So many of us are dealing with constant stress, lack of sleep and poor nutrition. These factors contribute to the deterioration of the immune system, making us vulnerable to diseases and infections. Another contributing factor is the increased ingestion of antibiotics, which although help patients recover from ailments, it however does nothing to improve the immunity of the body against such ailments.
This is where yoga is a helpful practice to enhance immunity and also deal with stress and anxiety. Yoga lowers the secretion of stress hormones and strengthens the nervous system while stimulating the lymphatic nodes, responsible for removing toxins from the body.
Yoga helps calm the mind and contributes to a deep regulated sleep, crucial for wellness. Sleep is very important for healing and maintaining a healthy immune system. Moreover, while Covid-19 can impact the physical health of its victims, it also has serious mental health implications.
Covid-19 causes people to stress about a number of issues ranging from health to financial problems one may face. Stress is the body’s way of reacting to circumstances that require an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these circumstances with physical, mental, and emotional responses. During stressful events, the body releases a burst of chemicals, such as adrenaline and can even be helpful to provide energy to get certain tasks done, but in the long term, stress can lead to significant heart-related issues.
Certain yoga postures help individuals sleep better, cope with few symptoms associated with mental disorders like depression and anxiety, reduce psychological difficulties associated with chronic pain, and even improve cognitive and behavioural functions.
The breathing techniques as per tenets of yoga can help as a simple, effective, and convenient way to relieve stress and reverse the response to stress, thereby reducing the negative effects of chronic stress. The idea is to do mindful breathing and become aware of the breathing pattern so as to enable the body to respond to stress, as concentrating on the breathing pattern will help notice when to deliberately relax the breathing and take charge of it.
Moreover, asanas such as child pose (shishuasana) and bridge pose (setu bandhasana) help develop immunity as they facilitate decongestion of the chest, enhance energy levels and improve blood circulation.
Yoga is for everyone and there is no one size fits all approach towards practising it. Yoga, has for centuries, helped its disciples to improve and maintain their health of muscles, joints, and organs. It is great for flexibility, strength, stamina and mobility and keeps the mind relaxed and focused.
So roll out that mat and try simple poses as per your comfort levels to start with, which can be practised twice/thrice a week and gradually be made a part of your daily routine.
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