Abstract:
Virtual yoga emerged during the pandemic as a practice done synchronously or
asynchronously in the comfort of the home. While on home quarantine, psychological wellbeing
or the state of emotional health and overall functioning also underwent changes. The contextual
background of this study was based on the COVID-19 pandemic, where the emergence of social,
political, and economic stressors was highlighted and felt more intensely. This research aimed to
describe the role of virtual yoga practice in the lived experiences of Filipino women residing in
Metro Manila amidst the pandemic. The study employed a qualitative, descriptive research design
to analyze and interpret the lived experiences of the respondents. The sample population for the
study was limited to 22 Filipino women who are yoga practitioners; belonging to the early
adulthood age group of 18-40 years old. They are residents of Metro Manila and regularly practice
virtual yoga synchronously or asynchronously during the pandemic. The respondents were
individually interviewed to collect their personal experiences. They were given a simple token of
appreciation to compensate for their time. All responses were kept confidential under the Data
Privacy Act of 2012. The results revealed that virtual yoga is a coping mechanism for Filipino
women to manage the social, political, and economic stressors of the pandemic while on home
quarantine. This has evolved to become a practice done by oneself instead of with the community.
This indicates that there is a preference to turn inwards during the pandemic due to increased social
media use, which is associated by practitioners with their sources of stress. The principles of yoga
are also applied off of the yoga mat and into the daily lives of the practitioners consciously and
unconsciously. Yoga practice then becomes an aspect of an individual’s psychological wellbeing
during home quarantine. The researcher recommends developing wellness programs at home, in
school, and in barangay health centers. This is to help Filipinos from various socio-economic
backgrounds by maximizing their psychological wellbeing indoors.
