voices
The Controversy on Yoga
DEVARSHI STEVEN
HARTMAN, RYT, Dean of the
Kripalu School of Yoga. Now in its
40th year, Kripalu is known
through its
research
efforts in partnership with
staff from
Harvard Medical School.“I like to
think of Kripalu as the Harvard of
yoga,” says this yoga student and
teacher for 30 years and creator
of the best-selling audio series
The Essence of the Bhagavad-Gita.
To see Hartman’s workshops and
programs, visit kripalu.org.
NANCY BYRD RADDING is
the fitness director at the Oaks at
Ojai and has been a fitness professional for
over 30 years.
She coordinates an
ongoing
internship program at the Oaks
for university seniors pursuing
health as a career.
For this Voices feature,
Radding collaborated with Oaks
yoga teachers Lyn Kustal, Maura
Patrice and Carol Janelle to put
together a consolidated expert
response. For more about Oaks at
Ojai, visit oaksspa.com.
24 PULSE
■
C
ontroversy swirled around yoga recently from
articles that appeared in the New York Times
and news reports from NBC. Critics said that,
contrary to claims of healing and pain-relief,
yoga may instead cause injuries.
Pulse asks experts to weigh in on the debate.
Can yoga cause injuries?
Hartman: One assumes that it is yoga that is the root
cause [of injuries]; it is not. Yoga is movement. At
Kripalu, we refer to it as “meditation in motion.” With
movement comes risk of varied degrees, depending
upon age, limitations, previous injuries, strength, time
of day, awareness, type of movement, how much
weight bearing is taking place…and these are just a
few of the variables to take into account. The human
body is made to move, but it does suffer injuries and
degenerates.
Yoga is vast in its scope of movement. The safe
quest for flexibility, mobility, strength and stability is
important for vitality. Along the way, sometimes
people go too far, go beyond a limit and suffer the consequences. Part of the inquiry around
strength and flexibility is finding one’s limits, or edge, and exploring that.
Radding: As with all forms of exercise, injuries can and do occur. Any practice—yoga, Pilates,
dance, stretch class, resistance machines, etc.—can cause injuries when we work beyond our
boundaries. I do not believe that yoga intrinsically has any more or less risk than any other type of
exercise. I do believe that injuries occur due to a lack of personal awareness (not paying attention
to how one’s body feels in each position), and overdoing (forcing and straining to “do” a certain
pose “right” versus making adjustments and modifications that are appropriate).
How can spa and yoga center operators prevent the risk of injury?
Hartman: Hire educated teachers who have studied at reputable institutions! Many, many people
have taken fast and inadequate “yoga teacher trainings.” Look for instructors whose teacher training was well-rounded, including anatomy and physiology in addition to philosophy.
Radding: Give participants the freedom to modify poses. I always give students “permission” to
take breaks, to stay tuned into how they feel, and to avoid pain. “Pleasant tension” is okay, but
not pain. Another way is to stick with the fundamentals of alignment in every class without fail.
Having well-trained and experienced teachers who teach self-awareness and the importance of
breath in movement is essential.
March/April 2012