Yoga can prevent anxiety and depression during lockdown, says Indian-American cardiologist

indica News Bureau-

People staying indoors due to lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus could benefit from yoga which helps boost immunity, stated an Indian-American cardiologist who has written guidelines on behalf of the American Heart Association on the role of meditation in cardiovascular disease.

“Most people in this country believe that yoga is just postures which unfortunately is not true today. In fact, a large part of yoga is meditation and breathing techniques that ameliorate stress,” said Indranill Basu-Ray from Memphis Veteran Hospital in Tennessee and Adjunct Professor of Public Health at the University of Memphis.

The Indian-American cardiologist said that both anxiety and depression have adverse effects physically and can actually bring down immunity to viral infections.

A former Harvard Faculty, Dr. Ray is one of the cardiologists who last year wrote down the first practice guidelines meant for cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, and cardiovascular disease researchers on the role of meditation in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases on behalf of American Heart Association.

Explaining further, he said that human immunity can be divided into innate immunity, which is general immunity used to prevent the barrage of viral and bacterial infections that we are faced with as part of our daily existence on this planet. Adaptive immunity steps in secondarily when our body creates antibodies targeted against a pathogen, the pragativadi reported.

Dr.Ray has been meditating since the age of six. He is a disciple of Hariharnanda Giri, a Kriya Yoga Master who was trained by Paramhansa Yogananda and Sri Yukteshwar Giri, – the great Kriya Yoga experts. His research centers on the use of meditation and yoga in modern medicine, particularly heart diseases.
He is also one of the ten cardiologists to write the world’s first scientific statement on the use of meditation in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases on behalf of the American Heart Association.

Dr Ray further said that there is accumulated evidence that point to the fact that yoga and meditation practice boosts immunity working at many levels including neural.

Thus, it is important to practice a daily dose of postures (asanas) and meditation to keep away anxiety, depression and the attendant decrease in immunity.

“Human immunity can be divided into innate immunity, which is general immunity used to prevent the barrage of viral and bacterial infections that we are faced with as part of our daily existence on this planet. Adaptive immunity secondarily steps in when our body creates antibodies targeted against a pathogen,” he said.

That happens only when the human body is exposed to an antigen. An example would be after having COVID-19, either symptomatic or asymptomatic; the body will produce direct antibody, especially targeted to this coronavirus, Ray said.

“That is why re-infection with the virus is rare, if at all. Though reported in China, other factors, including defective kits, could be the reason rather than re-infection,” he said.

Most uninfected individuals would be using the innate immunity to fight infections like the COVID-19 or any other novel infection that the body has not faced before, the doctor said.

Is corona affect heart directly?

Ray also pointed out that a considerable number of hospitalized patients were found to have cardiac dilatation, heart failure, and inflammation of the heart.

However, it is not clear if the COVID-19 virus directly attacks the heart. Still, severe stress, a storm of deadly chemicals within the body that marks moderate to severe COVID-19 infection, is probably the cause, he noted.

A total of 1,081,952 COVID-19 cases have been reported across more than 175 countries and territories with58,149 deaths reported so far, according to Worldometers data.

The US has reported 266,279 COVID-19 cases, the highest in the world, and over 6,803 people have died due to the disease.