Effective Ayurveda & Yogic Tips

Effective Ayurveda & Yogic Tips for Fighting Colds & Flu

Ayurvedic Treatment for Cold & Flu

Yoga Tips for Cold & Flu

The free November Mastery of Meditation newsletter included these useful Ayurvedic and Yogic tips for battling the common cold and flu, which I think is worth sharing with all of you given many of us are smack in the middle of a rough winter season.  If you would like to sign up for the Meditation newsletter, just enter your email at the top left corner of the page.

Ayurveda Remedy for Cough & Colds:
 
According to Ayurveda, colds are a Kapha and Vata disorder and the best herbal remedy for overcoming them is ginger.  There are many concoctions you can make using ginger, all of which would be useful, but the following is my choice as it is one that tastes good, so even your kids won’t mind taking it.

Effective Ayurveda & Yogic Tips

 
Mix 1/4 teaspoon of ginger powder and 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric powder, with enough honey to make a paste in a tablespoon.  Then take by licking slowly.  The ginger will help soothe the cough and cold, the honey will help the throat and the turmeric will act as an antiseptic.  It is the medicine of choice at my house in winter .
 
Another variation which is also excellent for cough and colds, is to take the same portions of ginger powder, turmeric powder and a teaspoon of honey, in about 2 ounces of hot water, as the last thing before sleeping.  This is also a very effective remedy.
 
Yoga Remedy for Colds:

To help fight off colds and better still, to help prevent them in the first place, practice Kapalbhati Pranayama.  This pranayama is one of the best ways to boost your health and immune system.  It also generates heat in the body to offset the Kapha/Vata imbalance and helps clear of system of congestion.

Another pranayama that is great for battling colds and flus, boosting internal heat, detoxifying and building your immune system is the potent Kundalini Yoga Breath of Fire Breathing Exercise

Stay warm, stay healthy stay happy!

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15 replies
  1. Gandhi
    Gandhi says:

    Thanks for the information for the Cold. Sir, In my case at least once in an year i get cold in spite of my regular practice of Yoga n Pranayama. I simply go for fasting for a full day managing with only coconut water, plain water boiled and brought to normal temperature and recently i tried mosambi juice and it all works. From the very next day you will be out of cold. Same thing applies for fever also. Even for indigestion, infection, flatulence etc problems I go for fasting.

    Reply
  2. Bhavna
    Bhavna says:

    Hi Anmol, I am 52 years old and whenever I sit in meditation or do any deep breathing exercises I get hot flashes. Should I continue and just observe? Fantastic website really informative.

    In peace

    Bhavna

    Reply
  3. XYZ
    XYZ says:

    Satnam, maybe deepbreathing exercise like pranayam might spread cold infection to sinus thus causing sinusitis, which is a very problematic thing, afterwards the pranayam will not be of any help to cure sinusitis. But in any case Pranayam helps in decongestion…

    Reply
  4. how to get rid of cold
    how to get rid of cold says:

    Very interesting. I’d like to share an interesting quote about health. “A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.”

    Reply
  5. Rajesh
    Rajesh says:

    Hi Anmol,
    Can you advise as to the recommended daily dosage of your ginger-turmeric-honey concoction. I find it useful but would like to know if it would create excess heat in the body? I have cough and its peak summer time in Delhi.
    Regards,
    Rajesh

    Reply
  6. santam
    santam says:

    I was told by an Ayuruedic practitioner that deep breathing exercises during a cold will spread infection. I was advised to put off until feeling better. Has anyone else heard of this?

    Reply
  7. Anmol Mehta
    Anmol Mehta says:

    Hi Chris,

    Thanks for your suggestion. It is consistent with Ayurvedic treatment as Cayenne would be good for raising heat in the system and fighting cold.

    Cheers,
    Anmol

    Reply
  8. Anmol Mehta
    Anmol Mehta says:

    Hi Prateek / Mkhegde,

    Thank you both for sharing your techniques and experiences with us. All three of the mentioned techniques are excellent and certainly very helpful. In fact these three techniques are a part of my daily routine :-D.

    Best,
    Anmol

    Reply
  9. mkhegde
    mkhegde says:

    Hi Anmol,
    I had lot of sneezing and wheezing. I managed to cure this just by doing Kapalbhati and Anulom-Vilom pranayam. It is very effective and now I’m not looking at any antihistamine or salbutamol tablets at all and eat ice creams as well !!
    sometime I get blocked nose best way to open is to do some excercise closing the mouth so that it will automatically open up noses.
    Good luck to all
    mkhegde

    Reply
  10. Prateek
    Prateek says:

    sat nam

    I would like to share one thing that has cured my tendency to catch cold (and it used to be so much painful and sever cold).I was so prone to catching cold that i couldnot even drink cold water during summers.and here in india even when it got as hot as 46 degrees celcius,still i had to drink water kept at room temperature because if i drink even one glass of cold water i would catch cold.And my cold condition was so severe that my throat used to pain so much and it was like that i was literally afraid of cold…..what helped or rather cured this problem is practise of gagging in the morning.gagging is cleaning the tongue and the throat as the first thing in the morning with your fingers.it clears out all the accumulated mucous and “poison” out of throat and tongue and really clears out all the shit.i now dont catch cold even if i eat ice creams in winters………..the first thing that i do in the morning after waking up is gagging,and then drink water……………………so all of you who are suffering from cold might want to give it a try……jus make sure to gag till the eyes start to water……..maybe you can post a detailed post about gagging, Anmol as it is worth mentioning.

    thanks

    Reply

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