Yoga Therapy for COVID-Related Anxiety and Depression

The current pandemic has had an unprecedented influence on mental health worldwide. Various surveys report up to three-fold increases in anxiety, depression, and PTSD in patients, the general public and health care professionals. Yoga's value in mental health is recognized within its core ancient texts, yoga research, and, increasingly, within mental health care. In this talk, Heather Mason will discuss the current mental health crisis, how yoga can be used to address the mental health pandemic, and best practices for mental health issues related to COVID-19.

 

In this 45-minute lecture, you will learn:

This event will be recorded. Everyone that registers will be notified once the replay is available.

 

 

Heather Mason is the Founder of the Minded Institute and the Yoga in Health Care Alliance. Committed to bringing yoga into health systems, she has also taught in medical schools, educating future doctors in integrating yoga into treatment, and continues to lecture at various universities on this topic. Heather is the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Yoga in Society in the UK. She is an RYT-500 with the Yoga Alliance and a yoga therapist. She also holds MAs in Psychotherapy and Buddhist Studies, an MSc in Medical Physiology, and has done extensive study in neuroscience.

This event is part of a joint effort between GBYU and IAYT, offered at no charge as a service to the global patient community. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has us all sailing uncharted waters. Research and scientific knowledge about the illness are in their infancy, and an array of sometimes-devastating symptoms is challenging healthcare systems worldwide. Patients, too, are navigating unknown territory, often with limited support. As more people recover from the virus, more are experiencing long-term effects now known collectively as Long COVID or COVID Long Hauler Syndrome. Effective treatment pathways to help patients manage these life-altering symptoms have yet to be identified.  

But there are practical steps we can take right now to increase our well-being and ability to cope, regardless of the form symptoms might take. The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) and Give Back Yoga University (GBYU) have joined together to offer meaningful patient support informed by the best available evidence. Our Well-Being After COVID initiative also offers education for yoga professionals bringing this work to their communities. 

 

Many of our faculty donate their time and receive no compensation from course fees. The funds we raise through this platform go to support Give Back Yoga Foundation and its key initiatives: mat donations, small grants, and not-for-profit yoga programs for people facing addiction, eating disorders, cancer, incarceration, and PTSD. Learn more about our work here.