As the country reels under a severe COVID wave, nearly every family has had a brush with the debilitating virus, and many members are going through a slow recovery.
To help with the recovery via yoga, Delhi-based The Pink Lotus Academia, an online and offline tutorial platform focused on Indian classical art forms and yoga, suggests asanas that go a long way in building immunity, relaxing the body and mind, leading to faster healing post-COVID.
The ancient practice of yoga is known to offer scientifically proven solutions to many everyday problems both physical and mental. From increasing immunity to improving the function of vital organs of the body, from reducing stress to minimizing depression, yoga plays a major role if you choose the right asanas and practice them with awareness. These select asanas strengthen your body and mind, increase immunity, and take away fatigue.
Staff pose
This simple asana comes with many benefits for the body. It stretches the shoulders and chest, strengthens the back muscles, and improves posture.
Step 1: Sit on the floor with your legs extended in the front. Keep the back straight, you may sit on a blanket or a cushion to keep the pelvis slightly raised. To ensure perfect alignment of the upper body, you can sit against a wall. The sacrum and the shoulder blades should touch the wall, but the lower back and the back of the head must not.
Step 2: Sit on the front of the sitting bones so that the pubis and tailbone are equidistant from the floor. Firm the thighs, press them down against the floor, without hardening the belly, and flex your ankles and feet.
Step 3: Visualise your spine as the "staff" -- the vertical core of your torso rooted in the ground, hold the pose for a minute or two.
Cat and Cow pose
This asana combines the Cat pose (Marjaryasana) and Cow pose (Bitilasana) to gently stretch the body and warm up it up to relieve stress and massage the spine and stomach organs.
Step 1: Start on your hands and knees with your wrists directly under your shoulders, and knees under the hips. Look down at the mat.
Step 2: Move into Cow pose by inhaling and drop your belly towards the mat. Lift your chin and chest, and gaze up toward the ceiling. Broaden your shoulder blades.
Step 3: Move into Cat pose by exhaling, and draw your belly to your spine and pull your back toward the ceiling, just like a cat stretches its back.
Step 4: Release the crown of your head toward the floor, don't let the chin drop. Inhale, come back to Cow pose, then exhale as you return to Cat pose. Repeat 5-20 times.