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  #1   ^
Old Sat, Jan-07-12, 11:57
bike2work bike2work is offline
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Default How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body

Fascinating article in the New York Times about how yoga can cause severe injuries, paralysis, stroke, and even death.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/m...=me&ref=general
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  #2   ^
Old Sat, Jan-07-12, 13:00
bobiam bobiam is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bike2work
Fascinating article in the New York Times about how yoga can cause severe injuries, paralysis, stroke, and even death.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/m...=me&ref=general

A lot of yoga seems to be so much mystical BS that I have a hard time taking it seriously. There are some good things from it but like many of the mystical studies, sorting out the good from the bad is hard.

My theory on anything is that if I am uncomfortable doing something, I am generally just not going to do that, and if some control freak instructor says otherwise, I would just leave.

Martial arts are also famous for both conditioning and injuries.

I suspect a lot does have to do with the ego of the instructor as much as anything.

In any case, it is also true that many people teaching a lot of things are not well grounded in the subject. You see this in people who teach little league or Jr tackle football. They are not taught basic skills because the coaches want to teach complex plays that the kids are not ready for. Many high school coaches of all sports are prone to this problem.

A lot of people teaching all kinds of things are just plain unsuited for the task, but the demand for instruction is high, so people who are poor choices for the task are pressed into service. For some reason a lot are control freaks and just don't get that most people are never going to be superstars, or even very good at what they are teaching. It would not matter much if the instructor or coach was the best coach in the world if the raw talent is not there.

Good coaches get the most out of what they have, but the truly great coaches are the ones that recognize talent and nurture it. The control freaks think it is about their skill as an instructor, but it rarely works out that way.
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  #3   ^
Old Wed, May-09-12, 02:20
hk-lowcarb hk-lowcarb is offline
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Default

That's why I favor a very gentle practice, and mostly do home practice.

I have a few useful books, and have attended some classes on and off over the years, but I mostly practice alone at home, quietly and listen to what my body is saying, and when it's saying "this is going from a nice stretch into PAIN", I stop.

At the same time, people can injure themselves doing all sorts of normal things too. My step-dad once threw out his back sneezing. He was in bed recovering for almost 3 days after that.

I once sprained my ankle very badly getting off a bus and missing the curb.

So, "Be careful out there."
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  #4   ^
Old Sun, May-20-12, 18:40
Ms.RedNeck Ms.RedNeck is offline
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Every time I've ever tried yoga I've hurt my back. It seems that all that bending over does bad things to me, but I won't notice it until the next day.

So I've decided yoga is not for me and I'm thinking I want to try tai chi, but my gym only offers it at like 10A.M. on Tuesdays so I'm working. I really don't understand my gym.
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Old Sun, May-20-12, 18:51
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0Angel0 0Angel0 is offline
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Any kind of exercise can do harm if taken to extremes or if you push your body into something it's not ready for. Yoga is not a competition about who can pretzel themselves into the most extreme posture, it's about a balance between working your muscles and stretching them, centering yourself, and respecting your body's limits.
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  #6   ^
Old Thu, Jul-05-12, 15:32
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jellysoda jellysoda is offline
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I agree with the points made by 0Angel0.

In addition, I am not completely convinced by many of the extreme examples of yoga causing stroke or death presented by the article. You may notice that many of the specific examples of stroke took place in the seventies, and were studied by one doctor in the UK. Since yoga has become much more common since the 70's, you would expect the instances of stroke caused by yoga to go up proportionally. Has it? The article fails to make this clear. Anecdotally, I have been practicing yoga regularly for 15 years and have never heard about the risk of stroke until the article came out...

The sprains and strains caused by a physical yoga practice are believable. It has happened to me! It has happened to others I know. However, getting hurt can happen in any physical practice... Not just yoga. What about soccer? Or sex? or... surgery? You can literally get hurt just from standing up to walk into the other room, or from leaning over your computer to respond to this post. The basic point of the article is true, that yoga asana practice is not "safe and harmless," as some major gurus would have you believe. However, I believe that some of the examples cited in the article have been sensationalized and may not be 100% accurate.
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  #7   ^
Old Thu, Jul-05-12, 18:24
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Twin Mama Twin Mama is offline
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I think the point of yoga is to take it slow and try to do a bit more every day. If you aren't using good form and are pushing past your limit, then you will get hurt. That's true in any sport or physical activity be it martial arts (which my kids and DH all do) or running etc.

Though I have been doing yoga for quite a while, I can't do a full wheel (back bend) yet, I just don't have the arm strength yet plus I am still a good 20 lbs overweight and 35 lb loss would be closer to the middle of my BMI. I stay in a lesser position, still working getting stronger but not pushing it. One day I may get there if not I am not worried. Yoga is an exercise I will actually do consistently every day, when I first wakeup because I feel better afterwards.

Now, granted I just do 30 mins. I can do 45-60 but then I am overtired. 30 mins works great for me and gives me energy to do a bit of cardio (which when I do intervals kick my butt) Of course, HIIT had my young son telling me (not trying to mean) that it made me look like a "hippo trying to be a cheetah". Really, kid! Trust kids to tell it to you straight.
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