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Celebrity yogini and wellness entrepreneur Ira Trivedi suggests a few postures that will help activate and improve your immune system.
There can be many reasons for susceptibility to sickness and disease -- physical imbalance, stress, improper diet and lifestyle to name a few.
Some of these may require medical attention and diagnosis. But one can also address these conditions naturally through yoga practice.
To build good immunity we need to be in a state of natural wellness, and our body should be able to easily defend itself from any kind of disease or infection.
However, rigorous training causes strain to the body, which can diminish immunity.
So how do you find the balance between training and maintaining good health?
A few yoga asanas helps strengthen immunity and reverse cellular damage caused by aging. In order to maintain health and vibrancy in your routine, you should practice yoga for a few minutes every day.
Here are five asanas that can help boost your immunity system and ward off illness:
1. Virabhadrasana 2 (Warrior Pose 2)/Maha Vir Bhadra Asana
It is an extremely powerful and important yoga posture as it strengthens the whole body, improves stamina, and increases the amount of energy you can expend in your daily life.
It also improves metabolism due to the increased energy utiliWation.
It regulates blood pressure and helps the neural, digestive and circulatory systems. It also aids in the functioning of the auditory organs.
Not only does this strengthen the quadriceps muscles but also provides a great stretch to the shins. The posture is one of five yoga asanas that stretch the inner thigh.
2. Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)
To begin this asana, lie flat on the floor on the stomach with legs stretched out and hands beside the body.
Gradually, inhale slowly and raise your knees and clasp your ankles.
Slowly inhale while lifting your chest. Now, pull your legs and stretch them out to form the shape of a bow.
It is a great antidote against unnecessary stress and strengthens the spine.
This pose also works to improve natural immunity.
3. Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
This pose trains the body to be flexible, toned and strong.
It involves placing your hands on the floor while extending your legs backward and balancing the spine over a tight core.
This position helps open up your upper back and chest muscles, improves digestion, tones pelvic muscles and stretches hamstrings.
It also builds the strength of your arms and shoulder muscles.
Doing this regularly provides an excellent massage to the internal organs in the abdominal region.
4. Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
This posture is the foundation for all the standing poses.
All you need to do is stand on both legs with both hands reaching up to the sky. Repeat on each side up to 10 times.
After some time, you can slowly lift your head as if you are looking at the horizon, with your palms together and elbows lifted.
This pose improves posture, stimulates organs, improves your immune system and strengthens your legs and arms.
5. Vriksasana (Tree Pose)
The tree pose is one of the most important and commonly practiced asanas in hatha yoga.
Ten minutes of this posture will strengthen immunity and help prevent diseases; 10 hours of work behind a desk is likely to do the opposite.
This asana provides numerous physical and mental benefits including improved functioning of internal organs, blood, and nerve supply.
It helps in stress management along with treating various other diseases like obesity, rheumatism, backache and depression among others/
Practicing it regularly will help to improve the health of your immune system, especially your defense against colds and upper respiratory infections.
All these asanas activate the immune system but it is not a conventional type of immunity enhancement.
It increases the 'natural killer cell', an aspect of the body's immunity that is very different from the development of resistance to infection by parasites and viruses.
