Health View—Meditation & Yoga Boost Immunity

By Linda Knittle

If you want to strengthen your immune system, just quiet your mind and breathe, says a new study published in Psychosomatic Medicine. In the study, people who performed eight weeks of meditation training had a stronger immune response to a flu vaccine and possibly more positive thoughts than those who didn’t meditate.

The study followed 48 healthy people, half of whom were randomly chosen to receive weekly meditation training and were encouraged to meditate on their own for an hour a day, six days a week, with the help of instructive audiotapes. All study participants received a flu vaccine. In the end, the brains of those who meditated were found to have significantly more activity in the area of positive emotions. Furthermore, their bodies produced more flu-fighting cells, making them better prepared to fight off illness.

Just how meditation increases immunity is still unclear, although a key player seems to be deep, rhythmic breathing. Deep breathing stimulates the flow of lymph, which circulates throughout the body, delivering immune cells to sites of activity and removing toxins from tissues and organs. What’s more, studies have shown that oxygen deficiency potentially brought about by shallow breathing can actually decrease immune function.

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