Perspectives of Virtual Yoga under COVID-19: Psychological Wellbeing among Filipino Women in Metro Manila

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.