BY SANDRA GUY

It’s understandable that single people on Valentine’s Day — for the second year in a row —  could feel despairing, frustrated and even cheated of valuable dating time.

How to cope?

The obvious answer would be to practice yoga. But it’s difficult to go to a gym or to meet people in a tightly enclosed environment at the height of the Omicron virus.

You’ll have to be inventive. Plenty of excellent yoga teachers from throughout the world offer online yet personalized yoga classes that can help you practice self-care.

One example is Shvasa — the word means “breath” in Sanskrit — the first streaming yoga and meditation website with live classes led by some of the world’s leading yoga teachers in India. Take one class and you will learn that the practice really is about breath.

“We focus on breath first because immunity soars when your blood is oxygenated,” said Arunima Singhdeo, 47, CEO of Shvasa and mom to a 12-year-old son.

The Shvasa platform was custom-built to provide features that allow for engagement with the instructor as needed, chat and music, however the one thing that students will notice is the limited class size and focus on personal attention that other platforms do not offer.

Other opportunities abound.

Just get a notebook or two pieces of paper. Draw your self portrait, even if it’s a stick figure. Then draw bubbles with quotes from your inner critic. Turn the page. Draw yourself again, but this time, quote your optimistic, confident self. Finally, remind yourself that you can rise above your negative thoughts.

Finally, focus on spending your time and energy with people and groups who uplift, encourage and cheer you on as you maintain a healthy lifestyle. Online exercise programs host marvelous Facebook groups in which people boost each other’s progress and screen out any hint of negativity.

It’s all about the principle that we are all equally human and deserving of dignity, love, and happiness—including you.