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Dr Avani Oke, Principal at K.J. Somaiya School & College of Nursing, shares how yoga transformed her life & why she believes it must be an essential part of every nurse’s training
If we are self-motivated, we don’t really need enforcement. And that motivation usually doesn’t come unless one has experienced yoga. (Representative image)
This year’s theme for International Nurses Day, recently observed, focused on the health and well-being of nurses. It highlighted the need to support our nursing workforce for the betterment of both the healthcare system and patient outcomes.
Yoga As Caregiver To Nurses
Nurses are the backbone of healthcare, but in the course of their duties, they often experience fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. Yoga can provide deep healing for their mind, body, and spirit.
We caught up with Dr Avani Oke, PhD (Nursing), Principal at K. J. Somaiya School & College of Nursing, Mumbai — someone who is as passionate about practising yoga as she is about her role as a nursing education leader.
Dr Oke shares her own experience with yoga and strongly advocates it for nurses, so they are able not just to cope but also to thrive.
Here are edited excerpts from the interview:
Yoga transformed my life, made me feel good about myself
I started doing yoga because of an incident following my hysterectomy surgery. I had suffered a pinched nerve injury, which led to a paralysis-like condition in my leg. I realised then how difficult life becomes when we are dependent on others.
Although the reason for this post-operative complication may not have been my weight, excess weight certainly added other complications. That’s when I decided to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Also, staying at home during that period made me feel depressed, low, and useless. I began practising yoga to feel motivated and better — and it really did bring about a huge change. Yoga, along with physical activity and mindfulness about what I ate, helped me lose weight. These three together put me into a positive state, and I started feeling good about myself.
My overthinking, impulsive, angry self underwent a total change
It wasn’t immediately evident, but looking back, I can say yoga changed my personality.
Earlier, I used to react impulsively; now, I pause for a moment before responding. It has helped me handle situations better. I used to overthink, which affected my sleep. That has changed, and my rest has improved — because of this, I’m able to work more efficiently.
I now manage my anger better, both at home and at work. Over time, my interpersonal relationships have improved. When I’m anxious, pranayama helps me deal with the anxiety, and I don’t panic. Yoga has also made me more mindful.
My self-care includes…
I’ve been practising yoga for the past 5–6 years. Other than that, I love my daily one-hour walk. I also make time to practise Reiki on myself, and I watch TV.
I practise yoga for an hour, five days a week. My favourite poses are Ardha Halasana, Shashankasana, and Muktasana. These stretch my body, make me feel calm, and help me connect with myself.
But if there’s a time constraint on some days, I still make it a point to at least practise Surya Namaskar and Pranayama.
Yoga has something that other forms of exercise do not
One thing that yoga exclusively offers is mindfulness, which extends to all activities. Another important difference is that other forms of exercise can strain the body. Yoga, while being a form of exercise, actually relaxes you.
Yoga improved concentration and reduced stress in nursing students
We’ve introduced 12 hours of yoga in the first-year nursing curriculum in our college. This way, we orient new students to yoga in their first year itself, and those who are interested can continue in the following years.
Studies conducted on our students have shown that yoga has improved their concentration and helped them deal with stress very effectively.
Strongly recommend yoga for all nursing staff and students
Introducing yoga to nursing students is crucial because, as nurses, they are going to have very demanding schedules.
The study programme itself is hectic and rigorous, and later, when they become professionals, they’ll face a lot of stress — stress due to expectations from other nurses, patients and their families, and the entire healthcare team. To combat all this pressure, yoga is an invaluable tool.
Calm Nurses, Better Patient Care
If each nurse understands the importance of yoga, they can possibly take out just half an hour during the day to practise at least Surya Namaskar and Pranayamas. This will give them physical agility and a better ability to cope.
Pranayama will also help enhance self-awareness. Deep breathing helps them calm themselves, which, in turn, positively impacts patient care.
Removing Barriers To Yoga
The main barrier to nurses practising yoga every day is internal — excuses, or a lack of belief in yoga. If we are self-motivated, we don’t really need enforcement. And that motivation usually doesn’t come unless one has experienced yoga.
Once you’ve experienced it — and by experience, I don’t mean attending a one-off workshop — but by practising it consistently over time, you begin to understand its true importance.
To be honest, there was a time when even I used to laugh it off. I would say I didn’t have time for yoga and might as well do something else, because surely yoga couldn’t help with weight loss. But let me tell you, while yoga may not directly lead to weight loss, it does affect your overall well-being. When you become more mindful, and when you are mentally relaxed, your cortisol levels reduce — and that, in turn, helps with weight management too.
What we, as hospital administrators, can do is introduce measures similar to compulsory continuing nursing education — such as asking each nurse to submit a certificate of completion for a one-month mental and physical fitness course. Alternatively, we can ensure that yoga facilities are available in hospitals for them to use.
Until such systems are in place, I don’t think yoga will become routine for nurses — unless they themselves come to realise its importance.
How Hospitals Can Encourage Yoga Practice
Having yoga facilities or classes on hospital premises would help. I’m confident nurses would be able to make time for at least one session a day. These classes can be scheduled around shift timings.
Tele-yoga is also a good option — nurses can practise yoga whenever they’re free and from the comfort of their homes, or even spend a little extra time at the workplace to do so.
Yoga As Part Of The Nursing Curriculum
Around six years ago, we introduced yoga as a mandatory component in our college’s orientation programme. Also, last year, the Indian Central Nursing Council made it compulsory for nursing institutions to provide yoga training to students.
So now, with this directive from the Central Council and our institution’s own initiative, yoga has become a formal part of our curriculum.
The author is a journalist, cancer survivor and certified yoga teacher. She can be reached at swatikamal@gmail.com.
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