Larry Payne, yoga instructor and author of
Yoga RX , writes that one of the ways to keep the immune system strong is to
eat a diet higher in fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains and reduce or
eliminate the consumption of saturated fats, sugar, and stimulants like caffeine.
This isn’t news to you. What may be news is the
relationship between stress, eating well, and practices that yoga offers.
Western
exercise and medicine has a very reductionist model for working with the
body. Eating equals calories in. Exercise equals calories out. Stimulate the body with high-impact exercise
then sedate it with. . .your choice: exhaustion, alcohol, or other substances.
In fact,
even most western drugs and recreational substances work on this see-saw model
of stimulate/sedate or suppress. Coffee in the morning for stimulation, then an
alcoholic drink in the evening. With yoga, there is a third way: that of tonifying the system. Providing support so the body’s own healing
mechanisms can work.
You are
familiar with the parasympathetic nervous system, what is often called “fight
or flight”. Many of us are stuck in this
mode, like having the play button pushed and not being able to find “stop” or
“pause.” But there is another aspect of
the nervous system, the sympathetic system, sometimes called “rest and
digest.” This is where the more mindful
and restorative practices of yoga come in.
It turns out that when the stress hormone cortisol is high, immune
function is impaired. When we learn to
truly rest and relax deeply, cortisol drops and immune function improves. In one study, mindfulness-based meditation
was shown to help those suffering from psoriasis.
In addition,
yoga offers something no other exercise system does: the opportunity to turn
upside down. This can include anything
from simply elevating the legs up against a wall, to a 10-minute long
shoulderstand. These poses are great
boosts for the lymph system, intimately connected to helping rid the body of
infectious agents and more. One yoga
teacher calls shoulderstand his “flu shot.”
The key is careful placement and long timings—of several minutes or more,
which can often be accomplished with supported versions such as chair shoulderstand
or viparita karani.
“Yoga is perhaps the best overall system of preventive medicine there is” write Timothy McCall, MD, in Yoga as Medicine.
Seven tips for staying cool with Yoga and Ayurveda