more yoga to help with immunity

more breathing techniques 

to build up our life force

give us more energy and vitality

and help manage asthma

throat health

The yoga lion pose is excellent to helping us have a healthier throat. Sometimes in life, when we have "no voice" in our situation, we can mysteriously start getting a sore or inflammed throat. And of course we can have a family history (DNA) of tonsillitis problems; or we can be infected with a virus which attacks our throat.

The lion pose is excellent for us:

• finding our voice again. I did it for may years, found my voice again and seldom had throat problems during this time
• creating a movement of energy, and this too helps with speech
• develops a strong speaking voice 
• develops our singing voice
• and firms our face 

This can be done on the floor, and for those who can't do that, just sit on a chair with your knees apart. Put your hands on your knees.

Or:

Sit in a kneeling position with your knees wide and feet go inwards towards each other. Place your hands palms down on the floor with your fingers pointing back towards your body, arms straight. This stretches the lung meridian so it indirectly affects the lungs. 

Inhale, then lean a bit forward. With the exhale:

• open your mouth wide
• extend your tongue down towards the floor
• look up
• stretch your whole face wide, up and down
• as you do this, roar loudly on the exhale

You may like to have a deep breath in and out, before repeating, or just inhale deeply then go into the next exhale. Do three to five lion breaths.

mouth health

You can buy tongue scrapers for this. However I used a small spoon for about seven years before I had a scraper. Basically, first thing each morning, scrape your tongue with the edge of the spoon (and of course you can use a bigger one) from back to front, rinsing it after each scrape. You will be amazed at the gunk that comes off. This also helps with our sense of taste, which is important.

more bhastrika

This is a more dramatic version, and it gives a cooling effect to the lungs, so for very mild inflammation you could try this. However some people have adverse effects with coolness in the lungs, so use your common sense here. 

Open your mouth maybe a centimetre or more and breathe rapidly in and out of your mouth. You will find that you are naturally pumping your abdominals. One to two breaths per second is what we are aiming for.

You can just do this bhastrika if it suits you better, or do it after your poses. It is very dynamic and will keep you awake so is not for evening.

caveat

If any of these techniques that I have given you in this three part breathing for The Lockdown series, do not make you feel good, then don't do them. I mean it. Yoga is supposed to make us feel better on all levels, and this definitely includes our health.

Not every yoga practice is suited to every single person. 

With the bhastrikas and kapalabhati, excluding mukha bhastrika, even just twenty repetitions of each, done every day if you can, will give fantastic results. Doing a little often is of more benefit than doing a big session once or twice a week.