I think there's a certain amount of scare-mongering and "AHAH!" in it, because that makes good copy.
Pretty much every physical movement we do (and certainly avoiding physical movement) comes with certain inherent risks. There are low-impact forms of physicality, but there are no no-impact ones: you can break your ankle taking an easy walk (and many people often do), etc, etc. And there's always a certain amount of dice-rolling, because what your genetics and history hand you as far as body-issues go is not always apparent.
I think in this case, the added dimension is yoga's undeserved reputation for being "safe" and "gentle" and all that crap. In terms of the MOVEMENTS, the physical reality of the poses, etc, yoga is prep for contortions. It's a kind of gymnastics. It's dance. If this article were telling us that dancers get popped hamstrings or torn achilles tendons, or that gymnasts suffer neck injuries, or that contortionists can get into joint problems, we'd be going " . . . duh?"
And runners sometimes have bad knees, and skiers wind up with the occasional head injury or broken neck, swimmers inhale water, and people who don't do any exercise at all have their own well-documented health-problems.
But we're sold the idea that yoga is inherently safe and body-wise just by being yoga, so finding out it isn't seems shocking. And many, many of the people leading yoga classes, especially in commercialised chains or environments, combine the ego and demands-for-fitness-outcomes of an aerobics class with the blithe idea that yoga is inherently good and nurturing, and the result is . . . .bad things!
I also eyebrow raised at some of the examples. Such as:
He would sit upright on his heels in a kneeling position known as vajrasana for hours a day, chanting for world peace. Soon he was experiencing difficulty walking, running and climbing stairs.
No shit? Really? Sitting in one strenuous position for hours a day is bad for you? Say it ain't so! I raise my eyebrows both at the presentation of this as an example of YOGA IS BAD and as an example, in the fact that the guy did it, of the deceptive idea of yoga's magic-wand goodness. This is not an example of yoga-is-bad: this is an example of doing something that stupid with your body is, in fact, stupid. That it's a yoga pose does not change the fact that you're sitting still for hours and hours on end, which is NEVER good for your body. (Your body gets restless and repositions itself without asking you for a reason. It is nerves and muscles and other things going "by the way, we're getting tired of this position".)
It's as if "yoga" is a magic word that means people's common sense and anatomy knowledge go out of their heads. And then the backlash is articles like this, which go, AHAH! IT IS NOT MAGICALLY OKAY!
Well, no, it's not. It's like any other form of body movement. Practice it with common sense, LISTEN to your body, check your ego, but also don't panic just because some people get injured doing something: some people get injured doing ANYTHING. If you go to a studio, check out your teachers' credentials. Listen to their styles, and whether they're sufficiently emphatic about that listening to your body and avoiding damage. Try to make sure that at least ONE teacher at the studio has extensive body-knowledge. (I was lucky enough that two at my last studio were physios. I miss them.)
And, you know. Play reeeeeally carefully with the neck and head-stressing poses.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-01-10 08:32 pm (UTC)Pretty much every physical movement we do (and certainly avoiding physical movement) comes with certain inherent risks. There are low-impact forms of physicality, but there are no no-impact ones: you can break your ankle taking an easy walk (and many people often do), etc, etc. And there's always a certain amount of dice-rolling, because what your genetics and history hand you as far as body-issues go is not always apparent.
I think in this case, the added dimension is yoga's undeserved reputation for being "safe" and "gentle" and all that crap. In terms of the MOVEMENTS, the physical reality of the poses, etc, yoga is prep for contortions. It's a kind of gymnastics. It's dance. If this article were telling us that dancers get popped hamstrings or torn achilles tendons, or that gymnasts suffer neck injuries, or that contortionists can get into joint problems, we'd be going " . . . duh?"
And runners sometimes have bad knees, and skiers wind up with the occasional head injury or broken neck, swimmers inhale water, and people who don't do any exercise at all have their own well-documented health-problems.
But we're sold the idea that yoga is inherently safe and body-wise just by being yoga, so finding out it isn't seems shocking. And many, many of the people leading yoga classes, especially in commercialised chains or environments, combine the ego and demands-for-fitness-outcomes of an aerobics class with the blithe idea that yoga is inherently good and nurturing, and the result is . . . .bad things!
I also eyebrow raised at some of the examples. Such as:
No shit? Really? Sitting in one strenuous position for hours a day is bad for you? Say it ain't so! I raise my eyebrows both at the presentation of this as an example of YOGA IS BAD and as an example, in the fact that the guy did it, of the deceptive idea of yoga's magic-wand goodness. This is not an example of yoga-is-bad: this is an example of doing something that stupid with your body is, in fact, stupid. That it's a yoga pose does not change the fact that you're sitting still for hours and hours on end, which is NEVER good for your body. (Your body gets restless and repositions itself without asking you for a reason. It is nerves and muscles and other things going "by the way, we're getting tired of this position".)
It's as if "yoga" is a magic word that means people's common sense and anatomy knowledge go out of their heads. And then the backlash is articles like this, which go, AHAH! IT IS NOT MAGICALLY OKAY!
Well, no, it's not. It's like any other form of body movement. Practice it with common sense, LISTEN to your body, check your ego, but also don't panic just because some people get injured doing something: some people get injured doing ANYTHING. If you go to a studio, check out your teachers' credentials. Listen to their styles, and whether they're sufficiently emphatic about that listening to your body and avoiding damage. Try to make sure that at least ONE teacher at the studio has extensive body-knowledge. (I was lucky enough that two at my last studio were physios. I miss them.)
And, you know. Play reeeeeally carefully with the neck and head-stressing poses.