Yoga Practice Is Beneficial for Maintaining Healthy Lifestyle and Endurance Under Restrictions and Stress Imposed by Lockdown During COVID-19 Pandemic.
Raghuram Nagarathna, Akshay Anand, Manjari Rain, Vinod Srivastava, Madhava Sai Sivapuram, Ravi Kulkarni, Judu Ilavarasu, Manjunath N K Sharma, Amit Singh, Hongasandra Ramarao Nagendra
Frontiers in psychiatry January 1, 2021 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.613762 via PubMed
Summary
Practicing yoga during the COVID-19 lockdown in India was associated with better physical and mental health outcomes compared to non-yoga practitioners. Among 23,290 valid survey responses, 9,840 were from individuals who practiced yoga. The yoga group reported less anxiety, stress, and fear, along with improved coping strategies and sleep quality. Those practicing meditation within the yoga group had even better mental health. Overall, yoga may help reduce stress and improve immunity during health crises.
Study at a glance
| Design | cross-sectional survey |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 23,890 |
| Population | individuals in India who practiced yoga during the COVID-19 lockdown |
| Key finding | Yoga practitioners showed less anxiety, stress, and fear, and had better coping strategies than non-yoga practitioners. |
Abstract
Uncertainty about Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and resulting lockdown caused widespread panic, stress, and anxiety. Yoga is a known practice that reduces stress and anxiety and may enhance immunity. This study aimed to (1) investigate that including Yoga in daily routine is beneficial for physical and mental health, and (2) to evaluate lifestyle of Yoga practitioners that may be instrumental in coping with stress associated with lockdown. This is a pan-India cross-sectional survey study, which was conducted during the lockdown. A self-rated scale, COVID Health Assessment Scale (CHAS), was designed by 11 experts in 3 Delphi rounds (Content valid ratio = 0.85) to evaluate the physical health, mental health, lifestyle, and coping skills of the individuals. The survey was made available digitally using Google forms and collected 23,760 CHAS responses. There were 23,290 valid responses (98%). After the study's inclusion and exclusion criteria of yogic practices, the respondents were categorized into the Yoga (n = 9,840) and Non-Yoga (n = 3,377) groups, who actively practiced Yoga during the lockdown in India. The statistical analyses were performed running logistic and multinomial regression and calculating odds ratio estimation using R software version 4.0.0. The non-Yoga group was more likely to use substances and unhealthy food and less likely to have good quality sleep. Yoga practitioners reported good physical ability and endurance. Yoga group also showed less anxiety, stress, fear, and having better coping strategies than the non-Yoga group. The Yoga group displayed striking and superior ability to cope with stress and anxiety associated with lockdown and COVID-19. In the Yoga group, participants performing meditation reportedly had relatively better mental health. Yoga may lead to risk reduction of COVID-19 by decreasing stress and improving immunity if specific yoga protocols are implemented through a global public health initiative.