Journal

Iyengar Pratica Scienza
16 Dicembre 2022
Winter Immune - part 1
Chiara M. Travisi - illustrated by Svenja Karstens
Winter immune yoga sequence - part 1
Part 1 of the sequence, in particular, focuses on antigravity work to address the interface between the immune and musculoskeletal systems. Standing asanas require an anti-gravity effort that makes bones harder and muscles toned. In particular, I propose here variants with arms in Eka Hasta Pascima Baddha Hasta that create a beautiful frontal opening on the chest. Both the thymus area (located behind the upper breastbone), the thyroid gland (at the base of the throat), and the lymphatic areas in the armpits are stimulated. Ardha Chandrasana with the wooden trestle uses back support to open the chest and leg support to open the groin. The two variants of Prassarita Padottanasana, with chin support and arms of Pascima Namaskarasa, re-energize the thymus area and produce mechanical stimulation on the thoracic spine where the glands of the sympathetic nervous system are located. While active and demanding, all of these standing asanas should be performed with an "expiratory stance" maintaining a balance between the two branches of the Autonomic Nervous System.