The last thing you may want to do when you feel illness coming on is to exercise. But when you feel that tickle in your throat or swollen glands in your throat, a bit of calming, restorative exercise can be just the thing. Yoga is a common choice for that time when you tilt your head back, touch the hollows of your neck and feel that your glands have become swollen.
Swollen Glands
Lymph nodes are an integral part of your body's immune system. The tiny glands located throughout the body are receptors for lymph, a fluid that rids you of toxins and is responsible for drainage throughout the body, according to the Mayo Clinic. When these glands become clogged from illness, stress or other infection, they can't move fluid along productively. This is when the glands become swollen and tender, according to Yoga Journal. There are a few yoga postures that can help.
Why Yoga Helps
For many people, yoga has connection to the spiritual world as well as that of gyms and exercise. The ancient practice from India was used as part of a devotional lifestyle and to warm up the body for long periods of meditation. For this reason and the slow, deliberate nature of the movements, the exercise allows the body a time and place to truly relax, according to Yoga Basics.
Beneficial Postures
Postures that calm the body are best for stress-related illness. These include the restful child's pose, corpse pose and seated forward bends. Inversions, or postures that turn the body upside down, are best for swollen lymph nodes in the neck. By moving the body into headstand or shoulder stand, you reverse the flow of lymph in the body. This allows the fluid to rush to areas of the body it usually has to work hardest, and against gravity, to reach -- the head and neck, according to Yoga Basics.
Lifestyle
Though yoga can aid the body with a number of ills, it is not a replacement for seeing a physician. If the lymph nodes in your neck remain swollen for more than a few days, visit your doctor. Swollen glands can indicate more serious conditions. Always balance your yoga practice with a healthful diet and regular visits to your doctor for the fittest, most well you.
