Introduction
infection
INFECTION
COVID-19 is a major public health crisis with the fastest spread, the widest infection, and the greatest difficulty in prevention and control since the founding of New China; therefore, it is a major test for China [Balance and flexibility are important components of health [Flexibility is defined as the ability to achieve certain body mechanics or move body parts through a range of motion [In recent years, yoga has become a widely popular exercise among women, and several studies have reported the benefits of yoga for balance and flexibility in women [This study investigated the effects of yoga intervention on balance and flexibility in Chinese female university students aged 17–24 years, a key population affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, to address a significant gap in the literature. This study sought to answer the following specific questions: can yoga positively contribute to the balance and flexibility of female college students during the COVID-19 pandemic? To what extent does yoga practice affect the balance and flexibility of female college students? Can yoga be the main mode of home exercise for female college students?The novel contributions of this study are as follows: first, this study is a randomized controlled trial conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 poses a serious health threat to female college students, and our study of the effects of a yoga intervention on balance and flexibility in female college students has important theoretical and practical implications. Our study fills a gap in the implementation of yoga interventions for female university students in China during the COVID-19 outbreak, and our findings could help them stay healthy during similar public health crises. Second, most studies use the sit and reach test index to measure participant flexibility. In addition to the sit and reach test index, this study also adds the Splits test index to measure the flexibility of the participants’ groins and hips, expanding the selection range of flexibility measurements to more comprehensively assess participants’ flexibility.Based on the above analysis, the following hypotheses are proposed in this study.Hypothesis 1 (H1): the yoga intervention will positively contribute to the balance of female college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.Hypothesis 2 (H2): the yoga intervention will have a positive effect on the flexibility of female college students, and yoga can be used as the main form of home exercise for female college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.