How Yoga Can Decrease Inflammation & Boost The Immune System

Hi, I’m Kate Kendall, co-founder of Flow Athletic in Australia and director of Yoga. First of all I wanted to say, that no doubt the world is a big transitional phase at the moment with many people feeling stressed and anxious and most of us confined to our homes. But, while it can be tempting to sit around and watch Netflix all day, it is so important for both our physical and mental health that we stay active. The very fact that we are staying indoors to try to remain healthy means that now is also the time to work on your health and build your immune system and yoga can help you do just that.

Kate Kendall Shares How Yoga Can Give The Immune System A boost

Image via Kate Kendall

So today, I thought I’d share with you a few reasons why we should all be adding a bit of yoga to our practice, especially while we are in self-isolation.

5 Ways Yoga Can Help To Boost Your Immune System & Relieve Tension

1. To build your immune system

Journal of Behavioral Medicine found that yoga may be helpful for both decreasing inflammation and giving your immune system a kick. Psychological stress can impact your body in many ways, one being lowering your immune system which is why it is important to do things for yourself to keep you feeling healthy and calm.

Slower practises such as Hatha and Yin are a great gentle support for the immune system

2. Detox the toxins

Sitting around all day without the fresh air you would usually get can make the body and the mind stagnant which is not great for your energy levels, your mood, performance, mental or physical health.

Yoga is unique because it incorporates breathing technique which stretching and lengthening out the body. The body twists are great for eliminating toxins, as are the deep breathing techniques. This can help make you feel better in all of the above ways.

3. Reducing Stress

Yoga is great for lowering cortisol, the stress hormone which if unbalanced can compromise our immune system. If your cortisol is unbalanced, it can compromise our immune system, causing inflammation which can make us feel rundown and more susceptible to colds, flu and viruses.

4. Shake off the day

Yoga is also great for lengthening, strengthening, squeezing, twisting and shaking the body out after a long day. There really is no better feeling and it is so good for your health and mind.

I am the co-founder and Yoga Director of Flow Athletic and we are now live streaming classes for our members. We have four channels (yoga, Pilates, strength and spin) and we are taking 60 classes per week. Please join if you would like to flow with me.

In this time of physical distancing, it is more important than ever to stay socially connected. We are live streaming classes to help our community do just that by streaming on a platform that allows them to interact in real time with both their teacher and each other.

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