There has been a lot of debate in the media lately about the possible risks of practicing yoga. It is my opinion that yoga is safe for just about everyone, as long as you follow a few simple guidelines.
It's important to recognize that yoga is different from a lot of other forms of exercise. Yoga steers away from the "No pain no gain" mentality. Yoga shouldn't hurt. This doesn't mean your muscles aren't going to feel the effects of a challenging practice, but pain should never be the objective. If something doesn't feel right, you should stop. In yoga we learn to listen to our bodies, to be aware as we practice.
There are many ways to safely modify your yoga practice to avoid injury or simply overdoing it. If you are coming into any type of forward fold, whether seated or standing, you need to be aware of how your back is feeling. If you're holding onto tension in your back, then you'll want to modify your pose by bending the knees. This modification relieves pressure from the lower back and allows you to move safely into the pose. If you are sitting down and folding over while your legs are extended, not only can you bend your legs, but you can also raise yourself up by sitting on a folded blanket or a sturdy pillow. Either or both of these adjustments will help to protect your back. Of course, if your back pain is intense, then you'll most likely want to avoid forward and backbends altogether until you start to feel better. In my opinion, when practicing yoga it is always better to err on the side of caution. There is nothing to be gained by pushing yourself to the point of injury. There are no prizes in yoga, no finish lines... so take your time and enjoy your journey!
In order to practice yoga safely, it is important to come to your mat well hydrated. This is especially relevant for any type of hot yoga and also for pre-natal yoga. Prepare your body by drinking plenty of water before you practice. During your session, sip water when needed and make sure to drink water once you are done. Drinking water after you practice encourages the detoxification process.
Pregnant women practicing yoga are encouraged to drink whenever they need to, even to eat in class if necessary! Otherwise, it is preferable to avoid eating a couple of hours prior to practicing yoga.
Something light and easily digestible is the most suitable pre-yoga meal, as a full stomach is going to make twisting and front lying poses particularly uncomfortable. I suggest people have a protein shake or a similarly light meal a couple hours before class and then eat healthfully once they are done.
Although yoga is incredibly healing and helps to strengthen the immune system, there are times when rest is preferable to coming to class. If you are already sick with a flu, it is important to strengthen your body before returning to class, not to mention to avoid infecting your classmates!
If I have a bad cold, I tend to avoid a more strenuous yoga practice so I can focus my energy on recovering. I might, however, practice some gentle restorative yoga. Restorative yoga uses props such as blocks, blankets and bolsters to support the body in various poses, encouraging deep, healing relaxation. Meditation and some breath work techniques are also a gentle way to encourage the body to heal. Only once I feel strong enough do I return back to my regular physical practice. Again there is no rush in yoga; it is so important to take your time. Rushing, being distracted, and moving without awareness can all lead to injury both on and off the yoga mat.
A healthy and safe yoga practice is not about perfecting the physical poses. It is instead about breathing, moving with awareness and proper alignment, and listening to your body's cues and signals. Of course, there is nothing wrong with challenging yourself; it's fun to try new things and to see how far we can move into a new or maybe a more familiar pose. At the same time we need to acknowledge and accept our bodies' limitations. It is important to recognize that these limitations are always changing and as such our practice might vary from day to day, or week to week. We might wake up one day a little tighter than the day before and instead of forcing ourselves into the same deep backbend we practiced yesterday, it may be necessary to modify our practice to suit our body's needs today. Practicing responsibly can mean taking a gentle variation when the need arises. Sometimes the hardest part of yoga is being OK with taking things a little slower and letting go of the ego, the voice in our heads that tells us we always need to be better, to go further.
Yoga teaches us to be OK with wherever we are today, to be present in the moment and to practice with awareness. If we respect our bodies and nurture our minds, there is no reason why we can't safely enjoy a lifetime of yoga!
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In fact several years ago I published three articles on the most popular, most dangerous myths of Yoga as it is currently being practiced in the West. I strongly recommend reading these articles on my website if you would like to know more about what Yoga was for 2,300 years, and what, for the past fifty years, it has become as we continue to impose our own cultural patterns of perfectionism, self-destructive behavior (no pain no gain-ism), and a adolescent fixation on creating a sexy body at the expense of a healthy mind.
For a three-article education on authentic Yoga, check out www.longexÂhale.com, click on articles, and read the three with 'the Myth of group classes, the Myth of style, and the Myth of the teacher-lesÂs teacher in the titles. I welcome any dialogue, responses or reactions you may have to these somewhat provocative, thoroughly factual. The information in these articles is essential for all Yoga teachers , and will surely benefit any serious practitioners of this miraculous healing art. Enjoy
On the other hand, there are classes I've been to which are a complete waste of time ... So one has to be picky.
The last time I ever went to one of their classes (the teachers were a married couple - both extremely accomplished in their personal practice), my lower back was slightly sore before class began. I assumed the pain would recede as my body warmed up, but 15 minutes into the class, the pain became extreme and I had to leave. I spent the next two weeks barely able to stand up and unable even to sit at a desk to work.
Incidentally, I have always been quite fit, and the reason I began to practice yoga was that I wanted to improve my flexibility as a supplement to the martial arts training I was already doing. This is why I had no problem with the concept of "training through" pain. In retrospect, that's an attitude I wouldn't recommend to anybody else.
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