Monsoon Yoga: 10 Yoga poses and breathing exercises to stay healthy | Health

Monsoon is a unique mix of bliss and mess. While rains work wonders for your moods, the high humidity levels, long traffic jams and muddy puddles could ruin the feel-good factor. But mood and weather fluctuations are not the only troubling elements of the season. Monsoons could catch you off guard with some unexpected infection or health issues that you were least expecting as your immunity could be low during this time. (Also read: Yoga asanas for toned abs: Malaika Arora’s trainer shares tips)

Boosting immunity by eating nutritiously, exercising well and managing stress could make the season more enjoyable. Yoga is one of the holistic practices that could help you attain optimal immunity with its anti-stress and anti-inflammatory properties. Meditation and Yoga is known to regulate stress and inflammation that could safeguard you from many monsoon illnesses.

"The rainy season is synonymous with the meteoric rise in the cases of cold, cough, flu, infections and other diseases. This gets coupled with the water-borne and vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, and chikungunya. To make the matter worse, the symptoms of Covid-19 are somewhat similar to that of the diseases of the monsoon season. Therefore, it becomes highly important to adopt a healthy food habit, lifestyle, have sound sleep and stay physically fit and active. If you keep yourself healthy during this time period with good levels of immunity, then ailments will be far away from you," says Ira Trivedi, Yoga trainer, Celebrity Influencer and Founder, Yog Love.

Trivedi says the best way to enhance the functioning of our immune system is spending a few minutes practising pranayamas, yoga asanas and meditation. Yoga also keeps allergies and infections at bay that tends to affect our lungs, respiratory and immune system.

The simple yoga poses focus on improving strength, agility, digestion, relaxation, and awareness. The best part of yoga is that you cannot make excuses of bad weather and rains. Everything can be practised while staying inside your home. Just roll out your yoga mats and start practising. By keeping yourself fit and healthy, you will be able to enjoy the mesmerising beauty of monsoons.

So, here are the 10 yoga asanas and pranayamas that will help you in keeping yourself fit and healthy during the monsoon season.

Kapalabhati Pranayama

Kapalabhati is a breathing technique that has a profound effect on the whole body. In Sanskrit, Kapalabhati means shining skull. This kriya is great for cleansing the lungs. It pushes all the stale air out allowing you to oxygenate your body quickly and efficiently. More importantly, this kriya massages the internal organs and has a detoxifying effect on the body. Kapalabhati Kriya helps in improving the metabolism rate, improving the digestive tract functioning, and thus helps in reducing weight effectively.

Nadi Shodhan Pranayama

This breathing technique is also known as Anulom Vilom pranayama. We must understand that “Nadis” are an important part of the whole system. These are subtle energy channels in our body and it can get blocked due to multiple reasons. This breathing technique clears the blocked energy channels which further helps in calming and relaxing our mind. Nadi Shodhan pranayama helps in preparing our mind to enter the meditative state. Practising it for just a few minutes in the rainy season helps keep the mind calm, happy and peaceful. It releases accumulated tension and fatigue.

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana is also called downward facing dog pose. This pose helps in energising and rejuvenating the body. It lengthens the spine, strengthens the chest muscles thus increasing lung capacity. Further, it brings strength to our arms, shoulders, legs, and feet. It is also instrumental in increasing the blood circulation to the brain.

Setu Bandhasana

This asana is practised by bending the back and forming a shape like a bridge. It helps in strengthening the back muscles, core, and glute and thus prevents back pain. Further, it energises the kidneys, calms our nervous system, and maintains the blood pressure in the body. Bridge pose stretches the neck, chest, spine and expands your lungs.

Bhujangasana

This asana is also called the cobra pose. It burns abdominal fat and improves your digestion. It tones the abdomen muscles, improves blood circulation, strengthens the entire back and improves the flexibility of your spine. Thus, it plays a great role in relieving stress and fatigue.

Naukasana

This is also called the Boat Pose. Naukasana primarily helps in strengthening the abdominal muscles. It helps to regulate blood sugar levels. The biggest aspect of this asana is its effectiveness in burning belly fat if practised regularly. Further, it reduces stress and keeps the mind free of worries.

Shalabasana

This asana is also called Locust Posture. It helps to increase flexibility and strength of the entire back muscles. Further, it strengthens shoulders, arms and tones the nerves and muscles especially in the neck and shoulders. The asana helps in improving digestion by massaging the abdominal organs.

Matsyasana

Matsyasana is also called the fish pose. It is a perfect asana for flexibility and gaining muscle strength. It helps in building strong abs and thighs, improves blood circulation, and keeps the spine flexible. Further, it is highly beneficial for posture improvement by preventing the body from hunching forward and relieving stress through appropriate breathing and better respiration.

Janushirasana

This is a full forward fold asana that stretches the whole body. It has a wonderful effect on our abdominal organs and muscles through massaging. It helps in maintaining blood pressure levels by reducing body weight. Furthermore, it soothes our mind and fills us with inner peace.

Sarvangasana

This asana is also called shoulder stand. It is a pose where our whole body is balanced on the shoulders. It is a part of the Padma Sadhana yoga sequence. It greatly influences the functioning of all parts of your body. It helps in maintaining mental and physical health and is therefore referred to as ‘Queen of asanas’.

"As you are waiting to embrace and enjoy the monsoon season to the fullest, don’t forget to take all the steps required to boost your immunity levels. A weak immune system will make you susceptible to all the monsoon season infections and diseases. Water borne diseases are a common affair during this part of the year," concludes Ira Trivedi.

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