Yoga Therapy in the Time of Covid-19
The State of Yoga Therapy Today
Yoga Therapy is any yoga technique used to systematically address physical injury or pain, or mental and emotional stress or trauma. Yoga Therapy has evolved as one of the most reliable, authentic, and efficient health care systems available in society today.
The Healthcare and Public Health Sector is large, diverse and spans both the public and private sectors. The expanding field of Yoga Therapy includes a wide variety of practitioners and organizations.
It has become part of Integrative Medicine, another sub-specialty of the Internal Medicine department. Less than two decades ago, only 3 out of 140 medical schools in the U.S. had a department of Integrative Medicine; now about 100 medical schools have the sub-specialty. About 65 medical school teaching programs have fellowships in Integrative Medicine, and 26 of them have been approved by the American Board of Integrative Medicine.
In 1998, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) established a full-strength federal agency, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), and included Yoga as a part of CAM treatment. This organization is now known as NCCIH (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health). As Dr. Wayne Jonas, integrative family physician and former president and CEO of the Samueli Institute, notes, “Some of the best medical centers in the country now offer yoga therapy, including the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the Mayo and Cleveland Clinics.”
Yoga Therapists also work in other settings, including privately with clients, in yoga studios and online.
Working with a Yoga Therapist During the Pandemic
Research and therapeutic strategies for COVID-19 have focused on treatments to attack the virus or immunize against it. This leaves aside the condition of the host - one of the most important factors in disease advancement.
The spread of Covid-19 has brought up fear, panic, anxiety, and stress - all commonly touted reasons to practice yoga. Poor mental health conditions, including stress and depression, are known to increase the risk of acute respiratory infections. Rising numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths has raised the stress and anxiety level for many of us, while loneliness and depressive feelings are being felt from a larger number of the population due to mandatory social distancing measures. Consideration of the mind is another characteristic of Yoga Therapy. Measures for mental health including pranayama and meditation are a key aspect of the yoga therapy practice. Pranayama is also known to improve lung function. Meditation is found to reduce inflammation markers and influence markers of virus-specific immune response. The Harvard School of Medicine, one of the U.S.'s leading medical schools, has recommended yoga, meditation and controlled breathing to address anxiety issues related to the novel coronavirus that has now spread across America.
At the time of writing this article the San Francisco Bay Area is still under Shelter in Place orders. When the orders are eased we all have some important decisions to make about how who we are in physical proximity to. This brings up the question of what the most valuable and necessary activities are for each of us to stay healthy. This universal disruption is an opportunity, albeit an extraordinarily painful one, for us to learn the difference between reaction and response. We can react to the pandemic with fear and anxiety or we can use our understanding of our personal health needs, government guidelines and caution to guide our decisions about when to continue with the normal activities of life.
Further recommended readings and references
Public Health Approach of Ayurveda and Yoga for COVID-19 https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/acm.2020.0129
Application of Yoga Therapy into Healthcare
Dilip Sarkar, MD, FACS, CAP, C-IAYT
https://www.yogaville.org/2018/07/09/applying-yoga-therapy-healthcare/