Yoga to enhance immunity

When we talk about immunity we should focus on lymphatic system of the body because immunity directly depends on lymphatic system. Lymphatic system is one of the most important system of human body. This is system is also known as immune system also. It works to maintain fluid balance by absorbing soluble nutrients. This Fluid contains white blood cells. Wbc with fluid are called lymphs and they helps to cleanse the body and prevent any infections, inflammations or bacterial diseases. Lymphatic system is a extensive network of tissues, vessels and nodes, which helps to drain out all toxins from body. These toxins are responsible is increasing inflammations and diseases. There are about 600 lymph nodes. Lymph nodes in the human body are located behind the ear, lower border of jaw line, Neck region, shoulder area(under arm), inner elbow region, thoracic region, upper abdominal region, pelvic joint region, calf muscle and inner side of knee.

Some simple yogic exercises help in a very easy way to strengthen lymph nodes, immune cells and tissues,  that manage lymphatic system and improve immunity. yogic poses in daily life can be easily tried and they help  stimulate lymph flow and build strong to immunity. They help the body to fight against infections and diseases. Yoga has proved to enhance lymph circulation through muscle contraction which help the movement of fluid through the vessels while stretching. Some yogis exercises are as follows –

Ear strech– simple hold both ear with help of both index finger and thumb and pull down 8to 10 times and rotate clockwise and anticlockwise direction .this need to with full attention on breath.

Neck rotation – Sit or stand on the floor and move neck right side, left side 10 time each. face stretch your face up / down 10time each atleast. Then rotate neck to clockwise and anticlockwise direction 10time each.

Shoulder stretching – Sit or stand on the floor and raise your hands above head , lock them and stretch upwards with inhalation . Hold posture & breath both for few seconds then release posture while exhaling. You can repeat it 10 times then slowly increase this exercise 15 or 20 times.

Shoulder rotation – Stand and start rotate your both shoulder 10times both clockwise and anticlockwise direction. You can also inhale and exhale , hold breath and move your shoulder up and down with jerk .

Exercise for upper Abdomen area – Here we can do inhale & exhale forcefully like bhastrika pranayama 20times continuously, then relax and again repeat that twice.

Exercise for pelvic region – Sit on the floor with bend the both knees , with spine straight and hold both your feet & shake both knees with full attention like butterfly flaps ids wings.

Exercise for Calf muscle region – Stand on the floor, inhale stretch your body up ,hold your breath like Tadasana for 10- 20sec. Then relax while exhale .repeat this asana for 5 -10times.

With all these stretching exercises & asanas you can also practice anulom- vilom pranayama. Sit on the floor in any dhyanatmak asana like sidhhasana, swastikasana, padmasana or sukhasana and practice anulom-vilom pranayama for 5 To 15minutes daily.

These simple yogic exercises are very effective and will helps in enhancing immunity.

Dr. Sujata Panda
PhD in Yoga, DNYS, N.D.,
Gold medallist,
Founder of Su-Ham Foundation
Owner of Viroga Virtual Clinic