When East Meets West

As a teacher trained in therapeutic yoga, I gasped when I read the title of an article published in The New York Times on January 5. “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body” sparked my immediate attention. Like all good yogis, I took a deeeeep breath (sorta) and then decided to offer my insights into the author’s claim that yoga practice is harmful.

Glenn Black, a yoga teacher with 40 years experience, was interviewed by the author of the article, William Broad. Black works with practitioners and teachers who come to him for rehabilitation following yoga injuries – many from extreme yoga postures that could have been avoided. He states, however, that “the vast majority of people should give up yoga altogether.”

I found it interesting that Mr. Black, who has a lot of experience but no formal training for determining which poses are good for a students, felt tenderness in his low back 20 years ago, and yet he continued to practice “extreme backbends and twists” until the pain became unbearable and required surgical intervention.

In my study and practice of yoga, I’ve learned yoga has a set of ethical principles or guidelines, the first of which is ahimsa and refers to nonviolence. Ahimsa asks us to be in a right relationship with ourselves, with others, and with our earth. This allows us to live fully without causing harm. When this principle is practiced along with the physical postures, it is very easy to avoid injury.

Here in the West, however, we value “the end” and not the process. Most, if not all of us, were raised with the adage “no pain – no gain,” and we like to go deep and work hard.

In the East, the physical practice of yoga is a small part of the practice, while here in the West yoga has become another form of athletics.

Here in the West, when we hear the word “yoga” we think of postures or asanas. We envision students putting themselves into shapes that resemble pretzels; when, in fact, the postures are a small part of the actual practice of yoga.

Yoga invites us to practice ahimsa first. This means leaving our ambition outside of the studio door and practicing with awareness. Forget about the end and focus on the process. One of my teachers states, “Biomechanics and kinesiology are facts of life on the earthly plane, and we need to honor them.”

The physical practice of yoga developed as a way to prepare the body to sit for long periods of time in meditation – to sit comfortably and still. Asana can be loosely interpreted as “sitting comfortably and still,” and in the East, Indian practitioners of yoga spend their lives squatting and sitting cross-legged, while we spend our lives sitting in chairs.

When we as yoga students practice ahimsa, the “no pain – no gain” adage does not apply. Going deeper and focusing on the end can become a dangerous combination when trying to force oneself into a physical position that our bodies have not been conditioned for!

Many students come to me with injuries caused by the physical practice of yoga. At first, they find it difficult to slow down, to trust that less really is more, and to let go of the image of the pose they saw on the cover of the latest Yoga Journal. Other students come to me with injuries from running, golfing, biking, and weight lifting. The point is that any physical activity can cause harm when we don’t listen to the messages our bodies are sending us.

When we practice ahimsa, we stop when we feel the sensation of pain. If we are really paying attention, we stop before we feel the pain, and we learn how to stay in a place of spaciousness. Rather than impatiently wishing for more, can we remain “comfortable and still” in our practice?

Does the fact that injuries can occur while practicing mean that we should give up yoga altogether? I think not. Many students of yoga, who practice with care, can attest to its myriad benefits ranging from physical strength and flexibility to a greater sense of peacefulness.

The invitation then, is not to stop practicing yoga, but to expand your practice to include the deeper qualities of yoga by practicing the ethical principles beginning with ahimsa. When you practice with awareness, move slow and set aside your ambition, you can reap the many benefits of yoga without injury.

Theresa Evans, RN, RYT500, Certified Critical Alignment Therapist, is the owner of Stone Path Yoga Studio, located on Highway 57 in Sister Bay. For more information call 920.421.1607, email [email protected] or visit http://www.stonepathyoga.com.