Not long ago, I took a vinyasa flow class from a new yoga
teacher (new to me, at least) at one of my favorite yoga studios. At one
point, while holding a difficult pose in a challenging sequence, the teacher
told us, “When it hurts is when the real yoga begins.”
I never went back to that class. And I’ll never take a class
from that teacher again.
As I always tell my own yoga students, and anyone else
who’ll listen, yoga is not supposed to hurt. Ever.
Too many people are hurting themselves doing yoga these
days, as revealed in a recent excerpt from William J. Broad’s new book The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards published in the New York Times Magazine called
How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body:
This story has caused a furor among students and teachers
alike. But it’s not a new story. People who treat yoga as a competitive sport
and/or a punishing uber-spiritual discipline run the risk of harming
themselves—and they’re doing so in record numbers.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy, Skip That Headstand
Yoga is a practice designed to help us attain
enlightenment—and causing pain is not an act of enlightenment. Indeed, the
first yama—or precept—of yoga is
known as ahimsa. That is, do no harm. This principle of
non-violence extends not just to other people—and other sentient beings—but to
ourselves as well.
To derive the true benefits of yoga—a flexible body, a quiet
mind, and a happy spirit—we need to honor our bodies, acknowledge our
limitations, and embrace our possibilities.
You don’t have to stand on your head to do that. You just
have to close your eyes, empty your mind, and breathe. We practice yoga so we
can enjoy Savasana at the end of
class—those divine moments of bliss in which we lie on the floor, completely
relaxed from head to toe, dead to the world.
That’s what yoga is really all about. So if you ever find
yourself in a class where competition—not serenity—reigns, resist. If you feel
pressured to wrap your leg around your head, leave. If your teacher reminds you
of Jane Fonda circa 1980 proclaiming “Go for the burn!,” find another teacher.
Pronto.
Because ahimsa,
like peace, begins with you.
The Year of Giving continues….
Day 11 of 365
I gave away my scale today. I was shopping with a friend who
was about to buy one when I suddenly said, “Don’t bother. I’ve got a perfectly
good scale at home I haven’t really used since I took up yoga and lost three
jeans sizes.” Who needs a scale when you’ve got sun salutations?
Day 12 of 365
Tomorrow I’ve got to do a job interview via Skype. (It’s a
brave new world, folks.) So I grabbed a girlfriend with good taste and took her
to Macy’s with me. Susan helped me pick out two great options for my Skype
spotlight. (Wish me luck!) So I gave her one of the blouses that looked far better on her than I.
Perfectly said, Paula. I've been doing yoga for more than 30 years and it's kept me in shape, content, and relaxed. As you say, it's NOT a competitive sport. People who think "no pain, no gain" are in the wrong place--they're putting a Western spin on an ancient Eastern practice. Play football instead.
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