The Yoga connection: Finding inner peace in online practice

By Julia Rasor

I went from a dog to a cobra to an eagle, and I’m not even a firefly yet. My limbs are screaming, I’m sweating buckets and I don’t think I can go on. But a wave of serenity washes over me and I feel a deep sense of accomplishment as I bow my head and hum “om.”

This is what it means to practice yoga.

The health benefits and social implications of yoga suggest an opportunity for better life management, now more than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic sent many into isolation.

According to the CDC, the isolation has enforced greater strain on people’s mental and emotional states, especially those between 18 and 24 years old.

“I’m at that age where everyone tells you ‘these are the days you are going to have the best time of your life,’” Mackenzie Dyer said. “It’s hard not to feel like that’s been taken from you. I’m finding myself applying to jobs and I’m thinking ‘when am I going to enjoy my youth?’”

Dyer, 23, is a student at the University of Texas at Austin who teaches online Zoom yoga.

“A lot of people have said that it’s [my Zoom classes] the only thing keeping them sane,” Dyer said. “I love that I am able to offer a space for people to move their bodies without any judgment or shame. I encourage them to feel good and be present, and I think they really enjoy it.”

A research study published in February 2021 with the Public Library of Science found that yoga helped in managing stress, anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s advertised as such a stress reliever and mental health practice,” Dyer said. “It’s an excellent way to move your body when you’re stuck at home and don’t want to bother your neighbors with loud music or thuds from higher intensity exercises.

One of Dyer’s students, Sophie Loewengart, a 32-year-old licensed professional counselor, picked up yoga sculpt classes during the pandemic.

“Knowing that I was doing the exact workout at the same time with friends who were near and far, not only was it a great workout but it also provided an experience where I felt connected to people while social distancing,” Loewengart said. “Which by itself is very therapeutic.”

Loewengart experienced tremendous anxiety in November 2020 after testing positive for Covid-19. Her anxiety was fueled by the constant fear of passing along the virus to her family members. After meeting with a therapist, she maintained a practice of being mindful of herself during the uncertain time and quarantine in her family home.

“It [yoga] definitely helps me be more present and flexible, physically and mentally,” Loewengart said. “A few years ago, I was surprised by some of the poses I could do that I never thought I could and it challenged my own perception of what I’m capable of. Nowadays, I mentally benefit more from the physical exercise and community emphasis yoga offers. After a yoga class, I always feel so relaxed and peaceful; I do it all for that final Shavasana vibe.”

Joel Homme, a 61-year-old full-time yoga instructor, provided Zoom yoga classes, similarly to Dyer, at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic lockdown in Austin. Now that studios are opening back up, Homme spends most of his hours teaching in-person while still offering one Zoom class a week.

“But that first week we were open, people would come into the studio and they’d lay down on their mat and just start crying,” Homme said. “They were just [re-experiencing] a familiarity, and even some of those people had practicedwith me consistently on Zoom but it just wasn’t the same.”

The roots of yoga can be traced back almost 5,000 years to northern India as a deeply spiritual tradition that focuses on the control of breath and strength of mental and physical well being. The practice of every yoga session simulates a cycle of life through death and then to a “rebirth”

I am deep into my last stretch when I hear my yoga instructor say, “lie in corpse pose.” Is it time to die? Far from it, I am feeling refreshed, confident and connected along with my virtual students.

I bow my head and say “Namaste.”

But does it really work?

Can yoga really help manage your mental health during Covid-19 Pandemic? A recent study suggests the answer is yes.

A 2021 cross-sectional study published in the Public Library of Science evaluated whether the meditation practice has true mental health benefits.

The study tested three different groups of people — those who practiced yoga, those who didn’t and other group of spiritual practitioners who were unrelated to yoga. Researchers monitored their perception of wellness during different timelines of practice.

Of the 668 participants who answered an online questionnaire, 59.6% were yoga practitioners, and they had less depression, anxiety and stress, and had higher well-being and peace of mind than both the non-practitioners and the spiritual practitioners.

Additionally, those who practiced yoga showed higher levels of personal control, greater body awareness, perceived resistance to Covid-19 and overall had less emotional distress.