October 6, 2021
In this era of worry about viruses, illness and contagious diseases, it’s never been more important to keep your immune system working in top form. It’s ironic that the anxiety that comes with worrying about your immune health can actually weaken your immune system. You do need to be aware of the many ways you can protect yourself from illness, but it’s also important to stay calm.
Practicing yoga and meditation can have immune system benefits. Yoga is a proven healthy exercise that helps you clear your mind of worry. And staying calm because you know you’re taking care of yourself just makes you happier.
Yoga has been around for centuries. It’s a form of exercise developed in India that helps you stay physically and mentally fit and healthy. It consists of a series of yoga poses that you hold, strengthening and stretching your muscles, while you breathe deeply and concentrate on being calm and relaxed.
Yoga is an activity that anyone can do, at any age and any level of fitness or experience. There are ways to modify yoga poses to suit your fitness and flexibility level, and it’s a zero impact workout.
A large part of the practice of yoga is to clear your mind of stressful thoughts while you hold poses. While you’re holding a pose and staying still, you’re encouraged to also let your mind be still, breathe deeply and relax.
In addition to being able to modify any yoga poses to accommodate your fitness level, you can do it almost anywhere and anytime. During a time when so many people have been staying away from the gym, you can practice yoga alone, or with a small group.
Once you gain enough experience to practice any level of yoga safely, you can attend online classes for motivation and a sense of community. Attending a regularly scheduled yoga class online or in the safe and sanitary conditions of a senior community can do wonders for your physical and emotional health, and strengthen your immune system.
Even though yoga is a great form of exercise for beginners, it’s important to learn from the start how to hold yoga poses correctly. As with any form of exercise, doing it wrong can cause injury.
It would be ideal to go to a yoga studio, or to a class where a professional yoga instructor is there to teach and help you. When a professional is watching your yoga poses, they can make corrections to your form, and guide you through any modifications to poses you can make as you learn and improve over time.
A central focus of yoga is to breathe deeply, clear your mind of worry, and focus on living in the moment. This mental relaxation and focus is a form of meditation. Meditation is a proven way to relax your mind, reduce stress, improve your mood, and practice forgiveness of yourself and others. Many scientific studies show these practices have clear immune system benefits.
The senior living communities of the Franciscan Ministries are devoted to the health and well-being of their residents. Regular exercise, social events, and frequent opportunities to practice yoga and meditation are all available to keep you healthy, calm and happy.
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