Strengthening the Immune System through Yoga

Combat Common Colds and Illness with Immunity-Bolstering Yoga Poses

Nov 2, 2008

Over 66 million cases of the common cold afflict people in the US yearly. Practicing yoga-regardless of the style-strengthens the immune system and fosters good health.

The immune system is a multilayered defense structure that battles the millions of bacteria, microbes, viruses, toxins and parasites vying to invade the body. Good health and a strong immune system are synonymous, and a fully functioning immune system is crucial to well being.

Many factors have a positive or negative effect on the immune system’s efficiency. Some causes of a weakened immune system may include:

While a range of symptoms from the common cold to pneumonia may result from a weakened immune system, basic yoga practices bolster the immune system and help to optimize its functionality.

How Yoga Affects the Immune System

A strong immune system not only leads to less occurrences of illness, but also helps prevent more extreme manifestations of illness. A few of the ways that yoga positively impacts the immune system include:

Stimulating the Thymus Gland through Chest-Opening Poses and Upper Back Bends

The locus of the immune system, the thymus gland occupies the area between the heart and the breastbone and is responsible for producing T-Cells, a heterogeneous group of cells essential in protecting the body against invasions by foreign organisms.

Yoga postures that focus on chest-opening, upper back bends, and deep breathing stimulate the thymus. These poses include cobra, pigeon, fish, boat, bow and bridge.

Other Benefits to the Immune System through Yoga Practice

Inversions in yoga practice such as shoulder-stand, headstand, plow and legs up the wall pose improve the flow of lymph and immune cells through the body by increasing the passive circulation of the lymph system. Lymph—the fluid that is formed when interstitial fluid enters the lymphatic system—is not pumped through the body like blood, but depends on the contractions of skeletal muscles to move. Lymph plays a role in transporting food, water and oxygen to the cells, as well as absorbing and carrying away waste products. The lymph system drains and filters inter-cell fluid to detect and remove bacteria.

As part of the immune system, the spleen also performs vital functions including removing unwanted materials from the blood and helping to fight infection. Twisting poses in yoga as well as hip openers activate the secondary organs of the immune system, including the spleen and the lymph nodes. Effective poses for activating these organs include seated twist, prayer twist and hip openers such as bound angle, seated angle and pigeon.

Regular yoga practice also helps to improve circulation and oxygen flow, which is vital to the immune system. The body’s cells depend on oxygen to perform basic functions, and improving oxygen flow facilitates better transfer of energy from nutrients to cells and provides the immune system with more ammunition to fight off germs.

Finally, relaxed yoga postures and deep pranayama—the focused, deliberate control of the breath—help relax the nervous system and boost immune response.

Promoting a Balanced Immune System through Yoga

By reducing stress, massaging and stimulating the internal organs, balancing the nervous system and boosting the immune system, yoga plays a powerful role in preventing or alleviating the symptoms of a variety of viral infections and common illnesses such as colds and the flu.