How to Keep your Immune System Buzzing

There are many things you can do to keep your immune system buzzing and prevent coming down with colds and flu. Here is just a brief outline:

1. Listen to your thoughts and watch your language. What are your beliefs about seasonal flu, so-called "swine" flu, and your susceptibility? What are your ideas about whether you need to have a flu shot to keep yourself free of illness? 

First, commit to being aware of what you are thinking about. Then if you notice a negative prediction (like "I'm bound to catch the flu" or "I'm afraid I'll get it because I didn't get a shot in time") you can change the thought immediately. Some people suggest saying "cancel" after noticing a thought which leads to an outcome you don't like.

Reformulate your thought to something like "I have a well-balanced immune system." "I trust my body and know that even if I'm exposed to this virus my immune system can eliminate the virus and keep me well." "I know what to do to support my body: getting plenty of rest, exercising, eating well, and transforming the stress I can't avoid."

Avoid listening to media broadcasts that underscore the severity or spread of the flu or the scarcity of the vaccine. If you do hear this kind of commentary, sink down to a deeper level, and focus your attention inward. What do you notice? What emotions did these statements conjure? Hold the focus of your attention internally on the energies that got stirred up, wherever you feel that in your body, particularly below the neck. Just by focusing your attention there, that energy will dissiipate. Suppressing emotions takes energy. That depletes the store of vital qi, weakening the immune system.

2. Stretch from the inside out. Stretch in multiple directions. Stretch first thing in the morning and last thing at night. The body's cells and systems needs plenty of space in order to function optimally. We tend to collapse our posture during the day, especially in sedentary jobs sitting in front of a computer.

One good stretch is called Separating Heaven and Earth, or sometimes Connecting Heaven and Earth. Start by placing both hands on your thighs and feel the energy from your palms flow through your legs and feet into the earth for grounding. Then circle the arms up over head and bring them to a prayerful position in front of your sternum. Next, reach one hand toward the ceiling, palm flat and the opposite hand toward the floor or ground, palm facing down. Stretch both arms, moving the hands back slightly to open up the shoulders. As you inhale look to the up-stretched arm. As you exhale, turn your gaze toward the lowered hand. Repeat at least 3 times. (adapted from Energy Medicine by Donna Eden)

A second excellent stretch: Place your thumbs facing forward at the waist and your fingers pointing toward your spine. Your fingers cover the latissimus dorsi muscle, which is ruled by the spleen meridian and thus relates to the immune system. Inhale as you draw your elbows back and toward each other, opening up the chest. Keep the chin tucked in. This stretches and connects the central and governing meridians and opens up the lungs. It will correct many energetic imbalances. (after Donna Eden's Energy Medicine).

A third stretch, called Spinal Cord Breathing,  (taught by Mantak Chia) is similar to the latissimus dorsi stretch. Raise your arms in loose fists to either side of your ears. As you inhale, pull your shoulders and elbows back, rounding your spine forward by pressing the sternum forward while arching the lower spine. As you exhale, keep your shoulders aligned with your hips. Make the letter "C" with your spine, rounding each vertebra out behind you and bringing your elbows forward until your lower arms meet, from elbow to knuckles. This opens the lungs, encouraging deep breathing. It also exercises and opens the entire spine. All along the spine are "shu" points, each connecting energetically to an internal organ. There are also neurolymphatic relfex points in this pathway that, when stimulated, help move the lymph in the internal organs, and assist in detoxifying the body. This exercise stimulates the bladder meridian which runs down from the head along both sides of the spine and communicates with the nervous system, which in turn communicates with every organ and cell. Spinal Cord Breathing pumps spinal cord fluid up to the brain, bringing more clarity to thinking.

3. BREATHE. The stretches listed above all enhance breathing naturally. If you are working at a computer, set a timer to remind you to stop and take a deep breath every ten minutes or so. Often we hold our breath without even noticing. Virus', bacteria, and other pathogens cannot survive in a well-oxygenated body.

BREATHE from the belly. Squeeze the belly in toward the spine on the exhale to release air from the base of the lungs where the most efficient oxygen exchange takes place. Let the belly relax on the inhale.

Imagine that you are BREATHING in from the base of your feet up to your belly. Then hold the chi in your belly as your release the air on the outbreath.

4. Flush the lung meriidian - trace it backwards once and forwards 3 times. (look for a graphic of the lung meridian on this site).

5. Flush the spleen meridian - as for the lung, trace it backwards once and forwards 3 times. (again, you can find a graphic of the meridian on this site.)

6. Tap the end points of all the meridians. Trace them in the order that they flow naturally, related to clock time. ie. starting at 9 AM: start and end by tracing central and govenring (or if you know it, do a few rounds of the microcosmic orbit). Then trace the meridians in this order: Spleen, Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidney, Pericardium, Triple Heater, Gall Bladder, Liver, Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen again. End as you began with Central and then Governing. 

This set of practices will take only 10 to 15 minutes. You can use any or all of them to refresh your energy throughout the day. Pay close attention to your state. If you're getting tired, don't push to do one more thing, but stop and take a short break.

Tune in. What you are thinking? What are you feeling? ,Are you breathing deeply? Make the little changes and adjustments that will keep you alert and feeling chipper and your immune system will serve you well.