How meditation can strengthen your immune system
It’s vitally important to keep your immune system as healthy as possible.
For very recent proof of that, look at what’s been happening around the world since COVID-19 arrived. People with strong, healthy immune systems have either been able to avoid catching COVID-19 entirely or – if they did catch it – have usually been able to minimise its effects and recover much more quickly. On the other hand, people with weaker immune systems, or whose immune systems had already been compromised by long-term sickness or ill-health, have been much more susceptible to catching COVID-19, and the effects they’ve suffered have been significantly worse. In many cases, they’ve even been fatal.
Ayurveda believes that prevention is always better than cure.
Everything you do, when you follow an Ayurvedic lifestyle, is focused on achieving an optimum state of health and wellbeing by keeping your immune system strong and protected. In Ayurveda, the immune system is called ‘Ojas’. Ojas is the vital energy that rules our immunity, strength, and happiness, and it is seated in our heart chakra. When our Ojas is healthy, our doshas are in balance, we have more strength, energy and vitality, and it’s unlikely that we will ever become sick. When our Ojas is low, our body becomes weaker, our mind and mood are disturbed, and we’re considerably more vulnerable to infection and disease.
Our Ojas/immune system can be weakened by a huge number of factors, including:
· Unhealthy lifestyle (inadequate diet/lack of exercise)
· Metabolic disorders (overweight or underweight)
· Stress, exhaustion, or other forms of psychological tension
· Negative emotions: anxiety, anger, jealousy, guilt etc.
· Toxicity caused by antibiotics, manufactured medicines, and other pharmaceuticals
· Environmental pollution
· Genetics
Ayurveda will help you avoid, or treat and eliminate, almost all of those issues. However, even if you don’t wish to follow a strictly Ayurvedic lifestyle, there’s something we can all do to increase our Ojas and give our immune system a major boost.
It’s called meditation.
The benefits of meditation
Unlike in Western medicine, Ayurveda never treats the mind and body as two separate parts.
Ayurveda recognises there are three aspects to who we are – body, mind, and spirit – and that even a small disturbance in any of these can potentially cause disease. Meditation is one of the most powerful tools we can use to prevent disease. Regular meditation practice calms and focuses the mind, reduces stress and anxiety and brings awareness to our thoughts and feelings, stimulates the vital life force (Prana) that flows throughout our body, and helps to super-charge our immune system.
It’s not just Ayurveda practitioners who believe this.
Independent studies have shown that, even after just a few days of practice, meditation can have enormous health benefits. In one study,94 women who had never tried meditation before went on either a 6-day meditation or a meditation vacation retreat. When the study tracked the irimmune response directly after and then ten months after they’d begun meditation, it showed their bodies had become more capable of fighting off viral infections. They were also showing signs of healthier ageing and a reduced risk for chronic illness.
In another very recent study jointly conducted by theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California-San Diego,Harvard University, and Chopra Library for Integrative Studies, it was concluded that “certain meditation, yoga asana (postures), and pranayama (breathing) practices” could possibly be an effective supplemental way of treating and/or preventing COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 infection1.
Meditation works, and the good news about meditation is – it only takes a few moments practice every day, it costs nothing, and you can start meditating right now.
How to practice meditation
Meditation should be as easy and hassle-free as possible. For most people, the optimal times to meditate are usually first thing in the morning, mid-day before lunch, or before going to bed, and ideally you shouldn’t meditate on a full stomach. Some people only meditate once a day; others may meditate twice a day or more. The important thing is to choose the time(s) that work best for you so that you can make meditation a consistent practice. Just like everything else in Ayurveda, meditation isn’t a quick fix.You’ll begin to feel the benefits very quickly, but the most potent, longer-lasting benefits will only happen when you make meditation a daily habit.
You can practice meditation anywhere, even while you are undertaking another activity, but it’s best to find a space that is quiet and free from distractions. You don’t have to meditate for very long – a short 5-10minute meditation once a day is enough to start calming and clearing your mind – but you’ll notice more substantial benefits if you practice two to three times daily for 10 minutes or more each session. The important thing is not to make it difficult for yourself. Find a space and meditate for the length of time that best fits your schedule.
You can meditate while sitting in a chair, in a simple cross-legged posture, or in a lotus or half-lotus pose. Just make sure that your spine is straight and you can maintain the position comfortably for the allotted amount of time. If you need to, you can use pillows, cushions, or any other props to support yourself. When they’re starting, many beginners find it’s easier to sit cross-legged on a yoga mat with their back supported against the wall. You can also lie down to meditate, although it’s better to do that if you’re meditating just before bedtime and want to relax your body so you can enjoy better sleep. You can meditate with your eyes open or closed.
A basic ‘Follow your breath’ meditation
This meditation is especially useful for calming your mind, focusing awareness on your body, and releasing stress and anxiety.
Find your seating position. Keep your back upright, your hands resting comfortably, your shoulders and jaw loose. Breathe normally and turn your attention inwards. Notice the weight of your body and how your body is connected to the chair or the floor. How does your body feel? What sounds is it making? If there are any areas of tightness or tension, keep breathing naturally and gently relax them.
Focus on the flow of your breath, the way your breath is moving in and out. Where do you feel your breath in your body? Does it begin at the tip of your nose, or maybe in your abdomen, chest, or throat? Feel the sensation of your breath, and the continuous movement in-out as one breath ends, and the next breath begins. Don’t change your breathing. Just observe it and watch it happen.
Is your mind wandering? That’s entirely normal. Even experienced meditators get distracted by wandering thoughts but, the more you practice, the more you’ll eventually find your mind is wandering less and less. Just acknowledge the thought (some people say “thinking” softly inside their head) and then gently redirect your attention back to your breathing. You’ll probably notice more thoughts or bodily sensations trying to distract you, but that’s okay, acknowledge them and then go back to following your breath.
Continue the meditation for five to ten minutes. As you become more practised, you can extend this meditation for as long as you like. Keep breathing naturally, observe the flow of the breath, and whenever you notice a distraction or realise you’re becoming lost in thought, gently return to your breath.
When it’s time to stop meditating, slowly and gently bring your attention off your breathing and back into the room. Notice how your body is seated on the floor or chair, your weight and posture. Tune into the sounds and sensations around you and give yourself a small congratulation for doing this practice today.
The ‘Watching your mind’ meditation
This meditation is very similar to ‘Following your breath’ except, instead of acknowledging your distracting thoughts and then returning to your breath, you observe what you’re thinking and let your thoughts, feelings and emotions rise to the surface. As each thought appears, don’t judge it or label it as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Instead, be aware of it and then let it drift away. You may notice some thoughts keep reoccurring but, as you continue this practice, they’ll gradually become less and less frequent. You might even find that, when you first begin practising this meditation, you’ll have a complicated emotional response to some of the thoughts that are arising. That is a sign those thoughts need extra attention and will probably take more time to process, but as they continue to surface and as you continue to calmly and non-judgmentally accept them, they will eventually heal and become free.
The ‘Candle gazing’ meditation
During this meditation, you’ll keep your eyes open and focused on the flame of a candle or a small point or object directly ahead of you. This meditation will increase your concentration, improve your memory, and hone your attention. By channelling our thoughts towards the flame or object, we’re also removing distractions and bringing ourselves more easily into a state of peace. If you’ve found the other two meditations difficult, this meditation is a good one to try.
Find a quiet space. If you’re using a candle, choose a space where the light is dim or close the curtains. Place the candle at eye level and about two feet away from where you are sitting. Ensure the candle is on a level surface and well away from any flammable materials.
Sit comfortably, back straight, with your body relaxed.
Stare at the candle flame, or at a point or object in the room. Hold your gaze steady and let the candle flame or object become the sole focus of your mind. If your eyes water, or if you blink or get distracted, return your attention to the flame or object. Breathe naturally. After a while, you’ll begin to notice that everything around you will fade away until your only awareness is whatever you are looking at. If you’re using a candle flame, gaze into its glow for a few minutes and then, when you’re ready, blow the flame out and close your eyes. You will probably find that the image of the candle flame appears on the inside of your eyelids. Continue to watch it until it fades away.
If the image doesn’t appear, that’s okay too. Just sit for a few moments with your eyes closed, observing and appreciating the stillness of your mind.
If you’ve chosen to gaze at an object, relax your gaze and focus on the object without seeing any specific details. Don’t label what you’re seeing. If you do, gently acknowledge it, and then return your attention to the point or object. See it for what it is, without thinking about it or interpreting it. When you’re ready to end the meditation, relax your gaze away from the object and slowly return to the sensations of the room.
These are just three of the most popular meditation techniques, but there are many more. To begin with, I’d recommend ‘Following your breath’ and, even if you’re finding it difficult, please persevere and try practising it regularly for at least a few weeks. Everyone finds meditation challenging when they first begin, and you’ll also discover that some meditation sessions are easier than others. Still, it won’t take long before you start to feel meditation’s positive effects. If you eventually decide that ‘Following your breath’ isn’t right for you, try the ‘Candle gazing’ or object meditation instead.
I wish you every success in your meditation practice. If you have any questions, or if you’d like to know more about how Ayurveda can help you achieve optimum health, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Until next time, to your enduring health and happiness in Ayurveda,
1 https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/acm.2020.0177
