Yoga for health, beauty and immunity

Shahnaz Husain *

How often do we consider yoga as a tool to enhance beauty, mental peace and boost our immune system? Our immune system is of utmost importance and plays a significant role in keeping us fit, beautiful and healthy.

While there are many ways to stay calm, healthy and look attractive this time of year, yoga has proven to be one of the best ways to not only avoid getting sick but to strengthen your overall immune system along the way.

Yoga helps us fight infections by boosting our immune system, reducing stress and strengthening our body's functions and systems which leads to a healthy and attractive outlook.

As the country continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s traditional system of Yoga has been established as a means to boost immunity and improve overall health and well-being. A consistent yoga practice – along with certain poses in particular – can support and boost the immune system.

Lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and stressful life all lead to a weakened immune system and vulnerability to sickness. In addition to the basic measures taken this time of year—getting enough sleep, eating whole foods, stressing less—yoga is a proactive way to take control of your health so you can feel cheerful, all year long.

In this fast-moving world where one hardly gets time to take care of himself, here we bring to you a complete yoga routine that you can follow to maintain your immunity.

You do not have to be born beautiful. You can acquire beautiful, supple, glowing and flawless skin by treating yourself from inside through a selection of yoga poses and exercises rather than relying on expensive cosmetics and time consuming salon treatments .

You can enhance your beauty with yoga by incorporating strict guidelines in your daily life. Regular yoga practice, pranayama, and meditation aid you in reversing the signs of aging including wrinkles, saggy skin, crow’s feet and fine lines amongst others .

Pranayam helps purify the blood because of the increased intake of oxygen, which is very crucial for improving immunity. Yoga is one of the most effective and time-tested natural immunity boosters that can lead to a healthy, sickness-free body. Mindfulness meditation can have benefits for health and performance, including improved immune function, reduced blood pressure and enhanced cognitive function.

Those who regularly practice yoga and meditation have a certain glow about them that comes from within and radiates outward .Yoga helps lower stress hormones that compromise the immune system, while also conditioning the lungs and respiratory tract, stimulating the lymphatic system to oust toxins from the body, and bringing oxygenated blood to the various organs to ensure their optimal function which helps us to remain healthy and attain inner beauty .

Mindfulness meditation can have benefits for health and performance, including improved immune function, reduced blood pressure and enhanced cognitive function. Meditation produces more antibodies in people.

It significantly increases left-sided, anterior brain activation (pattern indicating positive emotions) in meditators (compared to non-meditating controls) and that this activity was associated with the rise in antibodies . The practice of yoga may greatly aid in helping you look more youthful and more refreshed.

I have always said that a strong immune system, good health and beauty are complementary to each other . Unless you are healthy from the inside, you cannot reflect true beauty. For flawless skin, shiny hair and a slim figure, good health must be on top of the list. In fact, I promoted the Ayurvedic principles of holistic health, with yoga as an integral part of the program.

This concept of holistic beauty care was unique and caught on worldwide. In fact, I believe that yoga is very relevant to our modern lifestyle, in terms of both health and beauty. Personally, it has been a part of my life and I have experienced its numerous benefits.

The appeal of Yoga lies in the fact that it helps both body and mind. It not only works on all the muscle groups, but also increases vitality, tones the internal organs, stimulates the nerve centres, relieves stress and clears the mind which boosts immunity and gives you attractive personality and beauty from within .

Although it is an ancient Indian discipline, it has also gained relevance as a means of attaining a well-balanced personality and delaying the visible signs of aging. The other important aspect of Yoga is that it involves breath control and specifies the inhalation and exhalation of breath during the exercises. Thus, it helps oxygenation which boosts immunity imparts a feeling of physical and mental exhilaration. This is so important for beauty, because feeling good is an integral part of looking good .

Yoga improves blood circulation, including the circulation of blood to the skin surface. This is so important for the good health of the skin, as it helps to supply essential nutrients to the skin. It also promotes the removal of toxins through the skin which boost immunity. This is so important, especially in cases of skin congestion.

It tones the skin, improves oxygenation to the skin, imparts a beautiful glow and keeps the skin youthful and free from problems. The same goes for the hair. Yoga helps to promote blood circulation and oxygenation to the scalp and hair follicles. This helps to supply nutrients in the bloodstream to the hair follicles. It promotes hair growth and keeps the scalp healthy.

When we talk of beauty, we do not talk only about the beauty of the face. It also includes the figure, giving it suppleness, good posture and grace. Where the appearance is concerned, a slim figure can take years off and helps in staying youthful for a longer time. It supplies oxygen to every tissue and this, itself makes way for both health and beauty.

If you are leading a life that does not provide enough physical activity, you are actually encouraging aging. Exercise is a potent remedy for premature aging, not only because it strengthens the body, but also keeps it looking trim , fit and enhances immunity in the body .

The yogic asanas are designed to keep the spine and joints flexible and supple. They make the body strong and agile, tone the muscles, improves blood circulation, imparts vitality and enhances both beauty and good health .

Many beauty problems are triggered by stress. Since yoga helps to induce relaxation and reduce stress, it certainly helps in dealing with stress-related conditions like acne, hair loss, dandruff, etc. Studies conducted on those who practice yoga have shown that positive changes also occur in the personality, in attitudes, emotional stability, self-confidence.

It has a direct effect on the mind, emotions and mood. In fact, it is a regular stress-buster and puts the glow back on the skin. You will feel instantly rejuvenated and good about yourself.

Indeed, the benefits of Yoga reflect external beauty. For flawless skin, shiny hair and a slim, graceful figure, make yoga a part of your daily life.