There are some simple things you can do to relieve pandemic stress, according to yoga instructor Katie Goodman. To start, she says, just breathe.

SAN ANTONIO A local yoga instructor wants people to know there are simple ways to get through the added stress of 2020, just by breathing.

Katie Goodman of Connected Life Yoga says by practicing remaining in the present moment, people who have addictions of any kind (food, drugs, or toxic people in their lives) can get some instant relief.

Goodman says those unhealthy habits can be a way to escape the present moment or avoid dealing with discomfort - but that by using yoga, you can learn to sit with that discomfort by holding poses and breathing through it.

There are also simple yoga poses which can be done while sitting in a chair.

Goodman also calls yogas physiological effects impressive for the way they calm the body when triggered. She says a consistent practice calms the nervous system and mental synapses that are triggered when tempted to give in to an addiction. It also helps to increase and regulate key hormones like serotonin, oxytocin and dopamine.

Fitness event in San Antonio, TX by Heard on Monday, October 26 2020

Connected Life Yoga is hosting a donation-based yoga class for the HEARD Foundation, which offers wellness and financial relief to those in the service industry. The first 15 people who come will get a shirt, and the first 10 people who show up who work in the service industry will receive a free mat.

The class is being held on Monday, October 26, at 4 p.m. at Elsewhere Garden Bar & Kitchen, located at 103 East Jones Avenue in downtown, about a block away from the San Antonio Museum of Art.

For more details, check out Goodman's Instagram.

Excerpt from:
Just breathe - how yoga can help you get through the pandemic - WFMYNews2.com