Yoga Practices during this Covid-19 time

By Michael Ketterhagen, PhD

“Now is the time to commit ourselves to energizing the body, to bringing focus and stability to the mind, to performing practices that boost the immune system, giving us strength, vitality and stamina to defeat Covid-19 and situations which with manufacture mental and spiritual viruses, like anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, fear, attachment and selfishness.”

-Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

Life may be slowing down for you during this time during which we are asked to socially distance ourselves and stay at home. If so, then this a great time, as Pandit Rajmani says above, to set new habits in motion. If you are like me, I've set some very specific spiritual practices during the Christian season of Lent to prepare myself for a new life and develop myself spiritually. I wanted to prepare myself for Easter and the coming year.

Also, if you are like me, I set many of those Lenten practices aside during this global health crisis.

Well, Pandit Rajmani has asked all his yoga students, with the new “down time” or the new “activity time,” to practice faithfully some specific yoga practices. In the Christian perspective, we also have an opportunity to start over in our preparation for the new life of ahead. These practices will prepare us for the new life which not only will come after the crisis subsides, but will help us now even during this pandemic.

These are his encouragements, asking his students to “go full force in reaching all the seekers of health and well-being all over the world:”

1. Do asana (yoga postures) every day. In response to that I have started doing one-hour yoga classes on Facebook Live every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings at 8:45 am. The classes are then posted to The Center’s Facebook page for later viewing.

2. Walk everyday

3. Eat right and nutritious food

4. Maintain a positive attitude toward life and the pandemic.

5. Do simple and effective breathing practices, like nadi shodhanam, or anuloma and viloma pranayama. These can be found on the Himalayan Institute’s website. I will also be teaching these in the coming weeks on The Center’s Facebook page.

6. Practice the abdominal squeeze and agni sara, practices that I have already taught on The Center’s Facebook page. They are in our video collection.

7. Finally, pay attention to your meditation, while you meditate every day.

I will teach a simple meditation method in the future.

Doing these practices and involving ourselves in faithful personal development work at this time in our lives is very important and very helpful.

Please begin one of these practices today. May the Divine Mother give you the courage and strength to commit to your health and well-being.

Namaste’