Thread: Yoga ??......Hmmmm

I have done Yoga on and off for the past couple of years.. mainly because it is the only thing I have found that really targets the majority of the core muscle groups effectively for me.

I will definitely say to check into any instructor carefully as Mitch stated there are some good ones and there are some bad ones. I recently checked out a new Yoga place that does "Hot" Yoga.. Every single person came out of that session drenched in sweat and it was almost as much cardio as a 5k run. Not something I would recommend for a beginner but more of something to watch out for when looking into different types of Yoga.

Another option depending on what you are looking to do is Tai Chi.. I find Yoga relaxing but it does tend to make me a little tight in certain (underdeveloped) areas which I can then loosen up with Tai Chi.

While I don't consider myself "advanced in years" (I'll be 40 on Thursday), Ashtanga yoga has helped me out a lot. After 3 knee surgeries, torn rotator cuff multiple times, and a lot of broken bones, yoga has helped my overall feeling of wellness. Plus the bending and flexing has helped a lot in the joints that already have arthritis. I still lift a lot of heavy weights but have replaced regular cardio (run, bike, stairs) with plyometric exercises that use your body-weight for resistance. Yoga fits in well with that routine.

When I first started, my wife and I went to a beginners class. That lasted for 6 months and then we bought a DVD and started doing it at home. I'm a relatively big guy and will never do the advanced poses, but I can make it through about half the routine and that is more than enough for me! Like many other people have posted, it is much harder than it looks.

Gee, it's been a while since I posted last.

Hi Nightblade,
Go ahead and laugh. I'm 58 y/o and have been a serious yogi for the past four or five years, carrying my yoga mat to class with me (though I don't wear spandex). ;-p Off the point -- a yogi is someone who is committed to the practice of yoga (yogini for the ladies).

You'll hear negative comments about any type of exercise people engage in. Running causes shin splints, plantar fasciitis, ankle, knee and back injuries. Weight lifting can cause muscle and tendon tears, ruptured ligaments, herniated disks, and so on. Don't let that frighten you out of getting off the couch and getting your body moving.

What you need to know about yoga is that it's been "in development" in India for 5,000 years. If it was really more hazardous than other forms of exercise, it would not have the world-wide popularity and acceptance it enjoys.

Yoga is actually a spiritual philosophy that involves eight separate paths, only one of which involves exercise, called "Hatha Yoga." Within Hatha Yoga there are a number of individual styles.

Don't be too concerned yet about the different styles of Hatha Yoga. It's more important to take a local class for a few months to find out if regular yoga exercise is something you'd like to commit to.

A certified yoga instructor will guide a class through a series of asanas (poses). On the surface, it would seem that the only benefit might be the stretching of muscles, tendons and ligaments and building strength. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Some asanas promote what is often called "opening the chest," which involves stretching the ribcage and spine and exercising chest and abdominal muscles to stimulate deep breathing. This increases the efficiency of oxygenating every tissue of the body.

Other asanas will focus on specific muscle groups, alternately tensing (compressing) those muscles, then releasing them. That first squeezes blood and lymph out of those muscles, then allows fresh blood and lymph to flow in. The lymphatic system is an important part of removing toxins from the body, but unlike the circulatory system, the lymphatic system does not have a pump. It is only the movement of muscles that causes the movement of lymph throughout the body. The more efficient movement of lymph throughout the body is the goal of these asanas.

Still other asanas will focus on the compression and release of various internal organs, for the same benefits described in the paragraph above.

Our bodies evolved with "built-in" detoxifying systems: the liver, kidneys, lungs and skin are the major detox pathways. But the modern world has overwhelmed the very systems we evolved to protect us from the toxins found in nature. If you were to read "Detoxify or Die" by Dr. Sherry Rogers, you would find out that there is no place on earth free of man made toxins. For example, DDT was found in the breast milk of Inuit women north of the Arctic Circle. The source of the DDT turned out to be clouds of DDT being sprayed in Africa for mosquito control.

In addition to the obvious stretching and muscle strength, the practice of yoga supports and facilitates the detoxification of our bodies. And it is an excellent form of meditation. That is what we yogis and yoginis get out of it, whether we realize it or not.

Shoki, Shuriken and CGarza mention Bikram Yoga. Of the various styles of Hatha Yoga, Bikram Yoga may provide the greatest benefits. The warm room it's practiced in promotes relaxation of the muscles, ligaments and tendons along with increased circulation. This allows for an extremely intense workout, while simultaneously mitigating any risk of muscle, ligament or tendon injury.

I have a friend who tried Bikram Yoga and she told me she didn't like the warm room, so she quit. Bikram Choudhury, who developed the style of yoga named after him, calls his classes "boot camp," so keep that in mind should you consider taking a class.

My yoga instructor brings extra mats to class to rent out for one dollar a class. Many yoga instructors do that also so you might not even have to buy a mat to see if yoga is a good "fit" for you.

WARNING!! Like straight razor shaving, yoga can be habit forming!

The best of luck to you!
Namaste,
Morty -_-

I've been doing a series of postures collectively known as the Sun Salutation, nearly every night before bed for the past 2-3 years, off and on for the past 10 years. I only do one or two sets, but I have done as many as 108 on Equinoxes and Solstices. Just before Christmas last year I was having terrible lower back stiffness, chronic stiff necks, all caused by a new job that required me to stand for hours at a time. I found this simple humble series of movements loosened me up enough to relieve my problems. In fact one particular night with the help of some ganja* I basically restructured my legs and lower back, changing the way I stand from then on.

*ganja is not for everyone but I feel if it is used in conjunction with discipline and direction, it can deepen your yoga practice greatly. Yoga and hash are both exports of India that can do great things or bad things, it's all in the technique.

Originally Posted by Lazarus

[QUOTE from ATG
As a certified Kinesiologist as well as someone who is currently doing a master's degree in spine biomechanics I would strongly recommend against yoga.

Yoga tends to push the end range of the body's joints and place unnecessary strain on bones and ligaments.

While you make some important points your conclusion is too broad. The links you provide highlight the dangers of certain ab exercises none of which are part of a traditional Yoga practice. In fact the three exercises which are recommended as safe in Professor McGill's video are all things I learned in Yoga. Given the wide variety of contemporary western Yoga what do you mean when you use the term?

There is nothing inherent in the practice of Yoga that would dictate pushing the end range of joints or placing unnecessary strain on bones and ligaments. Good Yoga teachers are very aware of these exact issues and are careful to emphasize best practices to avoid placing the stress into the joints and ligaments. Good teachers are also aware of issues such as hypermobility and joint laxity. All of the points you and your linked resources make were made in the 250 hour Yoga teacher training program I went through.

On the other hand I was given exercises by a certified kinesiologist that caused a severe injury to the mildly injured shoulder we were trying to fix. That is not an indictment of kinesiology, just one kinesiologist. It did not cause me to strongly recommend against doing physical therapy with certified kinesologists.

Having said that I would agree that working with a poor teacher (of which there is no shortage) or not being mindful in your practice can result in the problems you point out. In this regard Yoga is like pretty much any physical activity in that it can tend to cause injury if done improperly. As Professor McGill says "There is no such thing as an ideal abdominal exercise for everybody".

Yes there are exercises falling under the yoga umbrella which are okay, while there are also ones which are definitely not. Just googling "yoga poses" gave me this link: Yoga Poses with a chart of a bunch of yoga poses on it which is what I have in mind when I mention the western practice of yoga. Out of that chart there are maybe one or two poses which I wouldn't have a problem with. Every other pose involves unnecessary flexing and extending of the spine which may feel great when you do them thanks to the stretch reflex response of the muscles, but over time will put an individual at great risk for an injury. The most common injuries that come to mind given the poses are either a disc bulge or a spondylolisthesis fracture.

If those types of poses are being practiced, then they are placing abnormal stress on the joints and ligaments, bottom line.

It doesn't surprise me you had a poor experience with a kinesiologist as there are maybe a handful of practitioners who I would trust a patient with. This is also reflective of other professionals such as physiotherapists, chiropractors, physiatrists, GP's, surgeons, etc. I spend a considerable amount of my time educating these kinds of people about proper patient care for musculoskeletal injuries (mostly spinal) and a lot of them just don't get it. So I completely sympathize with you in that respect and I never refer people to a profession but always a person, if somebody's good, I don't care what background they have.

I think we both have similar frustrations with the incompetence of others in our fields giving them a bad name, but given the depictions of "proper" execution of a large number of mainstream westernized yoga poses, I would never regard them as exercises which will not cause injury if performed properly.

Ok guys.....I wish to say thank you all for your comments.They were all very helpful.I didn't post thanks individually as I didn't want to make anybody feel they were more or less helpful.As I am 47 and have lower back issues on occasion ,I have been looking for somthing to spice up my mundane stretching routine that my accupuncturist has me doing.Not that it wasn't helping mind you.I know that Yoga has been around for well over a few thousand years,so that in itself is a feather in the turbine if you will.I was looking for experiences that people have gotten with Yoga today and I think I have enough of what I am looking for.So with that I will just leave the thread with an open mind.Feel free to still post comments as you wish .I'll let y'all know how it goes when I get where I need to be.Trust me when I say to all you guys my age who are starting to feel middle age creaks and groans......I feel your pain heh heh. Take care and good shaves to all of ye eh .

I actually have a question for the certified yoga teachers here, Lazarus, et al. I am considering diving in seriously into getting certified, any guidance from someone who has been on that path would be greatly appreciated, either in public or via PM.
I've always found what worked best for me but it would be nice to get a deeper understanding from a 'guru' and then be able to express what I've learned to another in clear terms.
Has anyone seen the documentary Lighten Up? It's available for streaming on Netflix. I have my problems with it but found it worth watching.

from bassguy: [I actually have a question for the certified yoga teachers here, Lazarus, et al. I am considering diving in seriously into getting certified, any guidance from someone who has been on that path would be greatly appreciated, either in public or via PM.]

I sent you a PM.