Management of Cold Perception through Yogic Methods

DOI: 10.8975/IJMSCI/V3/N2/15-20

Abstract

Winter bites are really hard in some parts of our country. Sometimes that very cold sensation makes us numb especially in chest region even when we are clothed properly. Cold environment may have several health benefits, however, it may be stressful to the body and can raise several health risks like, numbness, possibilities of slips, slower metabolism, heart attack, common colds, flu, sore throat, asthma, lack of coordination and many other risks depending on the cold responses and cold tolerance of the body. A sense of cold feeling may occur for other reasons also. It can be produced either by external stimulus, or due to some undesirable conditions in the body itself. Body has its own internal system of thermoregulation in response to the temperature variations to maintain the temperature homeostasis or the core body temperature neutral. However, it is observed that the human body's heat retention capacity is much less efficient than its ability to dissipate heat in cold circumstances. Yoga techniques may give additional support to the functioning of the thermoregulatory system of the body. This article is aimed to describe briefly the causes of cold perception, the internal defense mechanism of body in response to cold and some yogic practices to get relief from the same. Methods: Relevant literatures and research papers have been searched to study and find the information on the above-mentioned subject and the relevant yogic practices to manage it. This article is written based on the information obtained from them. Conclusion: Cold may cause stressful conditions to the body. Body is constantly working towards maintaining the core body temperature steady. However, we may explore to find the possible supports from yoga techniques to relief the load of the thermoregulatory system. Yoga offers a range of methods to defend the cold sensation. Though a number of studies have been done on different yogic techniques and established their positive effects on human body and mind for various physical and mental causes, but not many studies have been done on yogic management of cold sensation in the body. There are several yogic techniques which can be studied for better understanding of their functioning and effectiveness on human body to manage the cold.