Does Yoga Hurt More Than it Heals?
For many people intent on kicking off a shiny new year by starting or strengthening their yoga practice, the sheen on their resolutions may have dulled, thanks to a high profile piece by William J. Broad, in the New York Times magazine section this past Sunday. That's because according to the article--an adaptation from an upcoming book--the risks of yoga outweigh the benefits and most people should just stop doing it.
Strong stuff about an activity that until now, has been hailed as a mystical healing force, (legitimately) able to cure, calm and rehabilitate a huge variety of woes, from anxiety and depression to chronic disease.
The Times piece tells a blunt, cautionary tale, citing a plethora of alarming problems that can arise from coaxing the body into "extreme" shapes. These include everything from neck trauma and joint injuries, to strokes and other forms of cerebral damage.
It's enough to make even the most gung-ho yogi consider rolling up her mat for good. But before you do, consider this: though yoga has its origins in Shamanism, the original healing art that dates back to the Stone Age, it was never intended to make do so by making people into master contortionists. This may discourage some who come to the studio in search of the yoga's side benefit, a toned and taut physique.
The real point of yoga however, lies in its definition. The word "yoga," is derived from the root of the Sanskrit word yuj, meaning to unite or to join. The subtleties infer a union between the individual self and Cosmic Consciousness or the Universal Spirit. The physical postures of yoga developed as just one path up the mountain of self-enlightenment, just one aspect of a triad of sorts, aimed at merging body, mind and soul. According to Georg Feuerstein, who many regard as the foremost authority on yoga's history, "The traditional purpose of Yoga has always been to bring about a profound transformation in the person through the transcendence of the ego."
Approaching your practice with the intention to slay the ego, rather than the failures of the physical form makes yoga a very different activity than many people newer to yoga expect. Yet yoga practice is more about undoing, than doing. It requires cultivating deep listening; an ability to tune in to what your own body (mind and soul--) are telling you about your own limits and needs.
In other words, the physical poses help refine the insides, by to building practitioners patience level and ability to accept what is, as well as grounding them in the present moment.
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