While time is not everything, it is an essential and often overlooked factor in wellness.
When I learned Yin Yoga from my teacher Paul Grilley, it, for the first time, made me very aware of time as an essential element in teaching yoga.
Before studying with Paul, I would do or teach a yoga pose, and how long we heald it seemed to be a matter of preference or convenience. But learning to teach Yin Yoga made it abundantly clear that how long you did something was as important as what you did and how often you did it.
We are discovering that time is a significant factor when it comes to infection. I’ve already posted about this earlier this week, but I feel this is crucial, especially since doing a yoga class takes a good bit of time.
From my perspective, the article has some good news and bad news for getting back to in-person yoga classes. Here is one quote from the article.
(The) researchers had identified 112 coronavirus cases linked to dance classes in a dozen different facilities. Half of the cases were the result of direct transmission from instructors to students, and some people went on to infect others outside of class.
The classes linked to the transmission had between five to 22 students and took place in small spaces for almost an hour. Out of 217 students exposed to infected instructors, 57 of them, or about one in four, ended up testing positive.
Sounds a lot like the conditions under which we practice yoga, doesn’t it? But the article finishes with what might turn out to be a bright spot for Yoga and Pilates students. Here’s another quote.
In the South Korea fitness case study, one of the infected instructors taught Pilates and yoga, and none of her students contracted the virus.
“We hypothesize that the lower intensity of Pilates and yoga did not cause the same transmission effects as those of the more intense fitness dance classes,” the researchers said.
Before you conclude that this means you can do Yoga or Pilates without risk of infection, I will remind you there are many forms of yoga and many different conditions under which it is practiced. These are all essential factors to consider.
I am not trying to make a recommendation here, but I am trying to share relevant information. Please use it along with other information to make wise decisions.
Jai Bhagwan!
-Douglas Johnson E-RYT 500, YACEP
