International Yoga Day: Yoga asanas and breathing techniques for Post-Covid recovery

Yoga asanas and breath work strategies assist pump extra oxygen and vitality to your system.

By Ruchi Khosla,

As Covid-19 straight impacts bodily, respiratory and psychological well being of a person, Yoga and breath work can play a major position in post-covid rehabilitation of a person. Yoga asanas and breath work strategies assist pump extra oxygen and vitality to your system, which assists in immunity-building. The relief led by Yoga help the therapeutic course of, bettering psychological and emotional look after recovering Covid-19 sufferers. Ayurveda, yoga, and meditation might be three key methods to attain our full potential. To reap the immune-boosting advantages of yoga, one should keep a day by day observe.

Shishuasana (Baby pose)

Shishuasana is a standard yoga pose, particularly for newbies. It is a wonderful pose to decongest the chest and calm down the thoughts. To get began,

• Sit in vajrasana in your heels. Holding your backbone erect, inhale deeply.
• On an exhale bend ahead and relaxation your chest on the thighs and head on the ground.
• Place your arms on the facet of your heels, palms going through up.
• Maintain this posture for 10 seconds and calm down your physique.
• Inhale, slowly come up and sit in your heels.

Setu Bandhasana (Bridge pose)

Setu Bandhasana is an inverted-back bending asana, also referred to as the Bridge pose. It helps enhance blood circulation, together with growing vitality within the physique.

• Lie down in your again, protecting your fingers beside your physique, palms going through down.
• Bend your knees and preserve a snug distance between your ft and your knees. Your heels must be nearer to your hips.
• Inhale deeply and carry your decrease again up, as excessive as your chest touches your chin with out lifting your head.
• Tightening your decrease again, keep within the posture to the depend of 10 and even longer.
• Exhale and convey your again down on the ground.

Bhujangasana (Cobra pose)

Bhujangasana, or the Cobra pose is a reclining-back bending Yoga asana that helps relieve stress and fatigue. It additionally helps open the guts and lungs.

• Lie down in your abdomen with each toes and brow resting on the ground.
• Be certain your toes and heels are touching one another or parallel to the bottom.
• Place your fingers (palms downwards) below your shoulders, protecting your elbows parallel to one another.
• Inhale deeply and slowly carry your higher physique whereas protecting your navel on the ground.
• Maintain the pose for 10 seconds.
• Exhale and convey your torso and head again on the ground. Repeat the asana
• Don’t overdo the stretch or overstrain your self.

Dhanurasana (Bow pose)

Dhanurasana is a again bending asana, also referred to as the Bow pose. Individuals who endure from in depth issues of spinal wire and disc, or stomach-related points shouldn’t carry out this pose.

• Lie down in your abdomen together with your ft aside and your arms by the facet of your physique.
• Fold your knees and maintain your ankles. Be certain your knees are aside.
• Inhale deeply, carry your chest off the bottom and pull your legs up and open them to the perimeters. The broader the pull, the higher the stretch.
• Maintain on this pose for a depend of 10 and repair your gaze on a degree in entrance.
• Exhale and decrease your legs and head.
• Chill out and repeat.

Matsyasana (Fish pose)

Matsyansana helps increase the immune system, by distributing oxygen and bettering blood circulation within the physique.

• Lie down in your again protecting your ft collectively and fingers relaxed alongside the physique.
• Place your fingers beneath your hips with palms going through down. Convey your elbows nearer collectively.
• Inhale deeply and carry your chest up and whereas protecting your chest elevated, flip your head backwards and place the crown on the mat.
• Maintain for a depend of 10.
• Exhale and convey your head again and chest down on the ground.
• Chill out and repeat.

Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)

The triangle pose is a standing asana that helps to broaden your chest and shoulders. It builds stamina, stability, vitality and develops focus and helps to strengthen the muscle tissue within the hips, thighs and again.

• Stand in an upright posture together with your ft huge aside and parallel to one another.
• Open up your proper arm up into the sky whereas inhaling.
• Exhale. Whereas protecting your waist straight, bend your physique to the left, downward from the hips. Permit your proper hand to return up within the air whereas your left hand touches the left ankle while you exhale. Then put each your arms in a straight line.
• Be certain your physique is curved sideways relatively than ahead or backwards. Preserve a large open chest and pelvis. Maintain for a complete of ten seconds.
• On an inhale, come again up, carry your arms all the way down to your sides, and straighten your ft.
• Repeat the identical on the opposite facet.

Marjariasana (Cat Stretch)

Marjariasana is a again stretching pose. This asana is helpful in getting reduction from menstrual cramps because it massages the feminine reproductive system, it additionally helps in relieving the backache.

• Sit in Vajrasana after which arise in your knees
• Place your fingers flat on the ground with palms down and fingers going through in the direction of the ahead path.
• Be certain your fingers, knees and toes are parallel to one another.
• Hold your fingers and knees in a straight line. Preserve a perpendicular relationship between the arms and thighs and the ground. This might be your beginning place.
• Inhale deeply and lift your head alongside whereas arching your backbone within the downward path, in order that the again can flip right into a concave form.
• Maintain for a depend of 10 and on an exhale decrease your head touching your chin to your chest whereas stretching the backbone within the upward path.
• Chill out and repeat

Yoga Nidra

Yoga nidra is an historical methodology for thoughts and bodily rest. It permits the practitioner to enter a deep state of rest. It’s a systematic observe of shifting consciousness from our exterior world to the interior world.

• Lie down straight in your again and shut your eyes and calm down. Take a couple of deep relaxed breaths.
• Begin by gently taking your consciousness to your proper foot. Preserve your focus for a couple of seconds whereas stress-free your foot. Then slowly work your means as much as the best knee, thigh, and hip. Acknowledge your complete proper leg.
• Gently repeat the movement together with your left leg.
• Take your consideration to all the opposite elements of your physique: groin, abdomen, navel area, chest.
• Then take your consciousness to the best shoulder, proper arm, palms, and fingers. Rep on the left shoulder, left arm, throat, face, and prime of the top.
• Take a deep breath in and observe the totally different sensations in your physique. Chill out on this state for a couple of minutes.
• Permitting your physique and thoughts to calm down utterly, you could then slowly sit up, and everytime you really feel comfy, slowly and regularly open your eyes.

Pranayama

Prana is the life power in our physique. Pranayama is the observe of enhancing the life power within the physique. Elevated prana within the physique can help within the therapy and even prevention of varied illnesses. It may be boosted by consuming recent vegatables and fruits, consuming vegetarian meals, getting sufficient relaxation, and, most significantly, pranayama.

Pranayamas assist us to construct immunity, scale back stress ranges and fight the onset of power life-style ailments if practised constantly.

Ujjayi Respiratory: Full yogic breaths, or ujjayi breaths, are a frequent function of a number of pranayamas. The sound is produced by softly proscribing the aperture of the throat to generate some resistance to airflow. A calming sound, much like the sound of the ocean, is created by softly pulling the breath in on inhalation and gently pushing the breath out on exhalation in opposition to this resistance.

It helps to stimulate the throat chakra and exude a state of calm and peace.

• Sit in an upright posture, putting your fingers in your knees, palms going through upward. Begin inhaling by way of your nostril making a constriction in your throat and exhale additionally by way of your nostril making a constriction within the throat.
• This makes one rep.
• Repeat for 3-5 reps

Kapalbhati: Kapalbhati helps clear your air passageways. It additionally raises the extent of oxygen in your physique, boosting your physique’s resistance to illness. It’s also referred to as a cleaning kriya because it permits to cleanse the physique from toxins. It’s a forceful exhalation kriya whereby the main target is simply on the exhale. With every exhale, the practitioner permits its physique to launch the waste and toxins. A really highly effective approach to detoxify the physique and the thoughts.

• Sit in an upright posture. Your palms in your knees, going through down.
• Begin exhaling the breath out, pushing your stomach in. Make speedy exhalations. Ideally 60 exhales in a single minute.
• With every exhale really feel that you’re releasing the toxins and waste out of your thoughts and physique.
• Proceed for 3-5 minutes or as handy to you.

Nadi Shodhan Pranayama: Nadi Shodhan or Alternate Nostril respiration approach is a straightforward pranayama which prompts the comfort response of the physique and calms the thoughts. It’s also referred to as balanced respiration because it brings the physique and thoughts into stability. That is the most secure pranayama that might be achieved by anybody.

• Sit in an upright posture putting your fingers in your knees, palms going through upward.
• Place your left hand in gyan/chin mudra.
• Along with your proper thumb shut your proper nostril and folding your first two fingers.
• Breathe out deeply by way of your left nostril. Then breathe in deeply from left and shutting the left nostril together with your ring finger, breathe out from proper nostril.
• Inhale from the best facet and exhale from the left facet. This makes one rep.
• Repeat for 10 reps and really feel your thoughts stress-free.

(The writer is Yoga Therapist and Thoughts-Physique Breathwork Coach at BeatO. The article is for informational functions solely. Please seek the advice of Yoga specialists and professionals earlier than beginning any observe. Views expressed are private and don’t mirror the official place or coverage of the Monetary Specific On-line.)