Are You Really Practicing Yoga?

Joe Palese, a yoga practitioner since the dawn of the practice in the US, learned later at classes at yoga studies that what he had first been taught was not really yoga.

While the definition of yoga is not a problem to Palese – the term is quite loose and covers a range of styles – there are health risks such as nerve damage, torn cartilage and in some cases, even strokes.

Palese, who has now been a yoga instructor for 14 years, is not alone with his concern. New York Times science writer William Board has researched many of the problems caused by yoga, and is including these in his new book “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body”.

The problem Board notes is that yoga has no official board or organizational structure to ensure correct and standard procedures are followed by every instructor. However, organization such as Yoga Alliance are now trying to create minimum standards for yoga teacher training, where students must complete at least 200 hours of training before becoming certified.

Not all members of the yoga community are on board, as the process seems to go against the grain of “freedom” which is central to yoga, but for the health-conscious purists, this can only be a good thing.

photo by John Nyboer