One of the most recurring excuses that people usually employ for not to start practising yoga is that they don’t have time. Well, now, during this quarantine, that is no longer a problem, so it is the best time to start this practise that provides both mental and physical benefits. In fact, there is a sequence within the ” Iyengar yoga ” style aimed at strengthening the immune system, and it is the one that we propose you to start. But first, a little explanation to get into the matter.

Iyengar yoga, which owes its name to the master B.K.S. Iyengar, is a type of dynamic yoga, consisting of the repetition of postures (“asanas” in Sanskrit) while becoming aware of the breath (“pranayama”) and the sense organs (“pratyahara”).

B.K.S. Iyengar was born in India during the 1918 influenza pandemic, so he had a very sickly childhood. This was what introduced him to yoga. After many years of teaching yoga in India and around the world, he founded in 1975 the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in the Indian city of Pune. It was dedicated to his deceased wife, Ramamani. He was running the Institute until his death in 2014, and now it is under the supervision of his children.

This immune sequence we bring to you was given out to the students at the Institute when it was closed due to an outbreak of virulent flu, so they could continue practising at home. Once again, history repeats itself. And we have two options: to regret or to take advantage of the situation… You choose!

You can also find an example of this immune sequence on the website of the Iyengar Yoga Institute Berlin, which includes some recommendations and resources for the practice in numerous languages:

https://iyengar-yoga-berlin.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EN.Iyengar.Immune.Sequence.pdf

References:

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Iyengar

Building Immunity: Article and Sequence from RIMYI

Marta Valverde.