In March 2020, a strict lockdown was implemented by the government in Nepal to curb COVID-19 creating new concerns around physical and mental health. Bihani Social Venture 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 to make sure that no elder is left behind, abused, or isolated due to the pandemic or other contexts.
𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝. Online Yoga Sessions with Parool Beriwal was one such intervention which has proved highly beneficial for not just the elders or Bihani Saathi Ko Saathi & Resource Pool Members we work with but also for us as a team. Yoga is a powerful tool to deal with the stress of uncertainty and isolation, as well as to maintain physical well-being. The World Health Organization (WHO) mentions yoga as a means to improve health in its Global action plan on physical activity 2018–2030 https://bit.ly/37HMhpT
Social isolation was associated with about a 50% increased risk of dementia and other serious medical conditions (CDC). Older adults, not just within our family but also within our community or neighbourhood need to be included in mutual aid, engagement programming and precautionary measures.Even though we are not able to be physically present, we can still ensure that older adults receive care, compassion, and fruitful multigenerational interaction.
Parool Beriwal is trained at Yoga Teacher Training Course (YTTC) from the Sri Sri School Of Yoga located at the Art of Living International Center Bengaluru, India and pursued advanced YTTC from Yoga Vidya Gurukul.
