Two recent articles in the New York Times Magazine and New York magazine have posited an unlikely theory: Yoga may be bad for you. The Times article clearly hit a nerve—days after it was published online last week, it still hovers in the top ten “most viewed” and “most emailed” categories.

According to the Times article, many yoga practitioners—and even their teachers—are injuring themselves “in droves because most have underlying physical weaknesses or problems that make serious injury all but inevitable.”

To Rebecca Bergstrom of Yoga Desha, the fact that yoga may do more harm than good was not breaking news. “A lot of people are getting hurt doing yoga,” she tells Baristanet. “It’s a big secret.”

With this in mind, Bergstrom has for years been teaching a gentler approach. Too many yoga teachers wrongly push their students to do more, she says. Instructors tell someone to do something that’s not for them, she says—a kind of “one size fits all” approach that doesn’t work for every person.

Practice at Yoga Desha, she says, is very individualized.

“Different techniques work for different people at different times,” she tells us. “I ask people to move in different ways and I ask what people are feeling in their bodies. Often they don’t know, and it’s a real breakthrough when they realize that.”

Marcie Wallace, who teaches restorative yoga at Lotus Yoga, agrees that too many people push themselves in yoga, but thinks the Times article was overblown. While she works with people who have injured themselves through yoga practice, she also comes across many who have injured themselves from other sports and activities. 

“Yoga is about finding your balance,” she says. “The people that were injured in the article were clearing not listening to their bodies to find their balance.”

 “Bodies should never be pushed into a posture,” she adds. “There is no ideal posture as we are all constructed differently. The key is to listen well with your body, mind and spirit. Know when to go for it and when to pull back.”

Photo by Matt J. Olsen/flickr

8 replies on “Teaching Yoga the Right Way”

  1. I would also say, go to smaller classes wherever possible. Good teachers in small classes will correct postures and ask students ahead of time about any pains they have.

  2. Just because Yoga has a cool name, its poses have cool names (“downward facing dog,””King Pigeon,” and my fave, “Big Toe”), and ends a session with “Namaste,” doesn’t mean it’s not tough.

    Hell, anyone who’s ever found themselves in a Half Moon Pose knows there’s a danger all around. I guess I’m surprised that this is news. But then again, it’s YOGA. What could possibly go wrong:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI8KYhEzbwc&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL59A3CDFD51DFAE82

  3. I’ve been engaging in yoga of one sort or another since Richard Hittleman’s TV program many many years ago. Size of class really didn’t matter to me. The teacher does. It’s all about recognizing your own body’s ability and not going beyond it’s natural limitations. With age flexibility is reduced for many. Caution is a must for me in once easily mastered poses.

  4. Bravo to Rebecca and all the commentators on finding a good teacher. I am the owner and director of Starseed Yoga in Montclair. I too have been injured through yoga many years ago but it was my own bravado of pushing my body to extremes against my teacher’s guidance. I now practice with an open mind and heart of what my body needs that is the true grace and awareness that yoga promises. I field so many calls regularly of people with injuries asking if yoga can help them based on a doctor’s recommendation. Yoga can be a healing practice and therapeutic if practiced with mindfulness, and working consistently with the right teacher. I know that all of my wonderful teacher’s are fully equipped to teach to any injury or special conditions. It may not be hot and sexy but we truly believe that yoga is for everyone and every’body’.

  5. I agree with Amy that mindfulness is key. If your mind is wandering, your body is likely to go with it. In fact, mindlessness leads to accidents in every aspect of our lives. To say that yoga is bad for you is like saying life is bad for you.

  6. Anything – taught badly by unqualified instructors – can be a source of injury: Tai chi, yoga, martial arts, whatever. Among all of the yoga studios in and around Montclair, you can surely find a qualified professional instructor. Try Starseed yoga, at 215 Glenridge Avwenue. They’re superb!

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