Increasing your immune system

 

Right now we are experiencing a lot of collective stress - naturally there is a pandemic and there is a lot of anxiety and stress and our immune systems are out of whack.

How can we be best utilising this time? We can spend our time calming down our immune system through a variety of techniques such as meditation, breathwork, herbs and deep sleeps. 

The best ways to increase your immune system

1.  Meditation 

Meditation slows down our mind and brings us back to ourselves. Meditation is a state of being and it can be practised through 20 minute intervals morning and night. The more you practise those 20 minute intervals, the goal is to always be in a state of equilibrium, a state of balance and harmony with nature. Through balancing your mind and body, slowing it down and bringing it back in tune with nature's rhythm, we will be able to get in touch with our bodies needs. Our body always has differing needs- whether its more protein, more iron, more calcium, some days our body needs more of one thing that other days. Getting in tune with your body through meditation can allow for a deeper listening.

"In reviewing the research, the authors found that mindfulness meditation: Reduced markers of inflammation, high levels of which are often correlated with decreased immune functioning and disease"

2.  Breathwork

Breathwork is a type of technique where you intentionally change your breathing pattern, you control your breath. On the contrary to meditation, where you are simply observing your breath and observing your present body sensations- breathwork is where you intentionally change your breathing to invoke higher states of consciousness. This can bring us to higher states of awareness and consciousness, calming our body down and allowing us to see clearly. In this higher state of consciousness, our immune system will increase and we will be able to fight off bacteria in a smoother way.

3.  Herbs

Having the right herbs and natural remedies will help your immune system stay in balance. Medicinal mushrooms such as lions mane, turkeys tail, cordyceps and reishi all activate different parts of the body that need it- for example "stimulating it when there's something to fight and downregulating it when it's overactive."

4. Deep sleeps

Meditation, breathwork and herbs all balance the immune system in different ways- allowing for regulation in sleeping habits, eating habits and day to day living. "Deep sleep involves greater slowing of bodily processes, allowing the immune system to utilize more energy to fight infection. Fever is another important immune response. Higher body temperature can trigger new waves of immune defense, and it also makes the body more hostile to many pathogens."