Virtual platforms like Instagram and Zoom make yoga instruction accessible to many people in self-isolation.

Salt Power Yoga instructor Dezza Pastor had a high school teacher who once quoted Austrian-British novelist Eva Ibbotson: “You cannot stop the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can stop them from nesting in your hair.”

“It has stuck with me ever since,” Pastor said.

The coronavirus is bringing loss to everyone. From work layoffs to the deaths of friends and family to canceled vacations, the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting lives and changing history.

Living through it might seem overwhelming, but it's normal to feel stressed. It might even be a good thing.

“Stress is what we experience when we are challenged beyond what we're comfortable with,” Pastor said. “We can experience this physically, mentally (or) emotionally.”

“(The) unknown makes people even more anxious and stressful,” said Linda Schmitmeyer, a Middlesex Township resident who works with the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “(And) this is at a scale that we haven't seen before.”

The good news is stress is manageable. And Pastor, who as a trained yoga instructor with experience in stress management, believes managing stress begins by looking at the term as a noun, not a verb.

“This subtle shift in language allows us to shift the perception of stress … to something that is neither good or bad,” Pastor said.

Being neutral means stress can be used in positive or negative ways, according to Pastor.

The Mayo Clinic agrees.

“Managing stress can help you lead a more balanced, healthier life,” the Mayo Clinic states on its website. “When used positively, stress can lead to growth, action and change.”

According to the clinic, prolonged negative stress can decrease quality of life and result in a number of problems: Chest pains, headache, anxiety, irritability, social withdrawal and substance abuse are among the most severe side effects.

“A short-term beneficial mechanism in our body can eventually become detrimental if sustained over a long period of time,” Pastor said.

For many people, stress is a cycle. It begins with an external stressor or “trigger,” like a news report on COVID-19. The trigger is assessed by the brain. If deemed a threat, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is engaged, prompting a fight or flight response.“For the most part, this part of the stress reaction cycle is beyond our control,” Pastor said.A person has more control in the next stage, according to Pastor. Identifying how we react to a trigger may help us stabilize and manage our reactions. This leads to coping.“What are we doing to alleviate the discomfort that we're feeling?” Pastor asked. “For most of us, we have a habitual response to stress.”The cycle concludes — and begins again — with the habits we use to respond to stress. The habits are how we manage stress. But the stress is why we use the habits.“These responses perpetuate the physiological response of our body to stress,” Pastor said. “Our body remains on high alert.”Pastor said when someone already is “wired up,” he or she is susceptible to smaller triggers.One thing that might help ease the cycle is the availability of “knowns,” like pandemic projections.“I think information can be helpful,” Schmitmeyer said. “I think facts are good.”

Like all gyms and exercise studios in Pennsylvania, Salt Power Yoga is closed because of COVID-19. But that doesn't mean classes are over. The studio's website has many resources for people in quarantine.“Salt Power Yoga has at least one class every day,” Pastor said.Virtual platforms like Instagram and Zoom make yoga instruction accessible to many people in self-isolation while also encouraging community and socialization.Both can help with stress, according to the Mayo Clinic, which recognizes many physical strategies for stress management, including deep breathing and exercise. Yoga is specifically listed.“The practice encourages you to stay present,” Pastor said. “You're challenged to keep your breath steady as you move and as you hold different poses.”Now is a good time to try new activities, according to Schmitmeyer.“I've taken up needlepoint,” Schmitmeyer said. “I can't believe I'm doing this.”While things like needlepoint and yoga can be adapted for anyone, repetitive exercises like walking, coloring, gardening or woodworking also can be effective when it comes to stepping out of the stress cycle. Reaching that point has its own rewards.“If the challenge is overcome, we experience relief,” Pastor said. “Even a sense of accomplishment.”Pastor believes the pandemic is a good time for lessons. She said navigating the road to recovery won't be easy but does offer opportunities. When the situation seems bleak, Pastor suggests exercising kindness and appreciation. Finding something to be grateful for can break the stress cycle.But it's important to remember worry and loss are also part of the journey.“It's scary,” Schmitmeyer said. “That's something that's important to acknowledge.”“Give yourself (a) moment to honor that as well,” Pastor said. “We are all in this together.”