Fight COVID-19 with Yoga
Ever since COVID-19 turned into pandemic health has become the foremost priority for the world and rightly so. A frightful number of people have come under the vicious grasp of the COVID-19 virus and hundreds of thousands have succumbed in less than two years. Therefore, building good health and strong immunity are all that have occupied the minds of people. People have been using several ways and means of building resistance. Immunity has become a sales pitch and there are innumerable commercial options available to strengthen it, and we have little to no means to test the legitimacy of each.
Yoga, as we know it, is a tried and tested method of promoting good health and building resistance against diseases. Generations after generations have practiced this form of physical activity and received tremendous benefits. In today’s situation, this time-tested tradition has proved to be supremely beneficial. Daily practice of yoga promotes good health, builds immunity against diseases and ailments, promotes sound mental health, and helps maintain a fit physique, maintains energy level.
Here are a few immunity-boosting yoga asanas that can prove beneficial in promoting resistance against COVID-19.
Bhujangasana (Cobra pose)
Lie on your stomach with your toes flat on the floor and forehead resting on the ground
Keep your legs close together
Place your hands under your shoulders, keeping your elbows parallel and close to your torso
Taking a deep breath in, slowly lift your head, chest, and abdomen while keeping your navel on the floor
Pull your torso back and off the floor with the support of your hands
Keep breathing with awareness. Straighten your arms by arching your back as much as possible
Breathing out, gently bring your abdomen, chest, and head back to the floor
Matsyasana (Fish Pose)
Lie on your back. Put feet together and relax your hands alongside the body
Place the hands underneath the hips, palms facing down. Bring the elbows closer toward each other
Breathing in, lift the head and chest up
Keeping the chest elevated, lower the head backward and touch the top of the head to the floor
With the head lightly touching the floor, press the elbows firmly into the ground, placing the weight on the elbow and not on the head
Lift your chest up from in-between the shoulder blades. Press the thighs and legs to the floor
Relax in the posture with every exhalation
Now lift the head up, lowering the chest and head to the floor. Bring the hands back along the sides of the body
Balasana (Child pose)
Sit on your heels. Keeping your hips on the heels, bend forward, and lower your forehead to the floor
Keep the arms alongside your body with hands on the floor, palms facing up
Gently press your chest on the thighs and hold
Slowly come up to sit on the heels
Setu Bandhasana (Bridge pose)
Lie on your back
Fold your knees and keep your feet hip-distance apart on the floor, with knees and ankles in a straight line
Keep your arms beside your body, palms facing down
Inhaling, slowly lift your lower back, middle back, and upper back off the floor; gently roll in the shoulders; touch the chest to the chin without bringing the chin down, supporting your weight with your shoulders, arms, and feet
Hold the posture for a minute or two and exhale as you gently release the pose
Dhanurasana (Bow pose)
Lie on your stomach with your feet hip-width apart and your arms by the side of your body
Fold your knees and hold your ankles
Breathing in, lift your chest off the ground, and pull your legs up
Keep the pose stable while paying attention to your breath
Continue to take long deep breaths as you relax in this pose
After 15 -20 seconds, as you exhale, gently release the pose
