Get ready to boost your immunity and conquer those pesky viral infections! Monsoons and the ever-changing weather can leave us feeling drained and vulnerable to sore throats, colds, and fevers. But fret not! Yoga Therapy comes to the rescue with its comprehensive approach.
How Does Yoga Therapy Help?
Yoga Therapy works on five different levels i.e. Physical Body, Energy Body, Mental, Intellectual, Emotional and Spiritual level. Let’s explore how it helps you!
1. Physical Body
Here are some Yoga Asanas you can practice to remove the physical symptoms of the infection.
A. Uttanasana
Helps in clearing out the sinus passages, thereby clearing out blockages and allowing for more complete breathing. It invigorates the nervous system and relieves stress and tension.
B. Setubandhaasana
Opens up the chest. It also sends fresh blood to the head, which helps open up the sinuses further. This asana also activates the thymus glands, one of the main organs of the immune system.
C. Viparit Karni 
The Legs Up the Wall Pose is a great pose to practice to counter respiratory ailments. When you practice this asana, you might find relief from headaches or backaches that accompany a cold. Practicing this asana calms the mind and makes you strong as your body deals with the cold and helps in reducing fatigue, which usually follows common cold. This asana helps the immune cells to move through your body.
D. Adho Mukha Svanasana
In this asana, your heart is placed higher than the head. There is a reverse pull of gravity that happens when you do that, and this aids in the proper circulation of the lymph and the blood. The mild inversion allows a free flow of white blood cells throughout the body and also helps to drain out the sinuses.
E. Ustrasana 
This asana opens up the chest and clears out all the passages. It is essential to try and breathe as much as you can while you are in this pose. This will help open up all the blocked areas that are causing the cold.
F. Matsyasana 
When you assume this asana, your chest is raised and your throat is opened up. This improves your breathing and might help alleviate a cold. During colds, one can support the upper thoracic back with a cushion, bolster, or yoga blocks, aiding optimal recovery.
2. Energy Body
Pranayama is practiced to eliminate mucus and any agitations in breathing. Practices for this are as follows:
- Kapalbhati Pranayama: Helps unclog the respiratory tract. Improves blood circulation and uplifts the mind. 2-3 rounds twice a day gives you renewed energy to combat common cold.
- Bhastrika Pranayama: Involves forceful exhalation that aids in clearing the nasal passage.
- Nadi Shodhan Pranayama: Helps open up a blocked nose. It also facilitates better flow of oxygen to the lungs and keeps your mind calm and peaceful.
- Ujjayi Pranayama: Helps increase lung capacity, as well as releases toxins with each exhalation.
3. Mental Level
Simple Dhyana Meditation is practiced to keep one relaxed in the physically stressful time. Just sitting in a quiet place with closed eyes for a few minutes and meditating can help boost the immune system and help fight any kind of infection.
4. Intellectual Level
Observing part of the self while practicing Yoga increases the awareness of self. This awareness eliminates agitations of mind, which brings self love and compassion
- Shavasana: This is a deep resting pose. Sometimes, when you have a cold, all you need to do is to rest your body. It energizes it and helps it fight better against the cold-causing viruses. It shifts the focus on oneself, and increases awareness, which helps relax the mind and body.
5. Spiritual Level
Mediation, Prayers and Chanting can help you boost your immunity and keep you mentally strong during the time when the body is suffering with an infection.
Practicing the yoga therapy based module for viral infections not only strengthens the immune system of the body, but it also improves mental health, which is very important to heal and recover. Staying strong mentally helps our body fight any infection better. Yoga Therapy works on our overall health. It gives one a strong body, a strong mind and a strong spirit to overcome most things.
If this article helped you, let us know in the comments below. Find more articles on Yoga here. You can also practice yoga safely under the guidance of an expert by joining a live, interactive GOQii PRO class. Book a class now through the GOQii App.
#BeTheForce
Everyone knows about yoga and the benefits it can bring to your life. This ancient form of exercise started in India and has reached far and wide across the world. Since the pandemic, we’re always looking for new ways to be fit and active, given that health has now become a priority. I have a few ways on how we can be more active during the day and that’s Hand Yoga!
In this Mudra, the thumb and index finger are touching and form a circle. The other three fingers are stretched casually. The palms are facing upwards. This Hand Yoga Mudra is known as the gesture of knowledge and wisdom. The Index Finger symbolizes the ego that is beaten by the universal wisdom, which is represented by thumb.
To perform this, the thumb and middle finger are brought together. The other fingers are casually stretching. Aakash stands for the element of room or ether.
In this Hand Yoga Mudra, you bend your middle finger until it touches the ball below the thumb. The thumb performs light pressure on the middle finger. The other fingers are stretched. Put your hands, palms facing up, on your thighs. Sunya Means “sky” or “zero”.
It is formed by folding the ring finger so that it touches the lower end of the thumb. The thumb pushes the ring finger slightly down and other fingers are casually stretched upwards. Surya Mudra activates the fire element of the body.
To perform this, the small finger is bent towards the thumb. The thumb pushes the small finger slightly down. The name of this hand gesture (Mudra) is made up of from three words Jal for “water”, Udar for “ stomach”and Nashak for “finish”. The small finger represent the water element.
Priyanka struggled to get blood for her father who was undergoing a surgery. The blood bank did not have her father’s blood type. As things got tougher, she tried to get in touch with other blood banks but none of them had it. In fact, she was ready to pay, but the blood banks did not have the blood type! Time was running out. She also started getting in touch with her friends but to no avail. Her friends all refused to donate blood due to their preconceived notions and myths.
