Yoga for Immune Support
We know yoga can help support and reduce other ailments, but how does yoga help with immune support?
If you’re already involved in a yoga practice, congratulations! You’re doing great things for your mental, emotional, and physical health. If you don’t yet have a yoga practice established, it’s not too late to start. The great thing about yoga is you can start and take your practice anywhere: online yoga classes, outside yoga classes, or yoga in a studio.
While it might seem intimidating to start a yoga practice, here are three basic things you need to know
The hardest part of yoga is showing up to the mat.
If you’re picturing someone sitting still in meditation as “yoga”, know that’s only one part of it.
You will get out of yoga what you need if you listen to your body.
So if your body is craving an immunity boost this fall/winter, let’s talk about a few practices that will yoga will give you immune support.
Breathwork
Using specific breathing patterns can support your immune system.
In our yoga classes, we practice different breathing patterns to that can be used for different events in life. Sometimes, you need a breath to help cool you down or bring peace to your being. Sometimes, you need a breath that will help you feel energized. When it comes to supporting your immune system, two breath practices can benefit you.
360 Breathing engages your entire torso, compared to shallow breathing that is only felt in your upper chest. To engage the full length of your torso, release your tongue from the roof of your mouth and allow your jaw to part. This allows your diaphragm and pelvic floor to also extend downward with your inhales. When practicing a 360 breath, you’ll be able to feel the skin on your sides and back expand along with the skin on your belly. Try this with me!
Lions Breath is a cleansing breath that can give you both that energizing and releasing effect. It energizes you by activating your facial muscles and uses more lung power on your exhales. By sticking out your tongue and roaring a loud “HA” on your exhale, you stimulate your chest and throat. When it comes to immune issues, these are two places of the body where we often start to feel that tickle letting us know that our immunity is compromised.
While many breathing patterns can support your immune system, try these two breathing patterns first. When we incorporate this breathwork with movement such as our yoga poses, it boosts our lymphatic circulation and releases an anti-inflammatory response in our body.
Thymus Tapping
This 30 second practice is a super-boost for your immune system.
Take a second and think about a moment where you might been shocked or felt a deep emotional response to a situation. Where did your hand automatically go? Likely, it came to the center of your chest. Whether you were taking a deep breath after being spooked or felt a rush of tears about to spill out, this is the part of the body that we naturally come to for a reset.
Underneath, you’ll find your thymus gland. This part of our body is responsible for sending white blood cells outward into the body that fight off sickness. 30 seconds per day can make a huge difference in immune support, but remembering to do this every day can be tricky. My best tip? Make it a part of your routine! Do it in bed as soon as you wake up or right before you go to bed after you finish brushing your teeth or even tying your hair up. Ready to see thymus tapping in action? I’ll do it with you!
Immune Support During Pregnancy
From conception through postpartum, I’m here to support you.
The great part about pregnancy is knowing that you are growing a human being about to change your life forever in the best possible way. The not-so-great part about pregnancy… well it’s not always enjoyable. It’s okay to love being pregnant, and it’s also okay if you don’t love being pregnant.
One part about pregnancy that you might not realize is that when your body is doing so much work growing your baby, your immune system isn’t functioning at 100%. On top of that, with pregnancy, you might feel an increase in stuffiness due to an increase in blood flow in your body.
Through movement, breathwork, and other practices we incorporate into our classes, you whole body - inside and out - will thank you for showing up. Let’s get you started on the right path today!
If you’re local to Connecticut, come join us in-person for prenatal & postpartum yoga classes. If you’re out of state, we have 4 virtual options for you: prenatal & postpartum yoga classes livestreamed, Mama’s 20 Minutes, postpartum yoga online, and a yoga ball for pregnancy class series.
