After 5 or 6 of my athletes and clients asked me about the recent NY Times article regarding yoga's negative effects, I finally read the article. I don't read any paper as much as I "should" (if its important someone will tell me about it). I am, however, a fan of the NYT Science Times on Tuesday and WSJ Personal Journal on Tues since they both cover the science (watered down though it is) of exercise and being healthy. So I read the article and it listed some major injuries but most of them have more to do with Yoga practitioners; something most training athletes don't have time for. If you are training 5-10hours/week as a triathlete, runner or cyclist then where would you find thte time for that much Yoga. That said: If you are finding that much time for serious sport training AND Yoga then you may have over-training and avoidance issues.
I take Kundalini Yoga at least twice a week, it is a form of therapy for me; not physical therapy, but emotional therapy. I have a bit of an aggressive streak (I mountain bike, trail run and race XTERRA what do you expect) and can be very competitive even in Yoga. Being competitive is NOT very yogic. Kundalini is one of the oldest forms of yoga and stresses AWARENESS, one of the keys to being a great athlete. In every class the teachers, who do not do the krias themselves, stress the importance of staying within your limits. We do little to no inversions, we DO chant, we DO meditate and we do stretch, jump up and down and sit cross legged, sometimes for long periods while holding one arm position. Most importantly for athletes we practice breath control.
An exercise called "60 Second breath" is practiced for 6-10min(sometimes more, but I am not there yet). In this you breathe in for 20 sec, hold for 20 sec, and breathe out for 20 sec. It is both physically and emotionally taxing because your last act as a living being is to Exhale and your subconscious mind knows this. This exercise is great if you are swimming, biking, running or doing an overhead press. I have enjoyed the benefits of this while on a trail run.
Awareness, unfortunately, is a missing element in the lives of many athletes. Too often exercise, to include yoga, is used to distract you from life and is considered a competitive pursuit - who can twist further, who has the best Crow, who can get into the most contorted position. I have been there. I'm an athlete who wants to win, yoga has no winners. Kundalini has no competition, but an inward search for calm, something endurance athletes need. Awareness of my competitiveness, and the lack of that guidance from many instructors(there are exceptions like Erica Mather of course ), led me away from yoga as I sought other means of undoing the hard efforts of off-road training. Kundalini brought me back for other reasons.
There is a way to be a better athlete, regardless of your sport. That way is through awareness: Awareness of your limit, Awareness of when your mind tells you to stop, Awareness of when you are in a panic, Awareness of when you are losing focus. Yoga can help you with these pursuits, but so can 10 min/day of visualization. Meditation, whether guided or self led, has been shown to improve athletic performance at all levels of competition. I build meditation into the programs of my athletes but it is often the first part of the weekly schedule to fall by the way, followed by stretching a close second. Training for an event is a well rounded pursuit that involves certain amounts stress and certain amounts of recovery. Meditation and stretching can be achieved in a yoga class or on your own with books like those from Sage Rountree . If you cannot leave your ego at the door of the studio, and avoid competition with the class, then break out your foam roller and meditate on how bad that hurts.
I don't think yoga itself is bad for you or can "Wreck Your Body" (as the NYT author wrote) any more so than riding your bike in traffic or running without conditioning or shoes. I have done more damage to myself training for triathlon than I have ever done in yoga. I also do not sit on my feet for hours a day or do headstands or twist further than what feels possible. I have been in the emergency room from doing something on my bike but never from yoga.
Can doing yoga hurt you? Sure, maybe. Can OVERdoing Yoga hurt you? You bet it can! But so can overdoing drinking water, taking too many spin classes, or doing anything to excess.
The take away here is that moderation and self awareness can take you very far. Use a bit of common sense in your pursuits. Yoga may feel good to you. But Is yoga your addiction?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?pagewanted=1&ref=general&src=me
andy@getfitnyc.com
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