In the last couple of issues of Natural News I’ve been suggesting ways to boost your immunity thought diet and lifestyle choices. Last month we looked at the benefits of a good night’s sleep and regular exercise and this month you’ll learn how your morning shower, deep breathing and fresh air can all boost your immunity.

Take a cold shower

 

You may not feel like it when it’s cold and dark outside but turning the water to cold for a minute or so at the end of your morning shower stimulates lymphatic circulation that transports immune cells around your body.

 

Even though it may sound like a masochistic act, taking cold showers to reap health benefits isn’t a new concept. It’s been used as a means of therapy for thousands of years. The ancient art of yoga, which began an estimated four to eight thousand years ago, teaches its students that taking cold water showers will help strengthen their immune system against colds and flu. The theory is that coldness can help bring blood to the capillaries, therefore increasing circulation throughout the body. It also encourages muscles to contract so that toxins and poisonous waste can be eliminated more efficiently, painful inflammations are reduced and the mucous membranes are strengthened, which in turn helps keep hay fever, allergies, colds and coughs at bay. Some experts believe that many health problems can be reduced or even eliminated over time by providing proper circulation of the blood to the affected area using cold shower therapy.

 

There is no doubt that an invigorating way to enhance cleansing and to boost your circulation and immune system is to take a cold shower every day. Caution, however, is advised, especially if you are underweight or have a heart condition, as cold showers can put unnecessary stress on your heart. It’s much safer and much more pleasant to have a warm shower first and then, just as you have finishing soaping yourself or washing your hair and are ready to get out of the shower, to give yourself a cold shower burst for a minute. Make sure the bathroom is heated. Never get out of a cold shower into a cold room.

 

 

Take a breather

 

Deep breathing – from your belly not your lungs – is not only relaxing; it can also raise your immunity.

 

Research on the link between oxygen deficiency and disease has been carried out for several decades. Oxygen plays a key role in our immune function. It is the source of the ammunition used by natural killer cells against viruses and tumours. Breathing serves as the pump for the lymphatic system, just as the heart serves as the pump for the circulatory system. Your cells must have oxygen to survive from moment to moment. To thrive, they rely on a complex exchange between the circulatory system and the lymphatic system. Blood flow carries nutrients and ample amounts of oxygen into the capillaries, while a healthy lymphatic system carries away destructive toxins. Proper breathing is the moderator of this exchange.

 

Many of us breathe too fast and too rapidly during the day. This fast, shallow breathing expels carbon dioxide too quickly and takes in too little oxygen. However, when breathing is slow, deep and full – and is carried out from the abdomen (belly) and not the lungs – extra oxygen is drawn into the bloodstream. Your diaphragm is a thick, flat muscle just below your ribcage and above your abdomen. By using your diaphragm when you breathe in, you help your lungs expand so that they take in more air. Increased oxygenation boosts circulation and encourages the healthy functioning of your entire immune system.

 

To check that you are breathing correctly, put your hand on your navel; as you breathe in, your stomach should move out. If it doesn’t you’re using your upper chest instead of your diaphragm. Another sign indicating that you might be breathing incorrectly is that you often sigh or yawn. You may also feel as if you often can’t catch your breath or fill your lungs fully.

 

Try this ‘breathing from your diaphragm’ exercise

 

1. Relax your shoulders

2. Put one hand on your abdomen

3. Push your abdominal muscles out

4. Breathe in through your nose

4. Suck in your abdominal muscles

5. Breathe out with pursed lips (you should feel your abdomen go down)

6. Repeat three times and rest for two minutes

7. Repeat this exercise several times a day

 

Aerobic exercise is one way to increase your intake of oxygen and improve its circulation, but immune-boosting benefits may also be obtained from breathing exercises that teach you to breathe more fully.

 

The following exercises will help you take control of your breathing. They don’t require a lot of time, but they work best if you commit to practising them for a few minutes every day. Over time, you will find that you are breathing more deeply throughout the day and reaping all the immune-boosting benefits. With practice, you can break the cycle of bad breathing.

 

– Pursed-lip breathing

 

1. Inhale slowly through your nose until your lungs fill up with air

2. Purse your lips as if you were going to whistle or kiss someone

3. Breathe out slowly while keeping your lips pursed

4. Take twice as long to breathe out as you do to breathe in

5. Do not force your lungs to empty

6. Repeat 5–6 times

 

Pursed-lip breathing will help you get more air into your lungs, encourage you to breathe more steadily, and control any shortness of breath.

 

– ‘Hold your breath’ exercise

 

1. Breathe in

2. Try to hold your breath for ten seconds

3. Breathe out with pursed lips as above

4. Repeat 3 times

 

Holding your breath extends the time for your lungs to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide, helping your body take in more oxygen.

 

– ‘Three-part breathing’ exercise

 

1. With your mouth closed, exhale deeply through your nose. Imagine that you are pouring the breath out of a jug, starting at the top of your chest and moving down through your mid-torso and into your diaphragm.

2. Pause for two counts at the bottom of the breath, and then inhale through your nose. Refill the ‘jug’ slowly, counting to five (or seven if you can make it). Start at the bottom, expanding your diaphragm and belly, then your mid-torso, and lastly the top of your chest and lungs.

3. Pause for two counts and exhale as before. Then repeat the exercise 3 times.

 

This yoga technique is very useful during times of stress, or at any time you need to relax.

 

 

Fresh air, anyone?

 

Most of us spend 90 per cent of our lives indoors inhaling dubiously filtered air and other people’s germs, so take any opportunity you can to get some fresh air.

 

A regular dose of fresh air can help make your body less vulnerable to cold and flu viruses. This is especially true during cold weather when not only does central heating dehydrate you, but also the tendency to stay indoors results in more germs circulating in crowded, dry rooms.

 

So, as also mentioned in the avoid winter weight gain feature in this issue, even if it’s cold outside, wrap up warm and get some energising fresh air. Go for a walk, even if you have to put your umbrella up and stroll in the rain. It’s probably best to stay away from polluted areas and to seek out areas where traffic is lighter and where there are signs of nature as the air is likely to be much fresher. Head to countryside, seaside or the mountains if you can and if you live or work in the city seek out local parks and gardens. Put some distance between yourself and the congested, contaminated environs of industrial areas. Without an abundance of fresh, pure air, the essential interchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the lungs cannot take place.

 

Wherever it is you choose to escape, remember you can derive health-giving and even life-giving benefits from time spent in the pure fresh air, amid the trees, flowers and plants. So put your walking shoes on and get some fresh air.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 1:50 am and is filed under Immune System. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.