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Dangers of yoga article


HIT Rob
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Yeah seen that lol, i know were your coming from though, the media can over state the facts to make it more dramatic and bold. Personally though, i don't doubt some of the findings, the exaggerated ranges of motion, and obscure positions held for prolonged periods for many is just asking for trouble.

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In my opinion, yoga doesn't really have any more potential to cause bodily harm than strength training. Both require that you listen to your body, learn things slowly, and pay attention to the alignment of your muscles, bones, and connective tissue. Anyone who is injuring themselves doing yoga has done so because they pushed too hard, too fast, and didn't listen to their bodies. This is a common problem through any sort of exercise program.

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That's true B&B, though if you weight train wisely, ie controlled none explosive reps, smooth turnarounds, (and not using exaggerated ranges of motion), the potential for injury is much lower. The thing with flexibility is, it has a strongly genetically mediated limit, a muscle can not "increase" its flexibility without tearing something or losing its tonus, but with yoga, one is encouraged over time to push that genetically mediated limit further, which is not the best idea, as this is one limit that can not be transcended.

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I have been doing yoga for a little over a decade and I would say the statement "but with yoga, one is encouraged over time to push that genetically mediated limit further" is flat out incorrect. I have never met a yoga instructor that would tell you to push past what your body to do or encourage you to do so. I would also say the article is taking the danger of doing back bends, which really aren't that common in yoga practice, and making some blanket claims. B&B is spot on, any exercise comes with risk and people should listen to their bodies.

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In both strength training and yoga practice, we are pushing our bodies to adapt. There's no genetically mediated limit of adaptation that we're running up against. And I'd second vegantri that any instructor is not going to push a student past a limit that is reasonable for their bodies. Generally options are given for varying difficulties of poses so that anyone from a beginner to someone with an advanced practice can get the most possible out of class while still practicing safely. Strength training is consistently rated as one of the safest sports, and I agree with that, but yoga is right up there next to it, given that both are practiced knowledgeably and safely. I'd actually argue that they have great cross over in making many aspects of training or practicing safer and easier.

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I have been doing yoga for a little over a decade and I would say the statement "but with yoga, one is encouraged over time to push that genetically mediated limit further" is flat out incorrect. I have never met a yoga instructor that would tell you to push past what your body to do or encourage you to do so. I would also say the article is taking the danger of doing back bends, which really aren't that common in yoga practice, and making some blanket claims. B&B is spot on, any exercise comes with risk and people should listen to their bodies.

 

 

Perhaps its "flat out incorrect" with YOUR experience, they must do things differently in the U.S, several years ago for a period of 3 years i also practiced yoga in 2 different countries with several instructors (as a supplement to martial arts training), i found for MY experience what i stated to be flat out true, i was encourage to push my limits (positions of exaggerated range of motion held for prolonged periods), as where others in the classes i attended....despite the fact some of those people were complaining of back pain, hip pain, wrist pain etc.

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In both strength training and yoga practice, we are pushing our bodies to adapt. There's no genetically mediated limit of adaptation that we're running up against. And I'd second vegantri that any instructor is not going to push a student past a limit that is reasonable for their bodies. Generally options are given for varying difficulties of poses so that anyone from a beginner to someone with an advanced practice can get the most possible out of class while still practicing safely. Strength training is consistently rated as one of the safest sports, and I agree with that, but yoga is right up there next to it, given that both are practiced knowledgeably and safely. I'd actually argue that they have great cross over in making many aspects of training or practicing safer and easier.

 

"There's no genetically mediated limit of adaptation that we're running up against"

 

Perhaps i'm picking this up wrong, but are you suggesting that we as individuals don't have a genetically mediated limit for flexibility or increasing strength?

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"There's no genetically mediated limit of adaptation that we're running up against"

 

Perhaps i'm picking this up wrong, but are you suggesting that we as individuals don't have a genetically mediated limit for flexibility or increasing strength?

 

What I'm saying is that each individual's limit, be it strength or flexibility, is a moving target that will change with training and adaptation. Right now my strength limit and flexibility limit is different than it was a year ago, and different than it will be a year in the future. I do not believe that there is any specific genetic code that dictates that an individual will only be able to increase their strength up to some certain point, and never ever any further. Of course flexibility is slightly different because at some point you will be hindered by actual physical objects (you can't stretch your leg through your chest, for instance, no matter how flexible you are). However, I believe there is pretty much always room for adaptation.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eva-norlyk-smith-phd/yoga-injuries-debate_b_2896134.html

 

Here is are article that tries to put some data behind Yoga and injuries, specifically what is claimed in the article you posted to and the book that it references. Not terribly surprising the injury rate from Yoga is significantly lower than that of weightlifting. Lifting is 4 times as high. It also points out that one of the studies that the book and article use was cited incorrectly to the point that the authors of the studies have refuted the claims made based on their study.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eva-norlyk-smith-phd/yoga-injuries-debate_b_2896134.html

 

Here is are article that tries to put some data behind Yoga and injuries, specifically what is claimed in the article you posted to and the book that it references. Not terribly surprising the injury rate from Yoga is significantly lower than that of weightlifting. Lifting is 4 times as high. It also points out that one of the studies that the book and article use was cited incorrectly to the point that the authors of the studies have refuted the claims made based on their study.

 

 

Wow, what a great article with tons of links to primary sources. Thanks for sharing.

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"There's no genetically mediated limit of adaptation that we're running up against"

 

Perhaps i'm picking this up wrong, but are you suggesting that we as individuals don't have a genetically mediated limit for flexibility or increasing strength?

 

What I'm saying is that each individual's limit, be it strength or flexibility, is a moving target that will change with training and adaptation. Right now my strength limit and flexibility limit is different than it was a year ago, and different than it will be a year in the future. I do not believe that there is any specific genetic code that dictates that an individual will only be able to increase their strength up to some certain point, and never ever any further. Of course flexibility is slightly different because at some point you will be hindered by actual physical objects (you can't stretch your leg through your chest, for instance, no matter how flexible you are). However, I believe there is pretty much always room for adaptation.

 

 

Ahh, i'm with ya now mate, I believe there is a limit, and reason being, there are many genetically limiting factors among individuals, when it comes to strength and muscle size for example, skeletal formation, muscle belly length, metabolism, muscle fiber density, nero-musculature efficiency, intra-muscular coordination as well as physiological barriers that all play a role in determining how far an individual can go. When it comes to flexibility, the same is true, there are genetically limiting factors. This being true, it only stands to reason that where there is genetically limiting factors, there is a genetically mediated limit.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eva-norlyk-smith-phd/yoga-injuries-debate_b_2896134.html

 

Here is are article that tries to put some data behind Yoga and injuries, specifically what is claimed in the article you posted to and the book that it references. Not terribly surprising the injury rate from Yoga is significantly lower than that of weightlifting. Lifting is 4 times as high. It also points out that one of the studies that the book and article use was cited incorrectly to the point that the authors of the studies have refuted the claims made based on their study.

 

 

Interesting read, thanks for posting, i'm surprise its only 4x as high (based on how what i seen in the gym over the years), and not just from sloppy form, but also, from training muscles through positions of dis-advantaged leverage (which is why i now use static holds and limit my ROM on exercises). But as i stated previously, if the individual avoid's exaggerated ROM, lifts under control, smooth turnarounds etc, its a very safe way to train. The likes of John Little and Doug Mcguff have overseen 150,000 one on one HIT workouts with clients and never had someone get injured. In fact they've done their fair share of helping individuals rehabbing injuries. Personally, my injuries were caused from years of training my muscles through a "full range of motion", as well as high impact martial arts training.

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