Yoga for a strong immune system. Yoga is not a sport! Although the western World almost only advertises it like that. Yoga is a science and a way of life. In addition to the physical exercises (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama), concentration exercises and meditation are used to form body and mind. And this is not even the spiritual side of yoga. All these exercises prepare the body for spiritual growth. Yoga improves the flow of Prana (life energy), which in turn gives us more strength, health, and endurance. Yoga has been proven to boost the immune system.

 

Yoga for the immune system – Asanas

It has already been scientifically proven that regular asana exercises increase the immune cells in the blood by up to 15%. Here is a small selection of asanas that strengthen our immune system:

Yoga for the immune system – pranayama

Pranayama, the yogic breathing exercises, increase the physical energy and thus help the immune system. Nadi Shodhana, the alternate nostril breathing, not only expands the lung volume but also brings the energies into balance. The energy channels are cleansed, and Prana can flow freely again. Our instruction for Nadi Shodhana can be found here.

 

Yoga for the Immune System – Meditation

Meditation is already an advanced yoga practice used to increase the consciousness level. A nice side effect of Meditation is that the hormonal and immune system are harmonized. Since true meditation is too hard for most beginners, I recommend the so-called "guided meditations". They are no mediations in the true sense (bringing the mind to rest), but about fantasy journeys. You can count them to the yogic concentration exercises. They do not try to switch off the thoughts, but to steer them in a certain direction.

 

Reduce stress

Stress happens not only in the mind but in the whole body. When we react with stress to a hectic, negative or life-threatening situation, more and more adrenaline is released. That causes our heart to beat faster and our brain is better supplied with blood. Unfortunately, there is not much energy left for everything else in the body. Stress, therefore, weakens our immune system. Stress does not come from outside. It's a natural reaction to a threat. However, as we are now rarely exposed to a dangerous situation that really threatens our lives, we need to learn to react appropriately. Yoga can help to stay calm even in hectic situations. Read more about Yoga and stress here.

 

Optimal nutrition

Especially in Autumn and Winter, we notice, that our immune system is weak. A runny nose, sore throat, and aching limbs are the signs. But this doesn’t have to be like that. With a seasonally adapted diet, you can support your body.

In addition to a vegetarian diet (no meat, fish or egg) Yoga recommends warming food and spices in the cold season. Eat more pumpkin, beetroot, rice, oatmeal, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, ginger, anise, cardamom, buckwheat, rye, ghee, and nuts. You should avoid cooling foods such as raw food, milk and yogurt (also produces mucus), melon, strawberries, sage, mint and citrus fruits.

 

We wish you a strong immune system and a pleasant, cold season!

Leave us a comment and tell us your tricks for autumn and winter.

Yoga for back pain. Pain in the back troubles the western world. On the one hand, unhealthy posture and unsuitable seating (backrest makes the back musculature weak), and on the other hand hours of sitting or standing are responsible. Sitting is an unnatural position for the body. We are made to walk and run, not to sit in front of the computer. Furthermore, stress, inner tension, and insufficient exercise cause back pain. Yoga and Ayurveda can help with back pain as a quick remedy and as long-term prevention.

 

Yoga for back pain - Asanas

Do not perform any forward bending. That would only burden the intervertebral discs more. Backward bending and twisting are good to relieve back pain. Every backache is a very individual problem. It is therefore important to visit a competent yoga teacher if you suffer from chronic back pain. There is no standard solution. Everyone should get a personal and proper consultation.

Yoga for back pain - Relaxation

On the one hand, physical exercises are necessary to counter and prevent back pain. On the other hand, mental relaxation plays a big role. You must free yourself from tension. This tension is not only physical, but it is also mental. It is triggered in our hectic everyday life, especially by stress. Therefore, you have to learn how to relax. Treat yourself to a bubble bath or walk in the forest or park. Those who relax regularly, learn to deal better with hectic situations and avoid stress. Stress is not just a cause of back pain. Many chronic conditions can be followed back to stress. Do something good and learn how to relax. Yoga offers numerous approaches to relaxation with pranayama, asanas, concentration exercises, and meditation.

 

Daily routine and balance

Daily routine promotes our health. To follow our natural rhythm and to awaken our self-healing powers you should have fixed mealtimes, bedtime and enough exercise. Routine is an essential factor for physical and mental health.

 

Ayurveda for back pain - Ayurvedic oil massage

A full body massage (with oil according to your Dosha) blood circulates better, muscle tension is released, and your body is detoxed. You can easily do this massage yourself.

Start with your head and massage in small, circular movements. Start on the face and then work over Yoga for back pain

the head (oil can also get into the hair) and the neck to the shoulders, arms, and hands. On long bones massages in long upward and downward movements and at the joints in circular movements. Also, massage the abdomen and chest with circular movements. Finally, massage your legs and feet. Long bones again with long strokes. Knees and ankles in a circular motion. Then let the oil soak for 15 minutes before you take a shower with no soap at all or a mild soap. A greasy film should stay on your skin.

Depending on your constitution type you should use special oil. Vata and Kapha use warming oils such as sesame or almond. Pitta needs some cooling and uses coconut, olive or neem.

 

Leave us a comment and tell us what helped you the most.

We wish you a fast recovery!

Yoga for burnout. The burnout syndrome is caused by stress – both professional and private. It builds up over months or even years and is usually only taken seriously when it comes to total collapse. Do not wait that long and do something good for you now!

 

When stress becomes too much

We cannot remove stress from our lives. We cannot change other people and situations. But what we can change is how we deal with stress. Yoga is a healthy form of stress management. Yoga is not about performance, it's about introspection - looking inwards. Your own self and wellbeing are in the focus. Yoga is holistic, it includes body, mind, emotions and the soul.

 

Yoga for burnout – Asanas

Yoga for burnout – Pranayama

Watch your breathing for a few moments. Most of the time we breathe flat and rather fast. Ideal, however, would be deep, calm and conscious breathing. The breath brings prana (life energy) into our body. The added oxygen allows us to be alert and attentive. In addition, deep breathing brings us to our own center. We relax and are present at the moment. Abdominal breathing is therefore very important, especially to calm the mind and body.

Abdominal breathing should extend to the diaphragm so that prana reaches the internal organs. Place the right hand just above the navel on the stomach and the left hand on the chest. The right-hand moves up while inhaling and down when exhaling. The left hand should not move at all. There should be no tension in the abdomen. Do not try to force the movement in any way. Try not to dilate your chest or move your shoulders. Feel the belly expand and contract.

 

Yoga for burnout – Meditation

To prevent burnout or get out of burnout, the first step is to recognize your own condition. With mindfulness meditation, you can feel mild changes such as mood swings, fatigue or lack of concentration. This type of meditation helps us to get to know our body better and to respond more quickly to imbalances.

One of the simplest forms of mindfulness meditation is to focus on your own breath. Sit in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes and start watching your natural breathing rhythm. Feel the air at the nostrils and how it flows deep into your body. If your thoughts drift away, bring your attention back to your breath. This exercise should be practiced daily for 15 minutes. For example, it can be integrated into your evening routine before going to sleep.

 

Ayurveda for burnout

According to the tradition of Ayurveda, burnout is a consequence when the life fire Agni is weakened. As a result, there is a lack of substantial as well as energetic life energy. This leads to a variety of physical symptoms and a disturbance of wellbeing. Furthermore, too much vata (the elements air and ether) is in the body and in the mind.

Ayurveda offers a wide range of methods and techniques to rekindle the fire of life. Particularly beneficial are sleep-inducing full body oil massages and Shirodhara (pouring oil over the forehead). You should treat yourself to this at least twice a week to balance the mind and to stimulate the flow of energy. In addition, Vata should be reduced.

Ayurvedic Tips to reduce Vata

• Regular daily routine (fixed times for eating, sleeping, exercise)
• Drink warm water instead of cold water
• Eat warm, cooked food (no raw food)
• Use warming spices (ginger, turmeric, cumin, black pepper)
• Regularly eat ghee, honey, nuts, and milk
• Daily meditation
• Go into nature at least three times a week

 

Appreciation - accept yourself

In addition to stress, one's own esteem and love for oneself play a major role. It's about taking time and learning to listen to your own needs. Too often, the problems of others are in the focus. Now is the time to get your own wishes and dreams out of the drawer again. Do what's good for you. Do what you enjoy.

I wish you the strength to communicate your needs and wishes. As always, I'm happy about questions, suggestions, and comments!

I find myself often in bed in the evening - tired, but I just can not sleep. Above all, it is difficult to turn off the head and push the thoughts aside. This phenomenon is called insomnia and is very popular. Yoga and Ayurveda can help you with simple means to fall asleep quickly and also to sleep through the night.

 

Yoga for good sleep - Asanas

The following asanas help you to fall asleep faster and to sleep better:

Yoga for good sleep - Pranayama

Nadi Shodhana or alternate breathing balances the male and female aspects in us. Opposites are harmonized: thinking - gut feeling, warm - cold, active - passive. This breathing technique calms the body and the mind and thus helps to reach deep sleep. Practice a few rounds of Nadi Shodhana right before falling asleep. Here is a detailed guide.
Brahmari Pranayama or humming bee breath shifts your focus from outside to inside. You can forget about stress factors and concentrate completely on yourself. The monotonous sound calms the mind and makes you sleepy.

 

Yoga for good sleep - Meditation

Classical meditation is about stopping all thought processes. A lot of practice is needed to really master meditation. You can find the most important meditation techniques here. For everyone, another fits better. Try the different techniques and find out which one calms your mind the best. During meditation, brain waves are slowed down. It is therefore already the precursor to sleep. Practice meditation lying in bed. So, you slide seamlessly from meditation into a deep sleep.

If true meditation is still a bit too demanding for you, you can also use so-called "guided meditations". These are not really meditation. The mind is not calmed but steered in a certain direction. Lever the less a fantasy journey can put you to sleep as well.

 

Golden milk

Golden milk (milk with turmeric) is an ancient Ayurvedic home remedy that is also used in insomnia. Golden Milk has a strong anti-inflammatory effect and helps prevent muscle soreness. It also strengthens the immune system and stimulates liver function. This supports the body in the cleansing process.

Ingredients for one cup:

1/4l milk (traditionally fresh cow's milk, but almond milk is also fine)
1 pinch of turmeric (no more - difficult to digest)
Honey, as needed (do not cook!)

Preparation:

Boil the milk with turmeric for a short time. Do not simmer, then all benefits will be lost. Honey can be stirred as a sweetener in the milk, but only when it is no longer hot. Heat destroys the healing properties of honey.

I wish you a restful night! Leave us a comment and tell us what helps you fall asleep.

What is depression?

Yoga for Depression. In my opinion, 99% of all depression is self-created. Only 1% seems to be pathologically. I count myself among the 99%. Before a shitstrom breaks lose, let me explain.

Think about your own situation. How do you feel when you are sitting in your hole again? Lost? Unloved? Alone? Overwhelmed? Discouraged? Powerless? But what else is there? Are you hoping that someone will come and hug you or show you pity and tell you how poor you are and that you cannot do anything about it? That's what I think depression is self-created.

A Pattern of our childhood 

Already in our childhood, our subconscious mind learns that it is a great thing to be ill. You do not have to go to school, your mother takes care of you, you are allowed to watch TV all day long and you get an extra portion of attention from everyone. That sounds like the life of a king or queen. The subconscious mind remembers this and begins to produce disease so that we are cared for again. Therefore we learn this pattern in our childhood and then carry it into our adulthood.
As an adult, however, no cold is big enough to get the attention of our partner, our friends or our family. That is why it needs something bigger, e.g. a full-blown depression. Do not get me wrong: you do not consciously and deliberately create your depression. Your subconscious mind does this for you to fulfill your deeper needs such as closeness, affection or love.

 

Depression needs strength

You show an incredible strength to throw yourself into depression. You create very strong thoughts and emotions - but unfortunately in the wrong direction, because these thoughts and emotions work against you.

 

Get out of depression with the help of Yoga

If you do not have strong feelings, you cannot be depressed. Using techniques of Yoga, you can learn to control your mind in a certain way. Learn how to can create feelings and emotions that will serve you, instead of letting you fall deeper into your hole.

 

Yoga for depression - Asanas

Asanas (physical exercises) that help with depression:

Yoga for depression - Pranayama (breathing exercises)

Prana is life energy or life force. With the help of pranayama, we can increase the life energy in us and stimulate the entire energy flow. When you catch your breath or even hold your breath, it's time to sit down and breathe calmly and deeply. It's best you set a fixed time every day for your regular breathing exercises. You can just practice calm and deep breathing. This will give you serenity and confidence.

You can also go one step further and practice Alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana). Here you find a detailed guide. Alternate nostril breathing cleanses all energy channels and harmonizes female and male (light-dark, warm-cold, sun-moon) energies in your body and mind. It makes you balanced and calmer.

 

Yoga for depression - Meditation

In classical meditation, we try to calm the mind and stop all thought impulses. This true form of meditation is NOT recommended for people with depression. The risk of losing oneself in your own mind game and falling deeper into feelings like fear or loneliness is too great.
For depression, you can do a guided fantasy journey (falsely also called guided meditation - you will find many videos on Youtube) or practice Metta meditation.

 

Impurities in body and mind

If our digestive fire does not work well, undigested food can accumulate in the tissue (Dhatus). These impurities are called Ama and can cause both physical and energetic blockages. Above all, blockages on the mental level are built up through undigested emotions, terrible experiences and stress. The energy can no longer flow freely and diseases arise.

 

Cleaning techniques for depression

To release these blockages, we need to cleanse our body and mind. On the materialistic level, we can do that with a Panchakarma cure. However, this should only be done under professional guidance. If you have neither the time nor the money for such a cure, you can still do something. The ayurvedic spice mixture Trikatu stimulates the digestive fire and burns Ama. The spice consists of pippali (long pepper), maricha (black pepper) and shunti (ground ginger) and can be used for cooking. Blockages are released and the energy can flow freely again.

 

Yoga for depression - A healthy diet

Another important step is not to add more impurities to the body.  A change in diet away from heavily-processed, artificial and unhealthy foods towards fresh, nutritious and healthy foods is needed. Even a vegetarian diet is recommended - especially in depression. In addition to antibiotics, meat also contains a whole range of stress hormones that are produced during slaughter. These can cause aggression, anxiety, and depression in the human body.

 

Sportive activity for depression

In yoga, it is further assumed that a large part of today's depression is caused by too much food and too little exercise. In order to maintain the chemical balance in the body, it is extremely important to move the body. From generation to generation the physical exercise is decreasing and more and more people lose themselves in a sulk. One of the easiest steps to get out of depression is, therefore, to do sports - especially outdoors. Already as a child, we should regularly be outdoors and come in contact with all the elements (earth, water, air, fire, and space).

 

Self-love and nature

When worries and fears once again gain the upper hand, we speak of a Vata imbalance in Ayurveda. There is an excess of air and space in our body. To regain balance, it helps to go into nature and seek contact with the earth (walking barefoot, gardening). A walk in the woods will calm your nerves and your mind.

Finally, I would like to say some word about self-love. I know how hard it is to feel positive about yourself during the dark hours. Much easier is to condemn yourself and reject entire parts of yourself. It is very important to accept yourself as you are and to learn to love yourself again. Try this first in your good hours and extend the feeling of self-love slowly and steadily into the dark phases. Remember, you have to love yourself before you can truly love someone else.

 

I wish you a lot of strength and the ability to question your own thought patterns as well as the ability to find out which needs truly lie behind you depression (see above "What is depression?").

Leave us a comment and tell us how to deal with depression and what helps you

most.

 

We wish you a wonderful day!

We all know that doing sports while having a cold is not good. The great thing is that yoga is not a sport at all. Therefore, we do not have to live without our yoga, when illness strikes us. Yoga is a way of life and can therefore be adapted to all life events. You do not have to stop your yoga practice completely, when a virus gets you. We'll show you what you can do with Yoga for cold.

Listen to the body

The most important thing about yoga is to look after yourself. Only you know what your body can do. Thus, practise in an appropriate manner and do not go beyond your limits. It makes a difference whether you feel light-headed or you are already in bed with a sore throat or other symptoms. Every cold is different, so you have to treat each cold differently. If you so too much with your body, you will not strengthen it, but you will extend the recovery time.

Yoga for cold: Our tips

Rest

We don’t get sick for no reason. There is always a message hiding behind an illness. One of the most common messages is that we should slow down and give ourselves a rest. Use the time to relax and unwind. Read a good book or just relax on the sofa. Take a rest!

Pranayama (breathing exercises) for a cold

Nadi Shodhana or alternate nostril breathing helps to calm down and relax the body. This breathing exercise cleanses the energy channels and helps to let Prana (life energy) flow freely again. It also stimulates the circulation and moistens the respiratory tract. This exercise is especially effective for sore throat and runny nose, as long as the nose is not completely blocked. Here you can find our instructions for Nadi Shodhana. Breathe slowly and calmly. Repeat this exercise several times a day for at least seven minutes.

Brahmari or humming bee breath activates the tonsils and thus the immune system. It also helps to calm the mind.

Gargle

Stir 1/2 teaspoon of salt into a glass of lukewarm water and gargle with it. It's best to repeat this three times a day. Gargling helps to get rid of a sore throat and to moisturise the upper respiratory tract.

Take steam for a cold

Take steam several times daily with water enriched with chamomile, eucalyptus or sage. This keeps your respiratory system moist and quickly reduces sore throat and inflammation. If you have the sniffles, you can take the steam through the nose. That will open your airways. You can also put some Wicks into the steaming water.

Diet for a cold

If you have a cold, you should avoid dairy products and white sugar. Milk congests and cheese is hard to digest. White sugar is non-nutritive and harms the immune system. The healthy alternative is honey, a natural antibiotic that has been used for healing purposes for millennia. Keep your diet light and concentrate on lots of fruit (detoxifying) and vegetables (easy to digest).

Yoga for cold: Ayurvedic tea

Ingredients for two cups:

• 1 / 2l water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom capsules
• 8 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• fresh or dried mint
• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
• juice of half a lemon
• Honey (do not cook!)

Preparation:

Working time: approx. 5 min. / Cooking time: approx. 30 min.

Boil the water with all ingredients (except lemon and honey) for at least 30 minutes. If necessary, add a little more water. Finally, add the lemon juice and a spoon of honey. Honey would lose all its healing properties in hot water. Thus, let the tea cool down a little bit before adding honey.

Tongue scraping in case of a cold

Jihva Dhauti or Tongue scraping is an ayurvedic cleansing technique, which should be done daily. But it is especially recommended for colds. Use a tongue scraper made of stainless steel or copper in U-shape to scrape bacteria and viruses from your tongue. During the night bacteria and viruses stick to your tongue. They should be removed BEFORE your drink the first sip of water. As a result, they do not go deeper into the body and the cold we quickly disappear.

Light and air in case of a cold

As soon as you feel a little stronger again, you can take a walk and get some light and fresh air. Not only will this help your body heal faster, it will also give your mind a boost in motivation to get well soon.

We wish you a good recovery!

Which method of Yoga for cold helped you the most? - Leave us a comment!