Ayurvedic Tips For Immune Health During COVID-19

Concerned about the coronavirus and want to learn how you can obtain resilient health? The ancient practice of Ayurveda is here to help!

 

COVID-19: THE FACTS

Over these past few weeks, the coronavirus, which causes an acute respiratory disease called COVID-19, has spread at an alarming rate across the world, with over 197,000+ confirmed cases to date. CNN reports that all 50 states in the USA now have confirmed cases and the European Union has decided to close its borders for 30 days. Millions across the world are on mandatory lockdown with schools closed potentially through the end of the school year, while others are taking matters into their own hands by self-quarantining to decrease the spread of the virus. 

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) explains that the coronavirus is spread when an infected person sneezes or coughs and their respiratory droplets are expelled into the air. These droplets can land in the nose and/or mouth of others who are within 6 feet, causing the virus to spread. Unfortunately, the coronavirus is highly contagious and we all should be following these basic safety protocols in order to decrease contamination:

The current state of world health and the above facts alone can easily make vata dosha rise in the body, creating feelings of anxiety, overwhelm and fear. These feelings can ultimately weaken the immune system and leave us even more vulnerable to disease. Luckily, we can all utilize the traditional healing system of Ayurveda to help regulate our stress response and keep the immune system strong and resistant to pathogens that lead to the common cold, flu and now, the coronavirus. Known as the sister science to yoga, Ayurveda is India’s 5,000 year old medical system. This ancient wisdom offers excellent preventative health care protocols, which empower all of us to take an active role in our health and wellness. 

Ayurveda explains that in order to maintain a strong and vital immune system, agni must be balanced, ama eradicated and our ojas abundant. When we are able to keep agni in balance, effectively expel ama from the body and keep ojas strong, we are able to stop disease and pathogens from moving deeply into the systems of our body.  What we especially love about Ayurveda is its strong focus on preventative medicine versus the western or allopathic medical approach which most often addresses an issue once disease has already arrived.  

There is an English proverb noted in John Gower’s 1390 poem, Confessio Amantis, that says “Don’t shut the stable door after the horse has bolted”.  Essentially, this proverb is saying that it is too late to take precautions once the damage has already been done. Hence, it is of vital importance to understand that when a disease has entered the body, it is already past the time when one should start building immunity. The implementation of building a strong and healthy immune system is ideally underway months, or even years, before a major disease or pandemic arises. This is not to say that Ayurvedic protocol to build immunity in the midst of the coronavirus is in vain. We encourage you to take this opportunity to prioritize your daily self-care and hygiene practices in order to strengthen your immune system, as a precautionary measure to protect yourself from the current health scare and any future health epidemics to come. 

 

Balance Agni for a Healthy Immune System

One of the secrets to a healthy immune system is a healthy agni. Agni is the Sanskrit term for fire. There are countless agnis, or fires, in the body which are involved in the following:

 

There are countless agnis in the body but the most important agni is called jatharagni, also known as our digestive fire. Located in the stomach, jatharagni is the most important because it affects all the other agnis. When we ingest food, jatharagni (or we can say simply, agni) metabolizes what we eat by producing hydrochloric acid in the stomach which breaks down food. During digestion and metabolism, jatharagni transforms food into vital nutrients and enzymes while also deciding what is not useful for the body, expelling it as waste. Ultimately, our body uses the produced nutrients and enzymes to generate internal heat as well as provide nourishment for the tissues and cells of the body. As you can see, our agni has  vital intelligence and transformational properties, which help to explain why Ayurveda views proper digestion as one of the Three Pillars of Life, and improper digestion to be the root cause of all disease. 

Wondering how to know if your agni is in balance? Here are some signs of a healthy agni:

 

When agni is disturbed, it can be either high, low or variable. Here are some signs of a high agni: 

 

Below are signs of low agni:

 

Variable agni can be a mixture of the above two lists and may also include the following:

 

If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, you may be experiencing an imbalanced agni. The long and short of this is that you want an agni that is not too high nor too low. Agni that is too high may result in weight loss while low agni results in ama, or a build-up of toxic residue in the body. High, low or variable agni results in the tissues of the body not receiving the vital nutrients they need to function optimally. This ultimately impairs how you feel overall and can weaken your immune system.

 

Some simple recommendations we have to get your agni healthy and back on track are:

 

Tips on How to Clear Ama

Once agni is healthy and functioning properly, the next step in supporting the immune system is to clear the body of ama. As we alluded to earlier, ama is the Sanskrit term for toxins that can build up in the body due to impaired agni. Ama creates a sticky, sludge-like residue that first accumulates in the digestive tract. If the ama is not cleared, it can move into the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body, affecting the channels, tissues and cells of the body. When ama moves deeper into the body, it is harder to eradicate and its accumulation can lead to a plethora of diseases including arthritis, candida, atherosclerosis and tumors. Thus, it is essential to cleanse the body when ama is present. Ayurveda recommends cleansing during seasonal transitions with the fall and spring equinoxes being the best times of the year. 

A traditional, gentle Ayurvedic cleanse involves a mono-diet of kitchari and can be as short as 3 days and as long as 21 days. The idea behind eating a mono-diet of kitchari is to give the digestive system a break so your body can focus on restoring other aspects of itself and expel ama. If you are new to making kitchari, please check out our recipe!

If you would like to take a deep dive into Ayurvedic cleansing, we recommend consulting with your local, qualified Ayurvedic Practitioner to see if Panchakarma is right for you. Panchakarma is a strong purification therapy which involves preparing the body for the cleanse (Purva Karma), the main techniques for elimination (Pradhan Karma) and follow up techniques for rejuvenating the body once the cleanse is complete (Praschat Karma). If you are looking for a Panchakarma Retreat Center, we highly recommend our friends at Blue Sage Ayurveda.

Some Ayurvedic daily practices we recommend to gently expel ama from the body include:

- TakeTriphala Daily! 

Triphala contains 3 superfruits from India: haritaki, amalaki and bibhitaki. When ingested, these plants have the intuitive wisdom to draw ama from the various tissues of the body and re-centralize it back into the digestive tract where it can then be expelled out through elimination. It also helps establish daily elimination and is high in Vitamin C. To learn more about the wonders of Triphala, visit our blog post: Triphala: The Superstar Superfruits of India.