From the October 2012 issue of Runner’s World

Practise yoga leading into a goal race

We know that physical stress weakens our immune systems, but psychological stress can too. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has discovered the mechanism behind that response: stress makes the immune system respond by creating inflammation, and constant inflammation is bad for the body because it can lead to heart disease, asthma and auto-immune disorders.

If you have an upcoming goal race and you don’t want to get sick, try working some gentle yoga into your routine, remembering to take slow, deep breaths.

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