Happy 2011 from all of the Yoga Wellbeing Team. Hope your avoiding all of the nasty colds out there. Winter’s cold, dry air creates the perfect host environment for germs. The drier the air, the longer germs stay airborne. Sometimes we can feel that Winter can throw us off balance a bit.

According to the principles of Ayurveda, winter can aggravate conditions that can weaken your immune system. It’s very important to be extra kind to yourself at this time of year. Here are some of Yoga Wellbeing’s favourite ways to keep your immune system strong and your energy up all winter long.

5 Ways to keep your fighting fit – Part 1

1. Pick a Natural Kick

Energy wanes in the winter, when sunlight is scarce. But jump-starting your engine every day with a triple espresso may undermine your immune system. Caffeine stresses the adrenals, the glands that sit atop the kidneys and support the body’s immunity and energy. Try brewing a cup of nettle tea the next time an afternoon coffee craving strikes.

2. Strike a Heart-Opening Pose

An easy way to avoid getting the flu is to weave more heart-opening poses, such as the Cobra Pose, Fish Pose , and Bridge Pose, into your yoga practice. Heart openers stimulate blood flow to the thymus, an organ nestled behind the breastbone that is instrumental in the growth of T-cells, the immune system’s frontline. Practicing all three asanas once daily for prevention, twice daily if you feel a cold or flu creeping on.

3. Make the Most of Mushrooms

Mushrooms supercharge your immune system by increasing the number of disease-fighting white blood cells in your bloodstream. For an extra immunity boost, look for dried medicinal mushrooms, such as chaga and reishi. Medicinal mushrooms also come in supplement form, and their pro-immunity punch equals that of fresh ones, says Woodson Merrell, an integrative physician and the director of the Continuum Center for Health and Healing at Beth Israel in Manhattan.

4. Soothe Your Sinuses

Most colds enter the body through the nose’s mucous membranes. A neti pot, a traditional Indian spouted vessel used to rinse the sinus passages, helps to clear the area of excess mucus and viruses. Early this year a study found that kids with colds and flu who regularly used a nasal wash got well faster, took less medication, and fought off future colds better than those who didn’t.

5. Try a 10-Minute Meditation

Stress is the immune system’s worst enemy. Whether you’re dealing with a brief bout of craziness like Christmas shopping, or a longer-lasting stressor like divorce, your body’s ability to fight germs is compromised by physical and mental tension. Meditation can help. One study found that people who attended an eight-week mindfulness meditation class (a three-hour class once a week, plus daily meditation for an hour) ended up with stronger immune systems.

We will be adding five more immune super boosting ideas to our blog later on in the week. Keep warm and well.

If you have yet to try a Yoga style that already includes the use of chanting or Mantras, why not give them a go?  Yoga is designed to bring about an eventual focusing of the mind, with all of those wobbly balancing poses that eventually become still.  Mantras or chanting enhance this process and help calm the mind. There not everyone’s cup of tea but could be something that really help with your daily life.

The power of Mantra

An easy demonstration of how powerful a Mantra can be in keeping the mind from wandering is as follows:  Sit with your back straight in a chair, close your eyes, and pay attention to the number of random thoughts that arise in your own mind for about thirty seconds.  Done?  Now repeat this again, except this time repeat a word or phrase either out loud or in your head that has meaning for you.  Notice the difference?

There is no limit to what you may use when it comes to your Mantra or chanting choices, as long as you choose that which has deep meaning for you personally.  It is true that certain Mantras have been spoken so many times throughout history that their resonances are already deeply embedded within us and all of nature.  Use of any of the following Mantras can have profound effects in both the short and long term.  Say these words with reverence, and do not feel like you must be bound to this short list.

Great Mantras

Aum Mani Padme Hum or “The Jewel at the Heart of the Lotus” is a very common mantra and is used throughout Tibet and parts of India.  It is a reminder that within us lays a shining piece of the Creative Essence of the Universe itself.

Aum or Om is not a word but rather an intonation; like music, it transcends the barriers of race, culture, and age. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, ‘aa,’ ‘au’ and ‘ma’ which when combined together makes the sound Aum or Om. It is believed to be the basic sound of the world and to contain all other sounds. Aum or Om is a mantra or prayer in itself; if repeated with the correct intonation, it can resonate throughout the body so that the sound penetrates to the centre of one’s being, bringing awareness of the soul.

Seed Mantras

Bija Mantras (Seed Mantras) – Each seed is conceived of as the sound-form of a particular Hindu deity, and each deity is in turn a particular aspect of the Absolute (Brahman). It’s said that just as a great tree resides in within the seed, so does a god or goddess reside in each Bija. When we chant the Bijas, we identify each syllable with the divine energy they represent.  Use of these Mantras is quite effective in energizing the core Chakras of the body.

Lam – Curve the tip of your tongue up and back, and place it on the rear section of the upper palate to pronounce a sound like the word alum without the initial a. Concentrate on the base of the spine.

Vam – Place the upper set of teeth on the inner section of your lower lip and begin with a breathy consonant to imitate the sound of a fast car. Pronounce the mantra like “fvam.” Keep your attention on the genital area.

Ram – Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of the front section of the upper palate, roll the r as when speaking Spanish, and pronounce the mantra like the first part of the word rumble. Bring your awareness to the abdomen.

Yam – Inhale audibly through your mouth, and pronounce the word hum (as in humming); allow the breath to extend beyond the end of the consonant. Breathe into the Solar Plexus and heart Area.

Ham – Inhale noiselessly through your mouth, and pronounce the sound like the word yum (as in yummy); allow the sound along with your breath to fill your mouth and throat cavity.  Bring your awareness to your throat.

Om – Inhale audibly through your nostrils, and direct the stream of air to the point between your eyebrows. Pronounce the sound along with your exhalation as a subtly audible whisper, allowing the sound and breath to resonate in your head. Concentrate on the third eye or space between your eyes in the center of your forehead.

In our daily lives, we could use Mantras or chants and repeat them in our minds.  Carrying your Yoga chants or Mantras into daily activities will bring you more focus in these areas as well and allow you to determine what signals you are sending out into the world around you. The side-effect of getting into the habit of reciting a chant or Mantra is to become more in tune with the world around you.

Do you use mantra in your practice? Let us know if any positive intentions have helped in your everyday.

As well as buying presents, sending out cards and stocking up on decorations and most importantly good food. At Yoga Wellbeing we try and get our bodies and minds ready to cope with the huge intake of minced pies and mulled wine. At least before our Christmas Party.

With only a couple of weeks left until Little Saint Nick arrives, it helps to get the “detoxification organs” in tip top shape.

These days, there are a range of colourful things available that are there to help. A detox works by ‘resting’ the organs that eliminate waste – liver, kidneys, gut, lungs and skin. No need to get to worried; I’m not going to suggest that you drink fruit and vegetable juice for a week straight while sitting cross-legged on your yoga mat.

A detoxification plan does not have to be restrictive and boring, but can be fun and tasty. It can help your body rebalance, release built-up congestion and restore itself to strength and health.

Yoga Wellbeing Inspiration

• Restorative Yoga
• Try drinking lemon and ginger
• Try a superfood vege soup
• Treat yourself to herbal face steam
• Meditate for 20 minutes

The wonderful thing about the festive time is that you have a chance to step away from your usual routine in everyway. Bringing about balance is what yoga teaches us. So if you have had large festive night of fun give yourself some time the next day to bring about balance.