Social distancing?

Scientists have already found out that the spread of the virus among human beings is mainly transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or exhales, (which obviously including talking,) where people can be infected by breathing in the virus if they are within close proximity of someone who has the virus, or by touching a contaminated surface and then their eyes, nose or mouth. 

If people have high awareness and self-control, and know how to maintain certain length of physical distance from other people, even if they are family and friends but who are not from the same household, on top of wearing face mask properly, frequent hand-washing and without touching their eyes, nose and mouth unwittingly, then it would effectively help to minimize the spread of the virus among human beings. But, very few people in the world will have such high awareness and self-control, and constantly observing such practices wittingly. And hence, the pandemic is still growing and worsening in many countries in the world.

Many people, including some yoga practitioners and teachers might understand the importance of it, but they couldn’t observe the practice of social distancing during the pandemic, which is the most important way to stop the spread of the virus from human to human.

Not limited to, but there are some reasons why people can’t practice social distancing or reluctant to be refraining from any kinds of physical social meet up, gathering, mingling and interaction for a prolonged period of time such as:-

1.) The sense of loneliness, meaninglessness and boredom, as well as anxiety building up towards the pandemic and the long term side-effects of it, whether wittingly or unwittingly, which is natural for most people. 

People who have not enough understanding towards the function and state of the mind would be over-whelmed by the sense of loneliness, meaninglessness and boredom and/or anxiety, and losing their patience, balance and sanity, and behave irrationally after a prolonged period of time being restricted from many familiar physical and social activity and interaction. There's nothing wrong with human beings are sociable, interactive and talkative in nature. Those who have developed certain degrees of self-control and mind discipline, and have adequate understanding towards the function and state of the mind, would have no problem being without any physical and social activity and interaction with other human beings for a prolonged period of time.

2.) People think that social distancing means only limited to maintaining certain length of physical distance from other people, but doesn't need to restrict or limit physical and verbal activity and communication, especially verbal interaction and talking face to face with other people, even if people are wearing a face mask, as most people couldn't help touching their face mask from time to time with their fingers and then touching everywhere, unwittingly.

3.) Many people just can’t live without physically engaging in social/cultural/religious practices, celebrations, ceremonies and events in a group that involves more than one participant. People like to share and be merry or be in grief with other people. There's nothing wrong with that, especially if in a world without the pandemic. People have the freedom for how they want to live their life, with or without the pandemic going on. Although there are new laws being implemented to limit people's action and inaction for the sake of curbing the pandemic.

People can’t live without physically meeting, mingling, interacting, communicating and talking face to face with some other human beings from time to time, especially with their family and friends who live physically apart from one another. People can’t live without hugging and touching or ‘kiss kiss’, especially with their family and friends, to show love and affection. Even some yoga enthusiasts and mental health professionals would actually believe that people will be sick and die if without physical hugging and touching with other human beings for a long time. People can’t just be by themselves or with those within the same household after a certain period of time, but they need to go out and physically mingling with their neighbours, relatives and friends, and family members who are not already living under the same household. There's nothing wrong with all these behaviors. It's very common for most people.

Social distancing isn’t just about maintaining at least two metres distance of physical distancing, on top of frequent hand-washing and wearing face mask like what most people would prefer it to be as simplest as that, because people need to go out to work to maintain livelihood and get daily needs even without engaging in any physical social activity or gathering, but it’s the restriction towards all kinds of physical social/cultural/religious activity, gathering, meet up, interaction, communication, celebration, ceremony and event that gather two or more people to be in a particular space, which cannot avoid some kind of verbal interaction or talking among people, that serves an upmost important role to minimize the spread of the highly contagious virus. Because most people just forget about maintaining physical distance and can't avoid verbal/physical communication/interaction when there are two people or more being together in the same space.

There’s nothing wrong with people being sociable and talkative and carrying out their all-time social/cultural/religious practices even in the midst of pandemic. Life has to go on. For the sake of maintaining certain degrees of sanity, many people need to live life with all kinds of social/cultural/religious activities the way that they are familiar with. Just that this pandemic won’t end anytime soon, but will keep growing under the people's ongoing physical social meet up, gathering, mingling, interaction and talking face to face, even if wearing a face mask during such activities.

Those who don't take any consideration towards the scientific research being accurate, or not, but just blindly deny any scientific research, and those who think that the pandemic doesn't exist, won't help in tackling the pandemic either.

Not just that people's physical and mental health is being threatened by the prolonged pandemic, but people’s lives, movements and livelihoods that depend on the global economy will continue to be restricted and affected, unless the respective vaccine is found and accessible/affordable to everyone.