You’re not alone if you’ve reached the point in your quarantine where you’re beginning to feel a bit crazy. The news continues to be somber, the uncertainty hasn’t ceased and the summer is approaching- but you’re likely to spend much of your time indoors if the coronavirus has its way. Like many, you may be searching for ways to calm your mind, ease your stress, and perhaps lessen your lower back pain from too many hours sitting in front of a screen. As it happens, for all of these corona-caused crises, taking up yoga may just be your best, and most accessible, response.

Long time agebuzz readers know that we’ve already touted the benefits of a yoga practice to help such physical problems as balance, flexibility, and back pain. Now, new research published in the journal Brain Plasticity also underscores the potential value of a yoga practice to boost your aging brain, especially when it comes to cognition and memory. The research found that those who practice yoga retained or increased the size of the hippocampus in their brain, similar to what is seen from aerobic exercise. Given that it’s normal for the hippocampus to get smaller with advanced age, this is promising evidence that your mind could benefit from yoga as much as your body. So pull out your yoga mat and read more here.

And speaking of yoga mats, those of you who have never tried yoga may be intimidated or overwhelmed by the prospect of starting something new while staying-in-place. But frankly, whether it’s the limited amount of equipment you need or the prospect of finding an available (and preferably free) yoga instructor, being confined to your home is no barrier to initiating a yoga practice- and may in fact be precisely the time when you can most benefit from the calm and composure yoga can provide. And for those of you looking for discounted yoga essentials, your search is over here.

But if you’re still intimidated, then perhaps you need to meet Adrien Mishler, the renowned and low-key yoga instructor out of Austin, Texas, whose YouTube channel has 7 million subscribers and whose free yoga instructional videos feature a pose and position for virtually anything that ails you. So say hello to your new best pandemic buddy and allow her to calm you here.