The Benefits of Family Yoga during COVID-19

Author: Deepika Dewan

What has Yoga, the age-old exercise, got to do with family bonding? Does it have any fundamental ingredient that can help reduce the risk of pandemic disease such as COVID-19? With restricted travel and work from the home syndrome, most families are having to stay indoors as a preventive measure. Why not make the best of this opportunity and get more health for all the family members by doing yoga? Let us find out why doing Yoga is necessary at this crucial hour.  

Importance of Yoga: 

Stress or anxiety is a negative phase that triggers the nervous system producing signs of muscle tension, lack of concentration, and increased blood pressure. Yoga helps to calm this down. The stretching pose done in a yoga session helps to reduce tension in joints and muscles, which in turn, relaxes the nervous system. It is also one of the easy ways to lose weight. 

There is no dearth of yoga poses in managing blood pressure to reduce anxiety. Yog Nidra is the most effective and powerful yoga to do during COVID. Just 20 minutes of this therapeutic practice every day can be of tremendous help in overcoming mental stress and anxiety.           

How Family Yoga helps:

Family time is not just over a meal or watching the television. It is also while doing yoga. Want to know how? Read on. 

1. Reinforces unity in the family: The joy of family companionship is unique and special. Doing yoga together adds to the sense of bonding and family connection. Yoga strengthens the feeling of trust. Handle the days that you feel sad and sluggish due to COVID fear by getting all the juniors and seniors in your family (wish your pets could join) to do an asana or two on the yoga mat. 
2. Bonding gets better: Yoga is the best way to lose weight but it also has a knack of improving communication within a family. It helps to iron out the differences and improve understanding of each family member. And there is no software application involved here, just human to human connection.   
3. Learn to appreciate family: Breath is an important part of yoga asana or meditation. Mind to body connection happens due to the awareness of breath. When you know and acknowledge each breath that you take, you are grateful to this gift of God. Share this feeling by doing yoga together and let the good times roll in your family. 
4. The space gets healthy: When you are doing yoga with others, your family members, in this case, you learn to respect boundaries. The beauty of yoga is that it helps you build a congenial space without crossing the boundaries of respect for others. This creates a healthy and beautiful relationship in the family. 
5. The feeling of growing together: A yoga mat fulfils more than its product features. It is actually a space for your internal and external evolution. Families nurture a feeling of growth and prosperity for each member, and yoga enhances it. It is also the perfect ground to help stimulate and motivate others in the family – bring out your strengths and weaknesses and build a solid foundation of trust and affection. All this can happen on a yoga mat, and make good memories.                         

Conclusion: 

Now you see how yoga improves the quality of your family life by increasing understanding and togetherness. It is a healthy way to break the monotony and mental barriers and beneficial to spend time by doing the holistic art of yoga. The rising self-isolation is creating a room for an emotional disconnect. Family Yoga is the perfect alternative to boost both mood and health.

About the author:

An avid wordsmith and multi-tasking professional, I have over 17 years’ experience in writing advertising campaigns, content planning and content writing. Currently, working as Creative Director in a travel retreats company in New Delhi.