Immune System Resiliency With Meditation
Photo by Melissa Askew via www.unsplash.com
I’ve been reading a lot about how to support our immune systems during this time. This is where my focus has gone because I believe it will be the best way to prevent illnesses like this one in future. Having an optimally functioning immune system will serve you 1000 times over. This will not be the last “new virus” we encounter in our lifetime. We need to develop ways to create resiliency in the immune system without destroying the current mechanisms we have. Our bodies do have the power to protect us when given adequate support.
The exciting news is that there are many ways to optimize immune health from home in the comfort of PJs or yoga pants. In our home, we are using this time that was “given” to us to restore, regenerate and rebuild our systems. Here are some of things we are doing: eating loads of veggies, eating adequate amounts of high quality protein, limiting sugar, spending as much time outdoors as we can, daily exercise consitsting of strength building and cardio, doing art projects, playing music, snuggling, getting good sleep, taking immune support supplements and meditating. Wait, MEDITATING?! Before you roll your eyes or think out loud, “yeah right, who has time for that” or “I tried it once and it doesn’t do anything for me” hear me out:
Meditation is an amazing way to support yourself in this time and every time. Mind-body therapies (the medical term for treatment options that help both mind and body) are being actively studied on the regular these days. Like, legit studies from prominent research facilities. People want to know what is happening physiologically in the system when we practice mind-body therapies, we want to know what changes on a cellular level that promotes healing. Conventional medicine is coming to a point where their interventions aren’t sustainable or aren’t what people are asking for. So, even conventional doctors are looking to other forms of healing and health maintenance (whoop, Naturopathic Doctor to the rescue!)
From the medical research, it appears that mindfulness (specifically meditation) supports the immune system several ways. One of which is by increasing cells called natural killer cells. These are part of your innate (born with it) immune system. These cells are rock stars against viral infections and also help when new bacterial infections come on the scene. You really want to have a lot of these available. People who meditate have higher numbers of these cells waiting to help should you need it. People who meditate also have higher levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA) which protects the gut and lungs from infection. This is awesome because we already know that most of the immune system originates from your gut (more on this later). There are a lot of studies showing that cancer patients have better outcomes with meditation, same with people living with HIV. What is interesting to me is that meditation modulates the immune system based on what YOU need. For example, meditation effects from HIV patients showed an increase in CD4+ Tcell count but this wasn’t the case for people living without HIV. So freaking cool. In general, it seems that meditation also reduces system wide inflammation. This is something we could all use. We know that the current virus circulating has an affinity for people with high levels of inflammation. Anything to reduce that, helps you all around.
Photo Credit: Ksenia Makagonova via www.unsplash.com
Still not sure meditation is for you? That’s fair. Give it a try for the next 7 days, I’ll do it with you. I mean, it’s not like we’ve got plans…LOL.
Here’s how to begin:
Start by choosing a time of day. I like morning but pick a time that works with your schedule that you can be consistent with. Consistency and persistence over time are key to success.
Next, choose a space that you can be where people won’t bug you. I wake up early before the kids because kids don’t understand mental breaks or silent time.
Lastly, choose a method that you feel you can stick to. It’s ok to try out different methods and see what you like best. Visualization, focus on a word/sound/tone/number, turning to focus on breath, allowing thoughts to come and go without needing to “do” anything with them.
Time it: set a timer, start with 5 minutes. This way you won’t have to worry about how long you have.
Still need more help?? Here’s a list of Apps I like for your phone that can help:
Headspace
Calm
Ten Percent Happier
Zen: Meditation & Sleep
Shine
7 Days is so easy. Continue to 21 days to create a new habit. You will benefit SO MUCH from just 5 minutes a day. Your immune system, your mind and your heart will thank you. You will be a more resilient person in general. Let me know how it goes for you!
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Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5721815/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6700894/
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0100903
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4940234/