Monday, May 11, 2009

Yoga Remedy for Colds

by Anmol Mehta

To help fight off colds and better still, to help prevent them in the first place, practice Kapalbhati Pranayama. This pranayama is one of the best ways to boost your health and immune system. It also generates heat in the body to offset the Kapha/Vata imbalance and helps clear of system of congestion.

For Kapalbhati pranayama sit up in a comfortable position and then breath putting force on the exhalation, while leaving the inhalation passive. So you will sharply exhale through the nose, allowing the navel to naturally contract inwards, then follow it up with a passive inhalation.

Another pranayama that is great for battling colds and the flu, boosting internal heat, detoxifying and building your immune system is the potent Kundalini Yoga Breath of Fire Breathing Exercise.

To practice Breath of Fire, sit up in a comfortable posture, keeping the back straight and then begin to breathe rapidly through the nose putting equal emphasis on the inhalation and exhalation. The stomach will pulse on it's own. The key to breath of fire is to focus the breath at the tip of the nose and not force the breathing using the diaphragm. It is like very fast sniffing.

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