Yoga in NHS Health Care Workers With COVID-19 Related Stress

Recent reports have highlighted Covid-19 related increase in levels of depression and stress related disorders in the health care professionals. Pranayama (ancient yogic breathing techniques) helps harmonizing breathing by regular voluntary control of breath. Yoga has been shown to modulate autonomic nervous functions of the brain. Sudarshan kriya Yoga (SKY) is a unique form of pranayama taught by ''Art of Living UK'' a non-profit organization -for over two decades. SKY involves simple rhythmic breathing technique (easy to practice) that aims at harmonizing body, mind and emotions. Sudarshan kriya yoga (SKY) has been shown to be beneficial in reducing levels of stress, anxiety and depression. This breathing based meditation technique has previously been shown to be beneficial in post-traumatic stress disorder. In this pilot study the aim is to assess the feasibility and effect of SKY in NHS health care workers with possible Covid-19 related stress and anxiety disorder.