How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body - One Yogi's Response

If you read the New York Times there's a good chance you read the front page article How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body.  

I'd like to respond to that article by saying yoga isn't wrecking people's bodies as much as our westernized understanding of how to teach and how to practice yoga.  Overall, yoga does way more good than it does harm.

Yoga wasn't designed to be a one-size-fits-all workout regime.  Every BODY is different.   But since this is how we typically practice yoga in America, it is important to understand your limitations and be mindful while moving through the poses and to know what you can and cannot handle.  It is also important to have an understanding of how to practice the poses correctly. Everyone should take a beginners workshop before moving on to a regular practice.

One major problem that Glenn Black mentions in the New York Times article is the fact that people push themselves without consideration for the current state of their bodies.  Ego has no place in yoga and those who practice for an end result will eventually get hurt.  In addition, in today's society our awareness tends to stay mostly with our thoughts.  If you are paying attention to your thoughts you are not paying attention to what your body is doing.  You could get hurt just as easily by mindlessly walking down the stairs, crossing the street or even getting out of bed.

When I was little I came very close to drowning while swimming in the ocean.  My mom didn't tell me I should never swim again.  She instead warned me against the dangers of undertow and currents and taught me to have respect for the water.  The lesson here should not be - don't do yoga, it will hurt you, rather, RESPECT yoga and the current state of your body.  I have found that yoga, if done correctly, truly is the best method of protecting, maintaining and conditioning the body and far surpasses any of our western exercise models.

Please don't let this or any other article sway you from exploring yoga.  It has become popular for a reason - because it has changed many people's lives for the better, including my own, and it shouldn't be written off so casually the way it was done in this article.