IMPACT OF YOGA ON STRESS LEVEL DURING COVID-19

Abstract

Background: Globally, the COVID-19 epidemic has raised tension, worry, and depression, increasing worries about mental health difficulties. Fear, disease perception, beliefs, and physical and mental health condition all have an impact on mental health decline. Through asanas, pranayama, and satsang, yoga, a nonpharmaceutical treatment, can improve physical and mental wellbeing. Yoga improves psychological well-being by regulating cytokine levels and modulating immunological responses under stress. It helps to stabilise the psycho-physiological process, helping the body and mind to retain or restore balance in the face of disruptive events such as stress. Yoga develops innate inner qualities such as immunity and homeostatic balance.
Objective: This study examines the impact of yoga on mental well-being among the general population during the COVID19 epidemic.
Methodology: The study was conducted under the guidance of Department of Physiology at the Rajasthan, India. The study survey was carried out for a month from 1-31 July 2023. A total 100 females were enrolled for the study. All subject divided into two groups equally. The group A consists 50 females who were practicing Yoga sessions for many years and who continued this practice during the COVID-19 pandemic thrice a week. The group B consists 50 females who were non-Yoga practitioners.
Result: According to study results, yoga practitioners had a statistically substantially reduced average severity of stress symptoms than non-yoga practitioners on 5 of the 6 stress markers. Yoga practitioners had lower levels of anxiety (0.60) and depression (0.53) than non-yoga practitioners (0.89 and 0.85, respectively). Because all values are statistically significant, the results imply that the study hypothesis should be accepted.
Conclusion: Overall, this study reveals that yoga effectively alleviates stress, anxiety, and sadness during COVID-19 lockdown, suggesting it as a potential supplemental therapy and a potential tool for health practitioners to support yoga-based therapies in
managing mental health issues related to COVID-19.