Yoga & Injury
On Thursday, January 5, the New York Times published an article caled "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body," starting a dialogue across the US - in yoga studios, social media, editorials and blogs. iRocYoga asked Rochester yoga teachers and studio owners to share their thoughts so we could pass them on to you.
Sandy Hicks, Teacher and Owner at Grounded by Yoga
“We as teachers need to be accountable for extensive training and our OWN practice before passing on to others. Students cannot "see" their alignment, that’s up to us. We encourage students to compliment their studio practice with a home practice. Teachers are responsible to feed their practice with direction and informed instruction so they have the tools to grow from there.”
François Raoult, Teacher and Director at Open Sky Yoga
Some students with a history of trauma or abuse or addictions (more than the eye can see, I see it every year in teacher training) cannot say no early enough. Or, they don’t feel the full range of sensations and therefore miss clues of over- or wrongdoing. Even if the teacher says to do what is possible—modify if you need to, practice what feels comfortable,listen to your body—that assumes the student mind is receptive and clear. It can be the blind leading the blind with cool words, formulas and Gandhi or Mother Theresa’s quotes! Read More
Molly Huff, Teacher and Owner at Molly’s Yoga Corner
“On-going students and new students really need to know about their teacher and their training. We are working with people’s bodies and teachers NEED to be aware of how the body works and why the sequence is important when it comes to teaching a class. Yoga is NOT about looking hip or arching your back as far as you think it will go, it’s about self awareness and listening to the body, and allow the body to move natural with no unnecessary force. We need to take the time to breathe, wait and allow the movement of the body to be natural and free.”
Lou Papa, MD and Teacher at Inspire Yoga
I agree that everyone should take precautions when practicing yoga and should be aware of any physical limitations or medical issues. Everyone -- I mean everyone -- should consult with his or her physician before beginning any exercise routine to make sure there is nothing in the medical history that could make things worse. As with everything in life there is always risk. Having said that I think the article is distorting things quite a bit. The author was injured during yoga and found a yoga instructor who was injured which immediately biases their view. The isolated stories of stroke are so rare and idiosyncratic that it makes it impossible to generalize; similar to warning people about the dangers of swimming in the ocean based on isolated shark attacks. For example the author of the article states that in 2002 there were about 4-5 million people practicing yoga and there were 46 visits to the emergency room for yoga related injuries. To put that into perspective, here is a sample of some exercise and fitness related emergency visits for last year:
- Basketball: 512,213
- Bicycling: 485,669
- Bicycling: 485,669
- Football: 418,260
- Soccer: 174,686
- Baseball: 155,898
- Skateboards: 112,544
- Trampolines: 108,029
- Golf: 47,360
So in comparison, yoga is incredibly safe. Pay attention to your body, ignore your ego, make sure you have a certified yoga instructor leading the class and remember that it should be fun and YOUR practice.
Caroline O'Dwyer, Teacher at Nomad Yoga
"This reminded me of a phrase that many people in the yoga world like to use: “yoga is for everybody,” and I’ve been thinking a lot about how that really isn’t true. Sure, the practice of yoga is for everybody, and can be adapted to anyone and everyone to meet their individual needs, but to think that everybody one day will be able to do a specific pose with enough practice, is both unrealistic, and honestly, dangerous."
Heidi Kaufman, Teacher and Owner at Blue Lotus Yoga
“Anusara yoga is an alignment oriented practice. We provide a very solid foundation for building a yoga practice from the brand new beginner on up. We spend a lot of time teaching proper alignment and we promote honoring your body where it is today as a means of empowering students to engage in self-awareness and self-care during their practice.”
Mark Sandler, Teacher and Co-Owner at Absolute Yoga & Wellness
One of the common limiting self imposed concepts is that modern life is competition. The attitude of effort & competition is the leading cause of physical injury . My understanding and how I teach is that authentic Yoga is the process of getting out of ones own way and practicing Satsang (sharing in truth with those who inspire us). Read More
Carrie Gaynor, Teacher and Co-Owner at Absolute Yoga & Wellness
In the next decade, we will see fascial anatomy and fascially-based fitness leading a transformation of movement-based practices and injury prevention. Once neglected and overlooked, knowledge of fascial anatomy, deepened by clinical practice and research efforts (www.fasciacongress.org/2012), is now showing us how to increase and protect the vitality of our soft tissue networks. The result is higher levels of mind-body integration, a greater enjoyment through the use of our bodies AND fewer soft tissue injuries. Read More
Carrie Hersovici , Teacher and Owner at Prana Yoga & Boutique
“Yoga is and should be about breath. You can hurt yourself if you do the poses incorrectly or push yourself beyond your limits. Yoga injuries can easily be avoided if you listen to your body and stay within your abilities. Yoga is not a competition. Take your time, do the poses properly, and reap the rewards of practicing Yoga.”
Liz Fazackerley, Teacher at Breathe Yoga
“I injure myself when I listen to my ego instead of my body.”
Julie Cavanuagh, Teacher at the Southeast Y and Fitness and Strength in Webster
"Yoga is meant to help, not hurt. The key point shared by the instructor in the article is to take your ego out of yoga. When I teach, I offer options, to help take egos out of the mix. When you practice with your ego and judgment, that’s when injuries happen. I think this is a good article to remind teachers that our students need us to help them learn how to listen to their bodies, and how to practice without ego."
Kara Bumpus, Owner of New Moon Healing, Teacher at Molly's Yoga Corner and Finger Lakes Yoga Center
“My expression of yoga is an overall gentle (yet still challenging) practice based on staying present with the breath & increasing awareness of the sensations that one experiences. I believe it is of the utmost importance to listen to the voice within; to honor one’s resistance while finding his/her edge (that balance between movement and resistance) in order to avoid injury. I am a huge advocate of the power in the subtleties in each sequence of soft movements. Building each pose from the ground up is essential to enhance stability and prevent injury. When a person is stable, there is power and when there is power, there are choices… on and off the mat. If you typically practice a fast-paced vinyasa style class, I highly recommend incorporating an alignment based class into your routine to gain an understanding of how to safely sustain each pose, as well as how to move in and out of asana. Always remember to move from how you feel internally and respect that. Namaste.”
Josh Bryant, Teacher and Owner at Nomad Yoga
"The idea of subjugating matter/body is not new to yoga nor is it newly contested. Had the Buddha not stopped practicing popular ancient techniques of ascetic self-mortification in rejection of spiritual nihilism there would be no Buddhism. Though distinct, asceticism and injury share the same conscious or unconscious call to deny/punish body in the name of affirming something else; be it enlightenment, a nice butt, an ignorant teacher’s expectations, etc. The need for pseudo-spiritual affirmation feeds a historically irrelevant asana worship with ascetic fitness spin that can be profiteered on under the size zero and below veneer of Yoga, Inc. Allowing this to brew alongside questionable “RYT” standards, pre-digested cues and cookie cutter asana molds imposed on miraculously dynamic and fluid human organisms by teachers with perhaps not so much experience of embodiment, it’s not so shocking things go awry."
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ContributorsSandy Hicks, Grounded by Yoga
François Raoult, Open Sky Yoga
Molly Huff, Molly's Yoga Corner
Lou Papa (MD), Inspire Yoga
Caroline O'Dwyer, Nomad Yoga
Heidi Kaufman, Blue Lotus Yoga
Mark Sandler, Absolute Yoga & Wellness
Carrie Gaynor, Absolute Yoga & Wellness
Carrie Herscovici, Prana Yoga & Boutique
Liz Fazackerley, Breathe Yoga
Julie Cavanuagh, Southeast Y/Fitness & Strength
Kara Bumpus, New Moon Healing
Josh Bryant, Nomad Yoga
Grounded by Yoga
Yoga 301: The Art of Safe Instruction in Power Yoga/Flow with Kurt Johnson. Offering instructors an opportunity to learn safe techniques from the ground up. March 3 & 4 from 2pm -4:30pm. $55 each or $95 for both.
Foundations of Yoga. A 13 week program to dive deeper into the practice of yoga, including the poses, its history, philosophy and more. Meets weekly starting Jan 19, Every Thursday, 7pm-8:20pm. Cost $120.
Molly's Yoga Corner
Beginner/Foundational Yoga Classes:
- Monday 5:30-6:30 pm 6:45-8:00 pm
- Tuesday 4:30-5:45 pm
- Wednesday 9:00-10:15 pm
- Thursday 5:30-6:30 pm
Blue Lotus Yoga
Introduction to Yoga Class on Thursdays at 6pm
Foundations classes throughout the week at various times of day.
Prana Yoga & Boutique
Beginner’s Workshop January 14, 21 and 28 at 2:30pm
Finger Lakes Yoga Center
Kripalu Yoga with Kara Bumpus
Wednesdays, 6-7:30pm
A slow-moderate paced, alignment-based class with longer holds of asanas.
