Tag Archives: ashtanga yoga

Yoga is good for you despite what the newspapers seem to think.

Fitness and Yoga, , , , , , ,

The New York Times published an article with the sensational headline, “How Yoga Can Wreck your Body” at the beginning of January. Great timing when many people are looking to start a New Year with a determination to get fit. What a great way to put off anyone considering Yoga as their resolution. The article naturally caused outrage amongst Yoga teachers and many rebuttals have appeared since.

Yoga is good for you

On 29 Jan The Sunday Times published their own version. Since then I have seen Internet forums flooded with questions like, “Is yoga really safe?” or,  “Is Yoga dangerous?” People have even stayed behind after class to voice their concerns and seek advice.

Should they be worried? No – yoga is good for you but let’s be clear. Newspapers love sensational headlines. They also love to scare us. The Daily Mail is always running stories that one day claim something causes cancer and then next day that the same thing prevents cancer.

When you see a headline claiming that eating a certain type of food increases the chance of cancer by, say, 78% naturally you think that is a worrying figure. But they never publish the base statistic. If the incidence of that form of cancer is one in a million. Then a 78% increase means the incidence is still pretty close to one in a million. But it scares you none the less.

The Yoga article quotes 46 people who have suffered back problems, spinal issues and joint pain. Oh my God so every one should stop practicing Yoga immediately then, just in case. At the same time we should stop eating, drinking, going to the cinema, riding bikes, flying kites, taking dogs for walks, stroking cats, playing football and having sex. In fact curl up in a dark room and shut out the world.

There is risk associated with everything we do in life. And I mean everything. You may sprain your ankle running for the bus. You may trip and fall down the stairs and break your arm. It’s possible you might burn your hand severely whilst cooking your dinner.

Now consider what that 46 injuries really means in context. In the UK in 2010 nearly 2000 people died in car accidents. 22,600 were seriously injured. 184,000 were slightly injured. But newspapers don’t recommend you stop driving even though the fact remains that you are many more times more likely to be hurt driving to a Yoga class than you are to be hurt in one.

“Yoga is good for you.”

As long as you have a qualified teacher who gives you clear instructions, doesn’t over exert, extend or stretch you, then yoga will be of amazing benefit to your body’s strength and flexibility. Like any form of exercise take it at your own pace, grow in confidence, and enjoy it.

Don’t worry about what you read in the papers. Yoga is definitely, really good for you. Come along to a class and feel the benefits.

Over to you: If you are a yoga teacher what do you do to make your clients feel good, safe and confident? Are you a participant? Do you ever feel that yoga is not doing you some good?

Is there a Modern vs Traditional Yoga argument?

Fitness and Yoga, , , , , ,

There was a fascinating article in The Guardian this week looking at the development of “modern” yoga classes which are abandoning the spiritual and the mental elements and focusing on entirely on the physical. The headline posed what seems like a simple question.

Is this still yoga? A new generation of teachers is replacing traditional spirituality with plain-spoken simplicity.

Of course the answer is far from simple.

Having qualified as a Level 3 Yoga Teacher last year – I experienced quite a bit of snobbery on my journey. There are those who insist that Yoga has to be the full Physical, Spiritual and Mental experience – and in extreme cases will not tolerate dissension. In answer to that view we know that from the success of Freestyle Fitness Yoga and Body Balance that there are many people who simply want access to the physical side of yoga. Indeed for those people the Spiritual and the Mental aspects can be barriers to them trying traditional yoga out.

modern vs traditional yoga

I’ve seen some church halls ban yoga classes because they perceive the spiritual side of it to be some affront to Christianity. This is wrong too because Yoga isn’t a religion despite its spiritual overtones. I’ve seen some people put off yoga classes because they think they are going to have to chant and ring singing bowls. So for those that predominantly want the physical experience why not give them that aspect alone?

In the end it is all about meeting the needs and expectations of your clients. When I teach yoga I do use the ancient names for the poses where appropriate, and provide more focus especially around meditation. If your clients are more into the full traditional experience then they will expect it of course.

But if someone is only interested in the physical aspect – does it matter whether it is a Virabhadrasana 2 – or a position in which one leg is bent at 90 degrees and the other is straight, the hips are forward and the arms are at shoulder height? Even if we use the English version of the pose names, does it really need to be a Warrior 2 or what I have just described.

I would like to make yoga accessible to all and if the entry point to that is the physical experience then fine. Personally I would like them to then consider the other aspects if and when they feel comfortable. But starting from the point of view that it has to be all or nothing is likely to keep the barriers up.

Ultimately modern vs traditional yoga can exist harmoniously and that has to be a good thing if it benefits the lives of more people.

Over to you: Do you practice yoga? Is it a traditional or modern variant? What do you prefer. Please click on “Leave a Reply” below and let me know your comments and thoughts.

My pathway to yoga teacher training

Fitness and Yoga, , , , , ,

yoga teacher training

I had already embarked upon my journey to be a fitness instructor (whilst juggling the demands of my marketing day job) when I met a remarkable Yoga teacher. His name was Michael French and he held lessons at dawn and evenings in a pavilion overlooking Grand Anse Beach in Grenada.

He didn’t subscribe to a specific style of Yoga but mixed elements of pure Hatha, Ashtanga and Vinyasa. His teaching style was calm but motivational, with very clear instructional cues. There was also something quite spiritual about him, even though there was little spiritual emphasis to his teaching. He just had a presence.

Those classes on that holiday sowed some seeds. I nurtured a desire to become a Yoga teacher in the months and years that followed. And later as I qualified to be a Group Fitness instructor, the desire grew stronger.

I investigated the different Yoga disciplines. Unfortunately I encountered as much snobbery from some as I experienced help from others. As I went to more Yoga classes, and then later as I qualified as a Body Balance instructor, I realised that I did not want to be tied to one style. I wanted the freedom to explore, to experiment and to grow in myself but ultimately to reflect this freedom with my ultimate customers.

Eventually I found The Level 3 Yoga course through Group X Training – a modern NVQ course that lets you learn and teach as you develop. It more than fitted the bill and what’s more it is recognised by the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPS). It gave me advanced anatomy and physiology knowledge, advanced instruction techniques, and a general Yoga framework upon which I could develop a style that suited me and my customers.

As a result of this I am now offering a general Hatha Yoga class and a more challenging Power Yoga session based upon Ashtanga principles but not constrained by that repetitive format. But I have successfully taken Ashtanga classes and received appreciation from that ultimately challenging clientele.

The journey has only really just begun, but I often think about Michael French and I set out to find him.

The internet only revealed an old email address and one photo from a speech about Yoga he once made in Skegness. I wrote to the organisers of the speech (not knowing when the event had actually taken place) and waited.

Michael got in touch recently. He left Grenada after the hurricane and came back to the UK and carried on teaching Yoga. Unfortunately he almost died from a serious heart condition and his doctors thinks that it was only the fitness that came from his Yoga practice that got him through the treatment.

Although he lives at the other end of the UK – we will teach together one day.