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Before the holidays, my whole crew was getting sick—laying in bed with runny or blocked noses, sneezing and coughing, some even with shivers and a fever. Except me.

I’m that type of person who rarely gets sick, but when I do it’s really bad and is always based on emotional reasons. Even if I work outside all winter long, planting my little trees in rain, snow, and -2 degree weather, the worst I get is a runny nose and some coughs here and there.

One of my friends said it must be because I am a yoga teacher and have studied holistic health. I thought it was so funny, as others agreed to that, to believe that yoga teachers just never get sick because they live super healthy and their “yogic” immune system would never let them down.

“Look at her, she only eats vegetables! She never gets sick!”

True, eating healthy does magic for everyone—ginger shots with lemon, orange, and turmeric, adding garlic to everything, and lots of fluids are my go-to choices. Yoga does help strengthen your immune system, especially Kundalini, which will work with the body’s stored energy if we know how to use it.

I learned this Kundalini breathing technique, which I call my “immune booster breath,” in my yoga teacher training in India. It helps to give an extra boost of energy, and the best thing is we don’t need to breath through our nose to do this—so even if we’re stuffed it’s super easy to do.

This is how to practice the “immune booster breath”:

>> Shape your lips in an O-like form, like you are sucking on an invisible straw.

>> Inhale and exhale through your mouth. You can go slow or make it a bit more forceful, as is comfortable for your lungs.

>> At first, it may feel like you’re hyperventilating but then you will feel a rush of energy.

>> Keep doing it for as long as it feels comfortable: one to three minutes, or even more.

I practice this breath while sitting up straight, eyes closed, and concentrating on my third eye. I’ve managed to get it up to five minutes by now, and my symptoms usually disappear immediately.

I’ve also noticed that it is much easier to cure a cold or stop a starting flu if, instead of fighting the symptoms and getting upset or denying the fact that I am getting sick, I simply sit with my body and feelings and accept that I am getting sick.

I love to check in with my body and soul to see if there’s anything I’ve neglected that’s causing me to get sick. Usually, that helps me find the emotional root of the issue, like staying too long in a toxic environment, avoiding discussing issues with a friend, not speaking up about injustices at work, or too much gossiping with coworkers.

Hope this helps you cure your cold or flu, and gets you back to normal as soon as possible!

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