Building Precious Immunity

Hug a tree to build your Ojas, they said.

Tree, photo by A.MacMullan

My teachers in ‘Ayurveda and Immunity’ at Prema Yoga Institute are sharing ways to retain and build your vigor and resiliency that is the root of our immunity.

Ojas is an Ayurvedic concept and refers to that shield that helps us ward off stress and sickness. When our Ojas is good we have a glowing complexion, a sense of well-being, the ability to endure, and a feeling of lightness in body and mind.

A person with high Ojas

On the other hand, when we have low Ojas, we feel depleted. Signs of low Ojas include:

• Dry skin

• Cold hands and feet

• Sensitivity to light and sound

• Muscle or joint pain

• Heaviness in body and mind

• Drowsiness or fatigue

• Tendency to get sick frequently

• Lack of focus

• Anxiety

• Constant negative attitude

“We must guard our Ojas like a savings account,” Ayurvedic practitioner Julia Abramova says, taking care not to withdraw too much and potentially experience depletion and eventually disease. 

So how to you build up your Ojas if it’s depleted?

Recipe by Julia Abramova, Jyoti Yoga and Healing

• Strengthen your digestive fire (get on a good eating routine, don’t overeat, etc)

• Eat Ojas-building foods that are sweet, heavy, smooth, cool, stable (avocados, bananas, soaked dates, soaked raisins, fresh figs, sweet potatoes, mung beans, ghee, milk, almonds)

• Do restorative yoga

• Rest! All healing begins in rest.

• Practice Abhyanga or Self-massage with Oils

• Practice Pratyahara - disconnect from sensory overload

• Walk in the moonlight

• Forest bathing

So here’s a suggestion: go stand in nature and put yourself on “receive” mode, taking in the soothing sounds, gentle air, and life force of the beings around you. Drink in the beauty that surrounds you. Build your Ojas!

Sunsets are a marvelous way to drink in Ojas

Resources:

• Ayurveda and Immunity Course, Prema Yoga Institute

• Julia Abramova, E-RYT500, Founder and Program Director of Jyoti Yoga & Healing, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT)
  
  

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Ann Grace MacMullan is a yoga teacher and owner at Team Sun Wellness, a Philadelphia-based company whose mission is to help people of all walks of life take care of themselves through mindful movement and focused breathing. She is also a yoga therapy student at Prema Yoga Institute.

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