Practicing Yoga: The Cure or the Problem?

Jun 25, 2012

Not a hate article against Yoga…ok thats out of the way Read ON!

Updated: August 2015

The main reason for me writing this is because as we are slaves to what the media puts out to the general public, we always and only hear how Yoga (in all its different types) is the best thing for anyone and everyone. Besides the media, you have the spreading of yoga as a cure-all by anyone who has taken a few classes and felt better, or by the die-hard “ I do yoga 24/7 no matter what.” The worst part about this is, sometimes the people who tell us these things are people we trust (Medical doctors, nutritionists, family, friends etc). So, we go out and try it on their recommendations.

Trying and utilizing yoga is all well and good but does that make it a cure all?

What I do not agree with, is advertising or claims that say that using one tool in health/wellness/fitness/strength is the only thing you need to reach all your goals or a healthier body. I am not being biased here and attacking yoga either. This rule applies to everything. Goes along with the sayings “Everything in Moderation” and “Too much of anything can be bad for you.” Too much lifting without stretching is bad, too much milk can be bad, Hell even drinking too much water can kill you.

The Good Yoga Brings to the table.

There is a big variety to choose from in terms of style
Holistic thinking
Promotes and requires flexibility and mobility through passive and active movements
Promotes being Barefoot
Increases muscular endurance
Benefits of Proprioception and balance
Can provide some relaxation
Self awareness/meditation
Strong emphasis on your breath and breathing technique through movements

All 9 of these are things that without a doubt are needed for someone working the daily grind of living in the general population.

First, we know that people have different likes and dislikes so having many styles of practicing one discipline can be a great way to reach a large audience or participants. Secondly, we are at a time in our existence where boredom with a routine is one of the biggest obstacles someone can have when trying to stick with a fitness program. They want to mix it up completely or have a just enough variation and unknown keep their attention.
We are western culture so, it’s not odd for us to primarily focus on western style treatments and methods but, only focused on it omits 1000’s of years of practices before ours. There are benefits associated with some holistic thinking.
Most people do not stretch or move through a full spectrum of ranges of motion on a daily basis, which in a lot of cases is the linked to causing injury. When you strengthen your muscles (weighted or unweighted exercises) the muscles, tendons and ligamentous structures will adapt to better suit the movements you most prominently do. This is why using an inclusive Dynamic Warm-up before exercise is beneficial for your immediate performance as well as longevity. There are quite a bit of exercises utilized in dynamic warm-ups that are inspired by yoga postures.
Look at what you put on your feet everyday. Believe it or not they might not be the best for your little tootsies. The shoes we wear are more often made for fashion than for comfort or foot health. The hour+ being barefoot in a yoga class is probably to most time you will spend barefoot actually on your feet instead of on the couch or in your bed. Being Barefoot allows for better proprioceptive input and can help you understand how to better balance your body or how it shifts and holds through movement. . Sorry ladies, those red bottoms may look nice but they hurt for a reason. I know for a fact they do hurt or you would keep them on instead of getting foot herpititis from the dance floor of every wedding I have ever been to. (hepatitis+herpes=herpititis)
Can you get stronger from Yoga, sure why not? There is a level of strength development and increased endurance in isometric holding poses. Some poses require a great level of bodyweight strength just getting into them. It is just going to take a lot more reps and time.
Who doesn’t need to relax, honestly? Western culture is work more, rest is optional and rest only if really needed. Better self-awareness and meditation are important because sometimes we spend too much time focusing on what’s around us instead of taking care of the star player which is yourself.
When you in the office are you doing breathing exercises? I’d say that’s an overwhelming “No”. How you breathe is overlooked by almost everyone but extremely important in our overall function, this is especially true if we are trying to get better at exercise or sports. Quick question, When you take a deep breath in does your waist get smaller or does it get bigger?…Hint: it should get bigger not smaller!

THE BAD YOGA BRINGS TO THE TABLE

Excessive Flexibility
Hypermobility of the joints
Excessive Range of Motion
Decreases the stability of joints that need stability
Not strengthening along with stretching
Claims That it fixes all injuries
The claim to build power
Promoting Dietary Restrictions (maybe just philosophies of certain people than a type of yoga)
Calorie burning
Practicing Yoga IS the only way to improve everything (you would be surprised at how closed minded people are)

The first 5 on the bad list are in my opinion the most important to pay attention to. There is a difference in having good flexible muscles, mobile and stable joints through a full range of motion and having hypermobile joint structures and gaining the ability to tuck your head through your legs or fold your legs backwards over your head like contortionists. I’m sure everyone has seen that girl in the gym (95% of the time its a girl) who stretches her hamstrings out by folding in half laying down then gets up and does it standing as well. She is most likely looking for that position trying to “feel” the stretch in their hamstrings, but cannot because of various combos of excessive mobility and joint structures not allowing the belly of the muscle to actually receive a stretch.

It is well-known that some joints of the body need to be more mobile( i.e. Hips, T-spine, Ankles) and there are others that need more stability ( i.e. Knees, shoulders, lumbar spine/low back) than more mobility. For example: When you are stretched in ways that lengthen the ligaments of the knees you are affecting its ability to stabilize the joint which can lead to huge issues for everyone especially athletes; female athletes in particular who are already high risk for ACL tears. So as an exercising athlete…be weary and be careful.

There is a limit to the strength development in yoga. The limits are your own bodyweight and time. Most people want to lose weight and not gain it; to get stronger there has to be an added progressive resistance of some kind. It is going to be difficult to get stronger when you start losing weight. So, the illusion of strength can be seen if you lose say 5 pounds from when you started but can hold a position longer than you could before. Did you get stronger or did you lose the right amount of weight making the movement easier for you?

When you don’t strengthen the muscles and just lengthen you are only further working toward instability and excessive range of motion which stresses your joints. Yes, It is true some people are born with loose and lax joints and can operate pretty normally or even at advanced levels with these conditions.However, gaining that “double jointedness” from stretch is far different from being born with that joint laxity.

As far as Power Yoga goes, it’s just a clever name for a class. Static or isometric postures and holds does not build the athletic component of power. It might be very challenging or help with muscular endurance it is not going to bring you the benefits of actually developing power.Yes, even if you switch between postures quickly or rarely rest. Maybe when they termed Power Yoga they meant a “powerful mind” experience and never meant exercise/movement related power.

*FUN FACT THE MAN WHO STARTED BIKRAM (HOT) YOGA WAS AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST IN WEIGHTLIFTING*

I saw in my searches that some sects of people will couple yoga with diet restrictions like being a vegan, vegetarian, caloric restrictions and even “ancient health cleanses”. Unfortunately, general rules always leave out specific groups of people.

Exercise takes time to do and we only have a specific amount of time everyday to get some in. Wouldn’t you want to make sure you were making the most of your time? Yes, even when you are doing hot yoga and sweating out a ton of water weight the calorie expenditure is limited. So, for those who are looking for great fat loss benefits from their training (most gym goers) your time might be better spent on other activities. You don’t just want your body to burn a lot of calories while doing the activity. You want the activity to stay burning calories for hours after your done doing it and eventually transform the way your body looks by changing body composition. What makes Yoga great for increasing mobility and flexibility is also what makes it poor at continued muscle-building; time.

The last one just gets me every time because hard-headed people are the absolute worst to deal with. If I am someone who can appreciate the positive aspects of yoga but actually does not really enjoy it, why are there people who view yoga as a cure-all so close minded and just dismissing what others are saying? I mean, when you have well-respected instructors and Yogi’s saying “Yoga is not for everyone or the cure for everything,” why wouldn’t you at least listen to what they have to say because they are already on your side.

So there you have it, Yoga is not the Best thing in the world! The overall bottom line is that just like everything else…Don’t over do it! It’s that simple, the best program or exercise routine for health benefits, fat loss benefits, athletic benefits, strength and power benefits is BALANCE! And just like there are shitty personal trainers out their in the world taking shit courses and getting “certified” if that…there are also the same people like that for Yoga and Pilates. Not every instructor is an all-knowing higher spirited demigod/goddess. They might be someone who liked Pilates/Yoga in college, started teaching a few friends and then got certified under only one person’s instruction and is not a yoga expert.

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Below are some Articles that support all the statements I have made in this article and are written by Superstars in the world of fitness, rehabilitation, strength and conditioning. I urge you to read them, they are generally not long and contain some points I chose not to include.

Originally published at fitletes.com

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Practicing Yoga: The Cure or the Problem?

The Good Yoga Brings to the table.

THE BAD YOGA BRINGS TO THE TABLE

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