By Laura Adams — Last Updated: January 18, 2026

‘Tis the season of hot tea, cozy music, reflecting on the past year, and creating vision boards for the new one. However, our best laid plans are often disrupted: Enter cold and flu season stage right, in its hacking, raw-nosed glory. It yearns to be the center of our attention, and for a time, it succeeds.

Excuse me while I sage myself and cleanse the bad energy of just thinking about getting sick. Have you ever had one of those viruses that lingered so long that your usually optimistic attitude turns into pessimistic despair? If you haven’t, you are truly blessed. May you remain so.

However, for the rest of us, I've collected some mindful tricks and tips that have helped me combat many a virus while maintaining my sanity. So, rather than handing you a tissue (or maybe in addition to handing you a tissue), I’d like to offer my reflections. There’s nothing necessarily earth-shattering here; just tried-and-true tools from a chronically ill human who tries earnestly to minimize the acute illnesses.

Nutrition, as you might imagine, leads the charge against illness. However, as a mindfulness teacher, and more importantly, as a mindfulness student, I take presence seriously. I am devoted to experiencing a holistic life while I’m on this planet. Therefore, when I am sick, I also use tools that direct kind wishes and love to my body, my breath, and my mind.

Perhaps these tips will simply be reminders to you. Tack them on your fridge. Memorize them. Use them how you’d like. Roll ‘em up into a ball and cough into them.

Either way, grab a tall glass of water and read on. Hydration, after all, is essential.

I would like to preface this with an acknowledgement that I am not a doctor and, while I am trained in ayurvedic medicine, I also don’t prescribe and do not offer specific recommendations without individual consultations. That said…

NUTRITION

Vitamins: Sick or not sick, a daily vitamin supplement can help give your body what it needs in sickness and in health. I make sure my supplement has vitamin C (which helps to protect against immune deficiencies and may shorten the duration of colds) and zinc (which supports immune cells). Zinc can also fight off pathogens in the first place. I make sure my supplement includes vitamin D, for its immune function benefits. Everyone living in a four-season state runs the risk of vitamin D deficiency during the winter months because we aren’t outdoors as much, and when we are, the angle of the sun may be too low to prompt our bodies to make their own vitamin D.

Hydration: Remember I said hydration was essential? Well, I’m dropping that truth bomb again. I water myself like a thirsty houseplant when I’m sick because it’s a natural cleanser to the body and helps our organs flush out toxins, infections, and illness. More specifically, water transports nutrients to our immune cells, loosens congestion, and supports the proper functioning of every system in our body.

I know it’s not the most interesting beverage, but sticking to water during a cold or flu is transformative. I am even careful of drinking anything else that might quench my thirst but not hydrate me as much as water does. I might add flavored electrolyte powder to my H2O to make sure I replenish any minerals I have lost, but the key here is WATER. Pure. Simple. Life giving.

Warm salt water: Gargling a tablespoon of salt in a cup of warm water, three to four times daily, helps to soothe a sore throat. It gets me off my couch, too, which can be a fun adventure when I’m wallowing in self-pity.

Honey: It coats the throat like a warm jacket. When not highly processed, it is also an antioxidant, which helps with cell damage, and has anti-microbial properties.

Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Postbiotics: Gut health is deeply connected to our immune systems. Each microbiome is unique. Find a supplement that works for your gut. I have a brand that works for me; I suggest you reach out to a healthcare professional or deep dive into your own research. Healthy bacteria can be found in many foods, too, and you may not need to rely on a pill form at all. My gosh, it would be lovely if you didn’t. I am just not so lucky with my Crohn’s-ridden microbiome and my inability to absorb certain nutrients from food alone.

YOGA MOVEMENTS

I need daily movement. One of the worst parts about being sick is not being able to move the way I want to. However, I always remember: if you’re not running a fever and nothing is broken, it’s important to move your body and maintain your strength.

Congestion doesn’t lend itself to a lot of forward folds – they can lead to headaches. I also don’t necessarily like supine postures for the same reason. However, I do generally recommend the following simple postures:

Cat/Cow: Stretching the spine and hips is a must when you’re spending most of your time on your butt or on your back, which is what most of us do when sick. Be gentle with yourself, though. Don’t force anything.

Mindful walking: Stroll back and forth across your mat or the room you’re in. Pay attention to balance and the way your feet feel underneath you. Our bodies respond to our kind attention.

Quarter Sun Salutations: Sweep your arms up in a circle above your head and bring them to rest in prayer in front of your heart. I do 5-10 of these depending on how strong I’m feeling.

Standing Banana Pose: This pose creates lateral space in your spine and opens up your chest and thus your lungs.

Shaking: Lightly jump around and move your limbs to reset your lymph system and to calm your nervous system, which is likely stressed because you’re sick.

MANTRAS AND AFFIRMATION

I love a good word or string of words put together, sick or not. You can add prayer, mantras, or affirmations to your yoga movements, or engage with mantras on their own. These are my go-to “I’m sick of being sick” mantras to help turn my frown upside down:

I am resting and at ease.

I am honoring my health.

I deserve this time and attention.

I am a human being in this moment, and that is enough.

I am capable of health.

This, too, shall pass.

All is well. All will be well.

I am not alone.

I am strong and capable.

I am finding my peace.

Stillness is power.

Nothing is forever.

I am loving myself through this.

The universe is with me.

I am blessed to be able to heal.

I am ridding myself of illness.

MINDFULNESS TECHNIQUES AND BREATHWORK

I am the first to admit that it’s incredibly hard to stay present when you’re in pain or hating your body for the infection it’s fighting when you have a cold or flu. But mindfulness asks us to be fully in the moment without judgement or shame; simply witnessing what is. Therefore, a body scan once or twice a day while you’re resting can be a compassionate journey to explore.

When exploring a body scan, simply direct your attention to every part of you and check in with how it feels. How do your toes feel? How do your legs feel? How is your pelvis? Your chest? How does your back body feel?

Let the answers arise, and be neutral to them. Chances are, you’re not going to like some of the answers, but that’s okay. Maybe when you do your body scan the next day, the answers will be ones that bring you joy or hope. If they’re not, know that you’re giving yourself a gift just by checking in. And, the more you embrace the body scan exercise during illness, the more you’re able to witness the pathway of your healing. Imagine that…a week into your body scan and your nose says, “I feel great.” That’s a happy day for everyone.

Breathwork can be tricky when you’re sick. Illness is rarely the time for more aggressive techniques like Nadi Shodhana or Ocean Breath. However, consider simply sitting with the natural breath and checking in with any emotions it’s carrying into your body and out of your body. You could explore nourishing your body with every inhale using words like “I inhale grace, I exhale frustration”; “I inhale love; I exhale peace”; or “I inhale health; I exhale illness”.

Use whatever nourishment or words feel right to you. Just be intentional with them. Pay attention to them. Believe them. If you have a fever, maybe engage with 2:1 breath, which cools the body. Simply extend your exhale so that it is twice as long as your inhale.

You also might try balanced breathing, making your inhalations and exhalations equal length. The heart loves this balance, and it may need a little extra tending to while you are sick.

A few final tips for you for avoiding illness in the first place.

Tongue scraper: Sick or well, I use one of these every morning to rid myself of any bacteria on my tongue and as a cleansing ritual that supports the yogic principal of saucha (purity). You can purchase disposable ones or strudier ones that you wash after every use. Tongue health is important for overall health.

Neti pot or nasal spray: Also, whether I am sick or well, I use a drug-free saline spray for my nostrils once or twice a day. This keeps the sinuses hydrated, thins mucous when you’re sick, and flushes irritants and contaminates out of your nasal passages.

Rest: Our bodies function better when they are well-rested. Try to get enough sleep, and don’t apologize for sleeping longer than usual.

Cold and flu season is a burden and not a fun one. Allow yourself to gripe, grumble, and groan about it if you need to. And, in the next moment, allow yourself to heal using whichever tips and tools work for you and exploring your own.

May you be well this season.
If you aren’t well, may you trust health is on its way.
Support its arrival.
You deserve to feel strong and good.

Best wishes, dear humans.

I’m rooting for all of our health.

Practice yoga with Laura

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Laura is a yoga teacher as well as a freelance writer. Laura received her 200- and 500-hour yoga teacher trainings from Green Lotus Yoga and Healing Center. She teaches several classes a week in a variety of formats at Green Lotus. Her own practice began in 2006 as a way to connect breath to body after dealing with a stress-borne illness.