What is the role of Yoga during the pandemic?
The past year has been a difficult one for the entire world. With the world in a very delicate state, it can be overwhelming at times to think about what could happen. However, this is a very important time to take care of yourself and stay healthy. Not only should you keep your body healthy to avoid coming down with the virus, but you need to keep your mind healthy as well.
It is imperative that you keep your mind and body active during this time because if not, you may just go crazy. Or at least succumb to some anxiety or depression related to the pandemic. So how can you ensure that your body and mind stay healthy? Well, yoga is one way to do this.
Yoga has been around for centuries and has been used as a healing practice for a long time. It is so much more than exercise and can truly be an amazing practice to incorporate into your daily or weekly routine. So how can yoga keep us healthy during the pandemic? This article will look at some of the many ways that yoga can keep us healthy during this trying time.
There are several reasons why yoga is an excellent practice to incorporate into your routine, not the least of which have to do with the global pandemic going on currently. Let’s take a look at how it can keep us healthy right now.
Benefits of Yoga During Pandemic
Yoga can help you get better sleep
While many more of us are working from home these days, the sedentary lifestyle has become a reality. Believe it or not, remaining inactive all day long can lead to poor sleep patterns. Yoga and meditation can help you get a great night’s sleep by relaxing your mind and body. Yoga is especially helpful because it gets your body moving as it relaxes your mind, making sleep come more naturally and helping you to wind down. If you practice in the morning, your body gets up and moving and is ready for the rest of the day, and by bedtime, it is ready to get some rest. If you practice in the evening, your body is relaxed and ready to go to bed. It is important to remember that if you are practicing later in the day or at night, then try to end the session with some relaxing poses that will wind your body and mind down and prepare them for rest. If you are looking for more meditative practice, then you can take only a few poses to prepare yourself for bed. Yoga does not always have to be a lot of movement. Finding meditation in stillness is still a beautiful way to practice yoga, especially to prepare your body and mind for sleep.
Yoga helps you relax
With so much uncertainty in the world right now, anxiety is running high. However, yoga poses have long been known to combat stress and anxiety. The physical practice of postures releases endorphins, boosting your mood, and relieving stress. It has also been shown to reduce cortisol which is your body’s main stress hormone. Simply by practicing yoga, your body, and mind can relax, meaning that your anxiety levels will go way down. In the midst of a pandemic, relaxation is key to maintaining calmness and sanity.
Yoga can increase your heart health
In a typical yoga practice, you will be practicing sun salutations. These, along with other postures and movements, will increase your heart rate which builds strength. Yoga is a great way to keep your heart healthy and strong. With so many people leading sedentary lifestyles these days (i.e. working on a computer all day long), heart health is increasingly important. Be sure to get up and move. Yoga is an excellent way to do that. Practicing just once or twice a week can help your heart stay healthy.
Yoga can help you maintain a positive mindset
Again, exercise increases endorphins which boosts your mood. Yoga is no exception. The regular practice of yoga is shown to create a more positive mindset by increasing the endorphins released into your brain, as well as increasing relaxation and decreasing anxiety and stress. People who regularly practice yoga tend to have a more positive outlook on life, which is incredibly important during the pandemic. Maintaining a positive mindset can really help you deal with everything that is going on at the moment.
Final thoughts
These are only a few of the several ways that yoga can help keep us healthy during a pandemic. Yoga is an amazing practice to incorporate into your life for many reasons, and not only during a pandemic but always. So, roll out your cork yoga mat and start practicing!
Namaste, yogis!