The coronavirus pandemic lasted for 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 in this regard, recommended the United Nations (UN), which in a publication in which Jon Witt, yoga teacher for two decades in Asia and the United States and specialist in therapeutic yoga , explained that this discipline is ideal for maintaining calm and good spirits in these crisis contexts, due to the fact that it is very reflective.
“When you practice yoga, whether it’s five, twenty or sixty minutes, during this time you don’t think about the pandemic, you don’t talk to anyone in the family or you feel lonely; you feel connected. It can be through a video in
YouTube, or receiving live instructions through a digital platform, is a distraction and is very enjoyable and restorative in nature, “he said.
In addition to being mentally and emotionally beneficial, yoga also brings multiple benefits to our physical health. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia states that yoga is believed to improve overall fitness as well as contribute to good posture and flexibility. And, in addition, it lists all the following merits that this discipline would have: it can reduce blood pressure and heart rate, it can help to relax and reduce stress, improve coordination, greater concentration, better sleep, faster digestion, Calm anxiety relieves back pain.
However, the National Institutes of Health in the United States indicates that there are several studies whose results suggest that yoga could be used for all of this and more, but that more research is needed to definitively corroborate them.
In this regard, Dr. Pamela Jeter, an expert in yoga research, explains that “there have been several investigations for various medical problems, but they are not enough to say for sure.”
In this regard, he points out that research has suggested, for example, that yoga could help with some medical problems, such as reducing pain and menopausal symptoms. And in studies of older adults and people with cancer, it has improved their sleep.
Jeter adds that it is also not clear which specific part of yoga is the one that brings health benefits, because this sport combines physical, mental and spiritual elements.
“There are many components to yoga. We don’t know what the active ingredient is (what causes the effects) “, Jeter emphasizes.
However, he says there are studies that look at whether yoga is useful for specific groups of people. For example, investigate whether yoga can help with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
If someone wants to practice yoga for a certain health problem, the expert recommends preferring a yoga therapist.
Yoga therapists have more extensive training than is required of a normal yoga teacher. They are trained to work with different problems and, for the most part, work individually or in small groups, ”he says.