If you are the average person, who does little to be healthy, i.e. eat healthy a few times, eat junk food other times and exercises few times, then your immune system can take a natural beating. It’s difficult for your body to keep the pathogens away especially during times when your immune system is compromised.
So the natural answer one might suggest is to have antibiotics to help recover from any ailment you face. However, these drugs only help you recover, they cannot strengthen your immunity.
So how can you boost your immunity?
Yoga and Meditation are your best bet. There are several yoga poses which will help build a stronger immune system for your body and some specific meditation techniques that can also achieve this.
Yoga To Boost Your Immune System
Shishuasana (Child’s Pose): Decongests chest and builds a stronger immune system
Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose): Improves blood circulation and increases energy in the body to help put a better resistance against pathogens.
Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose): Helps release white blood cells that improve the body’s immunity.
Halasana (Plow Pose): Releases white blood cells in the body and strengthens the immune system.
Dhanurasana (Bow Pose): Improves the flow of white cells by putting pressure on the digestive system.
Matsyasana (Fish Pose): Expands the chest and stimulates the thymus gland. This helps improve the body’s immunity level.
Yoga Kriya To Strengthen Immune System
Yoga Kriya #1
1. Sitting in easy pose, bring your hands into prayer pose at the center of your chest and then extend your arms out to the sides. Return them to prayer pose and continue, stretching the armpits as much as you can when you extend the arms out to the sides. Breathe long and deep. Keep moving faster and faster, extending the arms all the way out. You are exercising your immune system and making it stronger.
After 3 minutes start getting angry and feisty. Start fighting and use the motion to get all your anger out. Continue for another 8 minutes.
2. Sitting in easy pose, interlace your fingers to lock your hands above your head with your elbows straight. Twist left and right from the base of your spine. Do breath of fire and move wildly. 4 Minutes. This is very good for the liver.
3. Lie down on your back and make your body jump vigorously up, down, and all around. Move every part of your body including your head. Move vigorously. 4 Minutes.
This is the best exercise to get rid of anger and it makes the immune system healthy.
4. Turn onto your belly and lock your hands in the small of your back. Again make your body jump vigorously up, down, and all around. Move every part of you. 3 1/2 Minutes.
5. Keeping your forehead on the floor, grab your ankles and pull up on them so that you lift your knees up from the ground. Once you are balanced with your knees suspended, hold the posture with a long, slow breath for 1 1/2 Minutes.
6. Turn over onto your back and nap, listening to ”Naad” by Sangeet Kaur. After 11 minutes begin to sing along for another 4 minutes. You can also listen to gong sounds during this time
Yoga Kriya Breath Exercise #2
1. This special breath exercise is called “Swimming through the Pranic ocean“. Sit in easy pose and move the arms like you are swimming.
2 Extend one and then the other in constant motion. As one arm extends, the other draws back with the elbow along your side. Do not punch. Create a smooth, circular swimming motion that moves the shoulders, rib cage, and back muscles.
3. Create a powerful breath of fire through an open mouth in rhythm with the arm motion. Keep the back molars together so the breath sounds like a powerful, pulsing hiss. Continue for 13 Minutes.
4. Come into the back platform pose. Keep your body straight, especially your knees. Let your neck relax backward but do not let it hyperextend or crimp. This puts pressure on the parathyroid. After 2 Minutes, form a circle with your mouth and breathe strongly. Puff in and out using the diaphragm to drive the breath. This is not a breath of fire from the navel, it is a “pancreas” breath that is focused near the sternum and diaphragm. Continue for another 2 Minutes.
5. Lie down straight and nap in corpse pose. 17 Minutes.
4. While still lying down, play Liv Singh’s “Har Har Mukande” with affirmations and repeat the affirmations that Yogi Bhajan recites at the beginning. Then stretch, twist around, move your shoulders, and wake up dancing. 3 Minutes.
5. Come into a sitting position and dance while sitting. This spreads the energy equally to all parts of the body. 1 1/2 Minutes.
Pranayama To Boost Immunity
This exercise brings energy to your immune system to fight off infection.
Sit in Easy Pose with your chin in and your chest out. Stick your tongue all the way out and keep it out as you rapidly breathe in and out through your mouth. This is called Dog Breathing. Continue this panting diaphragmatic breath for 3-5 minutes.
To finish, inhale, and hold your breath for 15 seconds and press the tongue against the upper palate. Exhale. Repeat this sequence two more times.
When you feel a tingling in your toes, thighs, and lower back it is an indication that you are doing this exercise correctly.
Immune Strengthening Exercise For Women
1. Lie on Your Back. Connect the Mercury finger (little finger) and thumb of each hand and criss-cross your arms back and forth over your chest. Your arms open out to the sides, then cross over your chest and then open out to the sides again. Keep your elbows straight. This movement increases blood circulation in the chest area. 2 minutes.
2. Still Lying on Your Back. Keep your arms moving as in #1, pull your knees up and criss-cross your lower legs from side-to-side. 2 minutes.
3. Lying on Your Back. Relax your arms and legs. Keep your head on the floor as you turn your head rapidly from side-to-side. This is the same movement as if you as shaking your head, “no.” 2 minutes.
4. Lying on Your Back. Bring your knees to your chest, wrap your arms around them and lift your head up so that your nose is between your knees. Hold the position and do Breath of Fire powerfully. 2 minutes.
5. Turn Over On To Your Stomach. Rapidly hit your buttocks with your fists. This is for youthfulness. 2 minutes.
6. Bow Pose. Come into Bow Pose, balancing on your navel. Hold the position and do Breath of Fire. (How to Do It: Apply root lock to rotate your pelvis. Roll the tops of the thighs toward each other to protect the sacrum. This will help you to keep the feet touching. Press strongly through the root line into the ground. Pull the shoulder blades down the back to leverage the lifting of the chest. Use the legs to pull against the arms to raise the body up into the position. 2 minutes. Relax down.
