The coronavirus pandemic has lasted most of 2020, a period so long that it is understandable that some people may need help to stay calm and be patient with quarantine.
Practicing yoga is one of the things that can help us do this, recommended the United Nations (UN), which in a publication in which Jon Witt, a yoga teacher in Asia and the United States for two decades and a specialist in yoga therapeutic, explained that this discipline is ideal for staying calm and cheerful during these crisis contexts, thanks to its highly reflective nature.
“When you practice yoga, be it five, twenty or sixty minutes, during that time you don’t think about the pandemic, argue with anyone in your family, or feel loneliness; you feel connected. It can be done through a video
YouTube or receiving direct instructions through a digital platform, it’s a positive distraction, and it’s naturally very pleasant and restorative, ”he said.
In addition to being beneficial in the mental and emotional aspects, yoga also brings multiple benefits to our physical health. According to the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, yoga is believed to improve overall fitness and contribute to good posture and flexibility. And besides, it lists all the following merits that this discipline would have: it can lower blood pressure and heart rate, help relax and reduce stress, improve coordination, greater concentration, better sleep, faster digestion, calm anxiety and relieve back pain.
However, the National Institutes of Health in the United States indicates that there are several studies whose results suggest that yoga can be used for all that and more, but more research is needed to definitively confirm them.
In this regard, Dr. Pamela Jeter, an entity’s expert in yoga research, explains that “there have been several studies for different medical problems, but there isn’t enough to say for sure.”
In this sense, he points out that, for example, research has suggested that yoga can help with some medical problems, such as reducing pain and menopausal symptoms. And in studies of older adults and people with cancer, it improved their sleep.
Jeter adds that it is also not clear which specific part of yoga provides the health benefits, as this sport combines physical, mental and spiritual elements.
“There are many components to yoga. We don’t know what the active ingredient is (causing the effects), ”Jeter emphasizes.
However, he says there are studies analyzing whether yoga is beneficial for specific groups of people. For example, they are investigating whether yoga can help with psychological problems such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
If someone wants to practice yoga for a specific health problem, the expert recommends giving preference to a yoga therapist.
Yoga therapists have undergone more extensive training than a normal yoga teacher needs. They are trained to work with a variety of problems and usually work individually or in small groups, ”he says.