Mike was driving to work when out of the blue he was blind-sided by a car running a red light.  He was lucky he didn’t suffer a direct impact, but was still sent to the emergency room for treatment.  Mike suffered numerous back and lower body injuries.  Each of his doctors gave a different opinion on which movements and activities to stay away from to avoid perpetuating the injuries.

“Avoid high impact activities”.  “Don’t bend over”.  “Don’t turn sideways”.  Following doctors orders, Mike began to pack on the pounds because he was worried about exerting himself. 

Luckily, Mike’s physical therapist mentioned that he give yoga a try.  Mike was desperate for anything to help him get off the couch and get a little physical activity.  Only a few weeks into his yoga training, Mike was seeing major improvements.  He was becoming less stiff, losing some of that weight, and noticed his pain was subsiding.  Since overcoming his injuries, Mike has kept up with his weekly yoga routine, and is now a model of great health and fitness.

Stories like this are extremely common.  Yoga is great for limbering up the body, improving blood flow to injured areas, and burning calories.  However, there is another added benefit of yoga many aren’t aware of.  According to a UK Cancer Research study, there are large numbers of lymph vessels which are located just under your skin.  These vessels contain white blood cells and plasma, which produce bacteria and virus fighting antibodies.  With the assistance of macrophages, they are able to “devour” any germs or alien particles in your body.  This is what keeps you well, and gets you well if you do become sick.  They are vital to a healthy immune system.

It has been shown that yoga is the absolute best method for circulating lymphatic fluid.  It’s no wonder that sedentary people get sick more often than active people.  Their fluid moves at a much slower rate than the active person, leading to illness.  By practicing the art of yoga, you keep lymphatic fluid fresh by keeping a constant flow of it in your body.  In the article “The Lymph“, Roger Jahnke O.M.D. makes the claims that  movement and breathing increase the amount of lymphatic fluid produced, as well as its movement around the body.  Two key components of yoga are movement and breathing.  Is it any wonder that people who practice yoga are healthier individuals?

So, what do you do when you suffer an accident like Mike? What’s your plan when your knee is throbbing from that old basketball injury?  Or you are sick and tired of constantly getting colds and other irritating sicknesses.  Yoga is the answer.  Your future health is determined upon how well you know how to take care of yourself.  You now know that moving lymphatic fluid and increasing blood flow to injured body parts is key to a lifetime of good health and fitness.  Combine yoga with proper diet to realize less sick days, less time lost due to injuries, and a long, happy life.

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Matt

Co-Founder at Share It Fitness

Matt has been involved in the fitness industry for over 10 years and has worked with, and helped countless individuals improve their lives. After college, Matt started his fitness career working in the trenches as a personal trainer for a big corporate gym. It was here he saw how impersonal Big Fitness really was. Clients weren't people, they were just sales waiting to be made. After branching out and starting his own personal training business in San Diego, Matt soon developed the idea of Share It Fitness and started our (now highly successful) blog. A fitness junkie himself, Matt knows the importance of incorporating exercise into your life. When he isn't working at Share It Fitness, you can find Matt running, biking, taking yoga, or pumping iron around San Diego.

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