous stilettos to compliment your look. People are admiring and complementing your look. Everything is perfect, until you notice that your breath has started to smell bad; perhaps because of that starter you just had! People notice this too and keep the conversations short and move away quickly.What could’ve been a perfect evening to impress your bosses quickly turns into a disastrous one. We all have experienced similar situations in our life. Bad breath, clinically known as Halitosis, is an unlucky charm that makes you uncomfortable and kills your confidence. Though most would feel that lack of brushing the teeth properly is the only reason for bad breath, this may not be entirely true.

Bad breath may be caused due to:
– irregular food habits, – improper digestion, – less intake of water and type of food consumed. Researchers believe that people with dry mouth are more prone to bad breath. Smoking and alcohol fouls your breath too. The white deposition on the tongue also serves as home to a lot of bacteria and thus fouls your breath. While oral hygiene should definitely be given priority, you may find that bad breath keeps coming back no matter what measures you adopt to counter it. At such times, one must look at options such as Yoga. Though yoga may be perceived as a physical workout regime, it also helps overcome problems such as bad breath. It also helps calm the mind and reduces stress. A few simple postures that will help you beat that bad breath:

Kapal Bhati pranayama
Sit comfortably with your spine erect. Place your hands on the knees, palms open to the sky and breathe in. As your breath out, pull your stomach in. As you relax the navel and abdomen, the breath flows back into your lungs automatically. Repeat this for 20 times. Sheetali pranayama (Cooling breath) Stick your tongue out and curl the sides of the tongue upward towards the center of the tongue. Breathe in through the mouth, hold the breath and slowly exhale through the nose. Repeat 5 to 10 times. Sheetkari pranayama (Cooling breath) Close the right nostril with your right thumb. Exhale completely through the left nostril and then breathe in through the left nostril. Close the left nostril with your little ring finger and exhale through the right. Repeat 5 to 10 times.

Yoga Mudra Sit in Padmasana or Sukhasana. While keeping your eyes closed, bend your body forward until your forehead touches the ground. Relax in this position and then return back to the starting position. Repeat this 5 to 10 times. Simhasana (Lion pose) Kneel down on the yoga mat and place your right foot below the left buttock and vice versa. Place your hands on the knees, spread out the fingers and lean forward. The weight of the body should be on the hands while the hands remain straight. Open your mouth and stick the tongue out. Eyes should be wide open and face muscles tense. Your gaze should be fixed on the tip of the nose or at the center of the eyebrows.