Yoga For the Immune System
Your defence mechanism against disease
At any given time of day or year, your body is vulnerable to infection by the multitude of viruses and bacteria with which you come into contact. Your immune system is your defence mechanism and it needs to be firing on all cylinders to keep you feeling good, thinking clearly and performing at your best.
Often modern-day lifestyle weakens the immune, system. If you are constantly on edge, stressed out, sleep-deprived, malnourished or dehydrated then you are much more susceptible to illnesses.
A person who is under stress is much more likely to catch a cold or fever. You know that stress can exacerbate or increase the risk of conditions such as depression, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and asthma.
Initially, it might just be runny noses, hacking coughs, stomach infections, or maybe a bad case of the flu. However, if your immune system becomes weakened or compromised then you will be more prone to chronic infections, inflammation, auto immune and chronic diseases, such as cancer.
“Scientists are discovering that while anger and hatred eat into our immune system, warm-heartedness and compassion are good for our health.”
Modern-day life impact
Desk jobs, sitting around, and not being as active all mean that your organs do not get enough blood flow which can lead to blockages and build-up of toxins which over time can lead to a breakdown in body systems. Then there is the mental load of the modern day. The constant stimulation from phone messages, notifications, and social media posts limit the ability to switch off. Physically and mentally your body and nervous system are constantly switched on.
You know that proper hygiene, regular exercise, and healthy eating habits support your physical wellbeing. But you also need to support yourself with the appropriate for of rest. Yoga can be one tool that you use to find that rest physically and mentally. In doing so you can also help your body fight off infection and strengthen your immune system.
How yoga can help
It may be hard to comprehend that the 5,000-year-old repository of Indian knowledge and know-how of yoga is more than just twisting, turning, stretching and breathing. It is a way of life, an ancient art that strengthens the body and relaxes the mind.
It has been proven time and time again - by medical experts - that yoga is an excellent way of warding off illness. Yoga helps boost your immune system by:
balancing the nervous system
improving your respiratory system
lowering your blood pressure and stress hormone levels
activating the lymphatic system, which has a major role in immune function.
improving your circulation assisting in the removal of toxins from the body
stimulating your thymus gland thus producing infection-fighting hormones.
“If you want to have a healthy immune system, you need to laugh often, view life with a positive eye , put yourself in a relaxed stated of mind on a regular basis ”
Regularly practising yoga can help stimulate the lymphatic system which aids in the removal of toxins from your body, many of the poses ensure that the different organs and glands are massaged and stimulated, receiving fresh oxygenated blood to keep them at their optimal performance.
Yoga also regulates and stimulates your digestive system. 80% of your immune system is located in the folds of your digestive tract. Therefore, ensuring your digestive system is in good working order is very important.
But, yoga is not just the asana or physical aspects. Whilst the poses are an important aspect of ensuring a healthy immune system, it is important to also remember there are immunity-boosting effects of pranayama (breathing) and Dhyana (mediation).
Pranayama techniques used in yoga are helpful tools in maintaining the health of your respiratory system. Colds and similar infections, COVID as an example, affect the upper respiratory tract. If the immune system is not strong enough, then bacteria can penetrate and lead to bronchitis or even pneumonia. Performing regular breathing exercises and poses, asanas conditions the respiratory tract and boosts the efficiency and capacity of your lungs.
Which yoga poses are good?
The key is ensuring you have a relaxed nervous system, therefore a good place to start is increasing your time spent in:
relaxation
soothing forward folds such as child’s pose, downward dog, wide-legged forward fold
holding poses for longer to allow stress and tension to be released.
prolonging the exhalation which stimulates the parasympathetic
The added advantage of forward folds is that they increase the blood flow to the sinuses and upper respiratory tract enabling the lymphatic system to remove the toxins present and oxygenated and immune-fighting rich blood to circulate infected areas.
Additionally, focusing on chest opening poses such as cobra, fish and bridge helps to stimulate the thymus gland, the locus of the immune system.
Using poses that gently compress, twist, and extend the belly helps to stimulate the digestive system and internal organs. This promotes the movement of lymph, fluid containing the immune system’s white blood cells, in the body. This is also enhanced with deep belly breathing.
In summary
Practising yoga ensures that you are regularly stimulating your immune, nervous, digestive, circulatory, and endocrine systems and keeping them functioning properly.
There are many poses, breathing and relaxation techniques that you can practise regularly to help support your immune system daily. Just 5-10 minutes a day of immune-boosting practice will help us fight stress and disease.