Cure Your Cold with Yoga
Feeling a little under the weather? You’re not alone this season! While I’m all for letting yourself skip a class when you’re feeling sick – not to mention, contagious – you don’t have to swear off yoga until your sinuses clear up! Here are five gentle poses to help soothe your symptoms and get you back to class in no time:
1. Supported Bridge Pose
This pose opens up your chest and increases circulation. While lying on your back, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Push your hips up and rest them on some sort of support – a block or stack of pillows will do nicely. Allow your arms to rest beside you or out to the side.
2. Legs Up the Wall Pose
Just what it sounds like: lie on your back with your legs resting on a wall, extended straight up towards the ceiling, and scoot your sit bones as close to the wall as you can. This also opens your chest and improves your breathing.
3. Camel Pose
Kneel at the front of your mat. Aligning your knees with your hips, and keep your shins parallel to each other. Reach your hands back toward your heels and lean your head back, keeping most of your weight in your knees. This clears out your passages and opens up your back and chest.
4. Lion Pose
You might be too shy to do this one in class, but if you’re stuck at home with a cold, why not release your inner lion? This pose activates the immune glands of the tonsils and the lymph nodes in the neck, and also helps prevent a sore throat from progressing. Try Lion by kneeling with one foot crossed over the other, and sit back to rest on your heels. Fan your fingers out over your knees. Breathe in through the nose, and open your mouth wide, stretching your tongue towards your chin as you exhale with a “ha” sound.
5. Seated Twist
This pose helps to cleanse your internal organs. First, sit on your mat with your left leg bent, and your left foot touching your sit bones if possible. Next, bend your right knee and place that foot right in front of your left knee. Let your right hand be an anchor on the mat behind you, and your left elbow rest on your right knee as you move deeper into the twist.
Give your body an extra healthy boost with this green juice recipe specifically designed to cure colds!
