The New York Times magazine recently ran a story headlined: "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body." It was one of those articles that takes the contrarian viewpoint, seemingly just to be provocative. And in that way, it succeeds. It's also one of those articles that allows the yoga haters -- you know who you are -- to come out of the closet with chants of "I told you so..." Well, enjoy but I'm afraid you're wrong.
In case you haven't read the article (and I hope you don't), the point is that yoga is not the cure-all that's been advertised and that you can actually -- gasp! -- get injured in yoga. What's truly infuriating about the piece are the photos of wacky, ill-dressed actors doing their level best to make fun of asanas or yoga poses. (Note to self: don't go to Godspell, which features these actors.)
As someone who practices yoga (when healthy) four times a week, I find the photos insulting and the article misguided. Yes, you can get injured doing yoga just like you can get injured in any form of exercise.
Right now, I am not practicing yoga because I am injured -- from jogging! I only wish I had stuck to yoga.
I will grant you that the article makes a good point when it notes that there are all kinds of yoga classes out there and some are not very good. In that, the writer is correct. I've found some studios and teachers to be poor examples of what yoga can and should be. I think the worst classes are those that tip too far over into just pure exercise and abandon the principles of yoga which, by the way, are intended to link movement and breathing. Anything less than that is calisthenics.
Yoga, to me, is about getting out of your head a bit and entering a different state of mind. That's why I stopped going to one studio (where I had a pass for unlimited yoga for a month for $20) when, at the first class I took, every student was looking at his or her Blackberry, iPhone or iPad. That's no way to prepare for a yoga class, my busy, anxious friends.
But if you go to a great yoga class (and there are great teachers out there like Tara Stiles at Stralayoga in Manhattan or Sarah Lewis at Jaya Yoga Center in Brooklyn), you'll get a great workout and feel relaxed at the end of class. You'll flat out feel better and, when that happens, there's no exercise in the world quite like it.
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Suhag A. Shukla, Esq.: Yoga Won't Wreck Your Body But May Make You More Hindu
I have been practicing yoga for almost 20 years. Yoga practice absolutely can cause injuries. As many have said, this is usually because people go too far in the name of pushing themselves. But there are also yoga poses that can, in and of themselves, be dangerous.
It drives me crazy when people can't stand to hear anything negative about something they love. It is sad that the author hopes you DON'T read the NYT article. Nothing in life is perfect, everything has a downside or potential for abuse. And the worst thing is that the NYT piece contains information EVERY teacher or serious practitioner should know, but instead of soberly digesting the information and becoming aware of its importance, many would rather get offended.
There are 100s of articles out there singing praises to the benefits of yoga. Who needs another one? We need something radical to get public's attention. They got it. The journalist certainly made a splash (how great for his career!) The teacher mentioned in the article got much needed exposure (...he now holds workshops at Omega explaining how yoga can hurt your body- sounds like an advertisement to me!) Yoga became so competitive these days. All niches are taken. Why no come up with something new? Like trashing yoga! Here we go! You can hurt yourself doing anything! Walking, drinking tea, making love. Even reading a NYT article.