Can Yoga Hurt You?

Who would have thought that the peaceful and beautiful practice of Yoga would turn into such a hot topic of debate, attitudes, controversy, and injury? The irony is enough to make us raise our eyebrows and shake our head. We all know there are many different styles of Yoga, with eastern and western flavors and different philosophies and approaches, but with hopefully similar goals of self-fulfillment. We also know that Yoga teachers range from those who have studied Yoga seriously for years to those who are teaching from a gym perspective, the latter often being current or former aerobics instructors. Is one type of teacher better than the other from the standpoint of injuries? That would depend on the individual, his or her knowledge base, level of dedication, purpose in teaching Yoga, and numerous other factors. There is a major misunderstanding between the two groups and I would love to elaborate on it, but that is not the purpose of this article.

Instead of assuming an automatic preference for one type of teacher over another, consider what qualities are important in a yoga teacher. On your list of qualities, did the word “safe” appear? For most people who are newly interested in the physical benefits of yoga, safety would likely be an important issue. In fact, many people who are uncertain about, injured by, or intimidated by other forms of exercise often turn to yoga as a perceived safe alternative for increasing their fitness and relieving stress. Unfortunately, they are being let down in increasingly larger numbers, as yoga injuries are on the rise. I realize that some suggest it is impossible to get hurt if we truly listen to our body and practice yoga as intended, but in my experience there seems to be just a small number of practitioners who have really good sensory and mind-body awareness. We thus cannot defer to this suggestion and hope the downside will simply go away.

Doctors and chiropractors around the country are reporting a marked increase in yoga-related injuries. Like it or not, yoga has turned into a fitness trend, and whether the yoga teacher has studied in India for 20 years or was last year’s hottest kickboxing instructor, both have potential to cause more harm than good in their yoga teaching if the fundamental information about anatomy, limitations, and safety is not clearly understood. Let’s thus consider how to practice and teach yoga safely so that its benefits can be enjoyed instead of compromised.