Practised for thousands of years and vouched by science, yoga has many health benefits. For example, certain poses can help strengthen the muscles of your lungs and improve your immune system.
Here are some easy poses that you can do daily:
Corpse pose or Savasana
The easiest pose you can do is to relax your body and mind. This pose also helps with relaxing your breathing.
· Lie down comfortably on your back. Be sure to stretch out your arms and legs on the floor.
· Close your eyes and calm your thoughts while inhaling slowly through your nostrils.
· Exhale slowly through your mouth. Keep your body relaxed.
· Slowly inhale and exhale and stay in this pose for around 10 minutes.
Child’s pose or Balasana
One of the immunity-boosting poses. This pose helps relax the muscles in your lower back, elevate mood, and reduce stress and fatigue.
· Kneel on the ground keeping your knees slightly apart and your toes together.
· Place your hands on your knees and exhale slowly while lowering your torso forward until your belly rests on your thighs and your forehead touches the mat.
· Slowly stretch your hands forward to touch the mat in front of you.
· Pause before inhaling and coming back to the starting position.
Cobra pose or Bhujangasana
This pose strengthens the spine, shoulders, chest, abdomen, lungs, butt and also helps to improve the circulation of blood. This pose is also stress-relieving.
· Lie flat on your stomach.
· Place your palms facedown beside your chest with your arms close to your body and your elbows pointing outward.
· Slowly inhale while raising your head, neck, and shoulders.
· Using the strength of your arms, raise your trunk while looking upward, inhaling and exhaling normally. Make sure your stomach stays pressed to the floor.
· Hold this pose for about 5 seconds before slowly returning to lie on your stomach.
· Turn your head to rest on one side and bring your arms down to the side of your body.
Seated forward bend or Paschimottanasana
This pose relieves nasal congestion, reduces anxiety, and helps improve digestion. In addition, it calms the brain and can help ease post-COVID mental issues and symptoms.
· Sit down on the ground with your legs stretched forward in front of you.
· While inhaling deeply, draw your spine up long and stretch your hands up towards the ceiling.
· Slowly exhale while you bend forward to touch your toes with your hands.
· If you can, bend forward enough to rest your belly on your thighs and touch your nose to your knees. If not, bend forward as much as you can with your arms still stretched out.
· Hold this position for around 5 seconds before going back to starting position.
Tree pose or Vrikshasana
This pose helps to balance your body and mind, strengthens your legs and hip bones, and is a great way to help the body establish pelvic stability.
· Stand straight with your hands resting at your sides.
· Slowly raise one leg and fold it so that your inner thigh supports it and you are balancing on one leg.
· Stretch up your hands above your head, pointing your fingers upwards toward the ceiling.
· Clasp your hands together in Anjali mudra.
· Keep your gaze forward while shifting your weight to your standing leg while keeping your bent knee in the half-lotus position.
· Hold this pose for several seconds before slowly releasing and repeating the same steps with the opposite leg.
These poses help both relax and strengthen your body and mind. A stronger body improves breathing, and better immunity decreases the risk of infection. Lessened stress and better mental health also help boost immunity and can help with post-infection mental issues.