ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is a vulnerable period of growth and enrichment along with many physiological and psychological challenges. These changes can lead to complications if compounded by external stress and anxiety. COVID-19 has emerged as a chief stressor among the general population and is a serious threat among vulnerable populations. Therefore, there is a need for stress management tools, such as Yoga and physical exercises, both at home and at work. These can be adopted during the pandemic with proper maintenance of social distancing. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compile literature that has reported the health outcomes of Yoga intervention on pregnancy at the workplace and analyzes both the restrictions as well as advantages of its beneficial effects in comparison to physical exercises. METHODOLOGY: A comprehensive literature review was conducted utilizing PubMed and Google Scholar. The keywords used for the search include "Yoga", "work", "complications", "physical exercise", "drugs" and "COVID" indifferent permutations and combinations with "pregnancy". We compiled the literature with respect to pregnancy complications and the effects of drugs, physical activity and Yoga for preventing these complications. RESULTS: We noted that pregnancy-related complications are becoming more prevalent because of a sedentary lifestyle, restricted physical activity and growing stress. In such situations, a home or workplace Yoga protocol can combine both exercise and mindfulness-based alleviation of anxiety for both working and non-working women. CONCLUSION: Yoga can be effective for combating stress and anxiety besides boosting immunity in pregnant working women confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/psychology , Pneumonia, Viral/psychology , Pregnancy Complications/psychology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Women, Working/psychology , Yoga/psychology , Anxiety/etiology , Anxiety/psychology , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control , Depression/etiology , Depression/psychology , Female , Humans , Mindfulness , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control , Pregnancy , SARS-CoV-2 , Sedentary Behavior , Stress, Psychological/prevention & controlABSTRACT
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has given the world a big blow and has forced the entire world to develop a new thought process. To cope with the stress of lockdown, it was important for people to indulge in educational and health activities to save them from the threats being caused by the news and social media. Summary: A Facebook page named Yoga scholars Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) was created where three sessions were held per day for 225 days regularly. This activity resulted in people adopting an integrative approach towards alternative medicine. Key message: This also made possible a trial of Ashwagandha for COVID-19 treatment by the Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) ministry.