Posts In: June 2022

Just when you thought it was all over, it appears another wave of Covid is sweeping across the UK. The BA.4 and BA.5 waves of Omicron have led to a rise in cases, with the latest ZOE health study figures indicating that around 291,000 infections a day are now occurring around the UK.

While the milder effects of Omicron and the benefits of vaccinations mean fewer people ending up in hospital or dying, the dangers of Long Covid still remain and can still affect those who have had mild symptoms or even been asymptomatic. 

For sufferers, this can mean fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, insomnia, joint pain and much else besides.

However, if you are suffering from these things – or end up doing so after getting an infection in this latest wave – pilates and yoga might come to your aid.

Techniques have been recommended for some time that can help. Last year, Only My Health recommended pilates for recovering from Covid symptoms, describing it as “a perfect system to promote post-Covid recovery without putting much pressure on the body.”

The reason for this is that pilates provides a series of core exercises that will strengthen your body without putting major stress on it. Moreover, it promotes good breathing, which can be critical when you have chest tightness and breathing difficulty as a result of the impact of the virus on your lungs.

Among the exercises is work using the arm muscles, which helps to exercise secondary muscles used in supporting breathing.

There are also Yoga exercises that similarly help your body recover from extended post-Covid symptoms. 

A key point with these exercises is that with a stronger core and less tightness around your shoulders, your chest area is less compressed, helping ease breathing. 

With this sort of help, you will soon find that your symptoms have eased and you can take an important step towards living a more normal life again.

Looking for Pilates classes near me? Contact Pila Yoga today

More and more guys are swapping the gym, video games or pub to relieve their stress and, instead, turning up at yoga studios to help them cope with their daily pressures.

While you might have traditionally found men pumping iron, going for a run or downing some pints with their mates, yoga has become an incredibly popular choice among those who need to switch off from their high-pressured jobs, fast-paced life or busy schedules.

An article in the Economic Times echoes this, saying yoga is just what people need these days, thanks to unhealthy eating habits, poor sleep, constant stress and long hours at work.

“Yoga helps to calm such minds with its gentler asanas. These movements regulate blood flow, calm the nervous system promoting and help in improving sleep,” it stated.

This could be particularly beneficial for guys, as more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of males have suffered with mental health symptoms, such as anxiety, stress or depression, at some point in their lives.

Research from the Priory Group revealed the biggest cause of mental health problems in men is work at 32 per cent, followed by finances (31 per cent) and their health (23 per cent).

Despite anxiety, depression and stress being so common in men, 40 per cent have never talked to anyone about their mental health struggles.

The same number also revealed they would only do so if they had thoughts of self-harming or suicide.

Shockingly, suicide is the biggest cause of death among men under the age of 45 in the UK, according to government figures.

Finding a way to relieve stress, such as enrolling in yoga classes near me, can be the first step to avoiding such travesties.