Yoga therapy and COVID-19 coping

The Harvard Health Blog has listed yoga, meditation, and controlled breathing (which we might call pranayama) as helpful strategies for coping with anxiety related to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic.

Even during the most stressful times, yoga therapists help people (re)connect with their own natural inner peace—it’s in there, we promise!—sometimes by guiding them to engage in the activities that bring them joy.

A yoga therapist might also offer specific breathing practices or physical exercises (asana) that calm the nervous system. You might practice meditative techniques to consciously redirect your focus from anxious thoughts, too, but one thing you won’t find in a yoga therapy session is denial: Yoga therapy helps us to work mindfully with what’s already here, even when that reality is uncertain and uncomfortable.

Because yoga therapy is customized for every client and includes the full range of yogic practices (not just physical poses), it can be safely delivered via virtual platforms. Find an IAYT-certified yoga therapist for yourself here.

Apps are one way to get a taste of what yogic practices can do, as the Harvard Health post notes, but they’re no substitute for the expertise of an IAYT-certified yoga therapist working with you individually or in a small group, whether that’s live online or live in-person.