Bad Raps, Bandhas, & Karma

It seems like everyone is talking about it these days and I've been asked by many people this past week about my opinion on it. By "it," I mean the NY Times article, How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body (you can read Glenn Black's response here). Frankly, I wasn't going to discuss it on the blog and add fuel to the already raging fire. I've been practicing yoga for well over a decade and I've had very few injuries. It's my belief that it's not yoga that's dangerous but who's practicing it and how it's being practiced that can put a yoga practitioner in the danger zone. I know that I'm not alone in this belief. Still, the media isn't looking to write a balanced story but a sensationalized one (here's another point of view on the subject) because that attracts more readers. Take it from where it comes, I say. Enough said.

Bandhas

Bandhaland, as Leslie Kaminoff likes to describe it in the following video, is often unknown to many yoga practitioners. I don't think that I'd even heard the term bandha until I was practicing yoga for about a year and it took me a few years after that to understand them, much less incorporate them into my practice. Perhaps something like Bandhas could go a long way towards helping prevent yoga injuries. Hmmm...perhaps the NY Times can write an article on that (nah, it's not as sexy as all of the other sensational yoga stories that they so enjoy publishing). If you'd like a little lesson in the history of bandhas, check out this informative video from Leslie. 

Karma

Perhaps my barbs aimed at the NY Times isn't good karma. Unlike Bandhas, the term Karma is fairly well-known. If you're interested in good karma and how to get it, here's a little lesson from the Dalai Lama: 20 Ways to Get Good Karma. 

Okay, I think I'll try #10 and go back to silence on the topic of yoga. Until I open my mouth again, I wish you good karma, no yoga injuries, and one good moola bandha.

Namaste!