Yoga Reconsidered

I can’t say that I think that yoga is an effective practice for Modern Western society. Yoga is a contextual system meaning that its creation was designed to fit the needs of a culture for a certain period of time to attain certain goals.

Originally Yoga was used for rituals and ceremonies, to attain ultimate consciousness. Patanjali “the father of Yoga” had a great influence on how yoga is practiced today including more emphasis on the powers of the body. Today yoga primarily is used for physical exercises or ‘Hatha’ yoga.

Yoga does not make you strong. Strength is defined as “the ability of the neuromuscular system to produce internal tension (in the muscles and connective tissue that pull on the bones) to overcome an external force”. (NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training, 2007, P.227) I know people that do yoga that have their back go out on them from picking up a 1 oz. pen. I guess the pen was stronger. The question is what activity are you training for? Are you training for skiing, cycling, and dancing or just daily life activities? Sometimes I feel like I am training just to be able to open the door at my local hardware store, some doors are really heavy, this one is about 80lbs. Yoga does not teach you good biomechanics to open doors like this or even other daily activities like lifting your grocery bags, walking up stairs or even just walking, picking up and holding your children, getting into your car, sitting at a computer, and cleaning your home.

I question the reason for trying to duplicate a lifestyle system from another culture, time and intention. I also question the logic of group classes in which Yoga is usually taught. They are generic and when it comes to movement there is no one size fits all. More injuries come out of group classes than ever. The inability of the instructor to pay attention to your individual needs is inevitable. Yes, you have individual needs that are often dramatically different than your yogi neighbor. It is this lack of attention and correction from the instructor that makes you prone to injury. Every year the emergency rooms sees more Yoga related injuries. Check out this Time Magazine article out. When Yoga Hurts


Aspects of Yoga are beneficial. Being a Yoga instructor myself and a past rigorous practitioner for many years I come to realize the value of knowing the ‘Why” behind my choice of yoga movements and techniques. Yoga should not be practicing haphazardly. Before practicing a posture one should carefully study the pose and understand the reason for doing it. Often people say consult your doctor before doing exercise (Doctor complete about 20 hrs. of physical education credits in a typical non specialized program) I also recommend consulting with an well experienced personal trainer or physical therapist. They will have the ability to discern what poses are good and not good for you and the proper way to do them. For most clients that I personally train, I would not recommend that they be doing downward dog repetitively, a very common pose in most yoga flows.
One of the most valuable techniques in Yoga is learning to breath and concentrate. Understanding how to control your nervous system and relax is an invaluable life skill that can be applied to every activity in life. It is the idea of being full of care or careful.

If you have any aches and pains and you participate is a Yoga class, you may want to question if the postures you are doing are truly beneficial for your body. What is the purpose of putting pressure on a bent/extended wrist position, like in downward dog and plank pose, over and over again in the course of an hour? Not to mention the range of motion of your shoulder! There are many was to do yoga…make sure the way that you are practicing is giving you what you need. Know the ‘why’ of your exercise!

Listen to your doctor? Or should you?

We have all heard a doctor recommend exercise as protocol to address hundreds of ailments. Seems simple enough but how do you know what exercise is right for you? Find a good personal trainer to avoid the confusion created from all the commercial exercise fads that are popularized to make money. Getting a good personal trainer is more of a health investment or insurance policy. A personal trainer that can build your awareness of good body mechanics awareness could help you avoid needing or delay a $50,000 knee, shoulder, or hip surgery. How’s that for an investment? Yes, getting a personal trainer can be a bit pricey but you can gain personalized information that will last a lifetime and will translate to any activity that you do.

As a personal trainer at Functional Fitness Wellness Center in Boulder, Colorado I specialize in corrective exercise and personal movement analysis. Clients usually come to me after they are injured and are often are surprised when they get an injury. They ask “how did this happen”? There is always a reason. Unfortunately most injuries are silent and can take years to develop, but can often be identified in a movement analysis. One of the most common places that facilitate injuries is in a group exercise class and in fad workouts. Classes and exercise fads are usually too general and cannot tend to your personal body needs. Everyone is very different! It is my goal to help people to understand ways to move that facilitate true health and longevity through understanding the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of movement when they are exercising.

When interviewing a trainer ask what they specialize in? How long they have been practicing? Do they have client testimonials? Do they have experience with meeting your particular needs? What is their certification? Do they have any other education? What is their focus?

The truth is not all trainers are the same. If their focus is not on longevity and injury prevention then find another trainer. It is worth paying the extra amount to get quality training and true health insurance.