What if Yoga isn’t all its cracked up to be?

I am going to put a *trigger warning at the start of this post because if you like yoga, have been practicing yoga, or teach yoga, seeing phrases like “more tension,” “more tightness,” “neck and shoulder pain” associated with the thing is difficult and will bring about an internal defensiveness and protection for the practice you love so dearly. 

BUT, I just want you to know, that much like a discussion on any modality or strategy, it is exactly that, a discussion. 

It is one where I, as I do with every bit of the movement and fitness space, Ilook at the utility of it, the downfalls of it, where things can be improved, and ultimately how I can help someone use it for good in their own movement. 

Let me start with my initial positive observations on Yoga itself:

1. It has stood the test of time. It has literally been around thousands of years, so there MUST be something inherently good about it. 

2. It has *potential for it to be one of the best forms of mental stress shutdown combined with better body awareness,  for a large amount of people. 

3. It is low impact (in theory) when done with proper progressions and movement setups. 

4. It has a low barrier to entry in that it can be done almost anytime and from anywhere. You just need a 2 x 6-ish foot of space and can get going. 

5. It *seems like, the majority of the time, the people that gravitate to yoga are the ones that least need yoga (aka, are already mostly tolerant of it) and the people who need it most, don’t do it. 

#5 is important, because you also see this in modalities like Barre and Pilates. And this rule can be applied to sports as well, even running.  Often we gravitate towards things we are already ok/good at. 

And so from the outside, we see really “bendy” people doing Yoga and think “I should do that” when often they didn’t get bendy from the yoga practice itself, but instead from a combination of their genetics and time. 

This same rule applies to Pilates, Barre, and even running. We see seemingly “fit” people do these things often, and often very well, and think “that must be how I lose weight and get fit” but it is not typically the easiest or fastest path for most people, and often comes at a cost. 

Here is what I have difficulty with in the practice of Yoga:

• Most people think they can dive right into any version of it without considering the type, duration, their limitations, etc. But really, this is a problem in ANY fitness modality. 

• It is not conducive, without really good coaching, to people who struggle with wrist and shoulder load. (yes, I am aware there are regressions, but they system doesn’t display it consistently. )

• If it is the only form of movement people choose OVER strength training, they are missing any progressive overload. 

• My biggest gripe, (and the one that conflicts with one of the Yoga World’s biggest claims)is that people will often achieve their poses and positions,not through reduced tension (how you actually gain mobility), but through INCREASED tension. This means REDUCED flexibility, not increased. 

• Taking this further, when people are unable to get into positions,(think downward dog pose), they find it through cranking into their joints or ratcheting up the tension. As a result they start driving every single movement through their neck, hip flexors, or lower back and wonder why the very thing meant to drive flexibility is just creating full body “tightness.” 

• A final word would be on the breathing strategies used in Yoga, most commonly belly breathing as it is short sighted in its application in teaching an approach to breathing that leaves out a large portion of how your lungs and diaphragm operate within a ribcage and pelvis. Lucy Hendricks does a great job talking about that here. 

“Ok, Blake, so what would you actually do then mr Yoga Master” -see what I mentioned about defensiveneness. 

This is a great question and one I have thought about a lot. Some ideas that might help:

1. I would first ask what I am wanting out of it. Am I looking for flexibility? Strength? Community? Mindfulness? Knowing that answer can change what styles you look for, the type of coach you need, frequency of practice, and much more. 

2. If I am already strength training, I would look for styles of yoga that are more centered around mindfulness, don’t involve “power poses” as often, and allow you to relax into more positions. 

3. I would keep it to 1-2x per week of full sessions, or practice in smaller amounts 5-10 minutes a day.  Much like any new skill, doing too much, too soon, often drives more of the problem than the practice itself. 

4. I would try to apply the concepts of reach, tuck, and exhale with rib control that we do in our warmups to the yoga world as well. 

• Example: downward dog. I would learn to stop when my hips can no longer rotate, my ribs can no longer stay controlled, and I can no longer avoid the shrug. Then learn to achieve full exhales and controlled inhales without losing any of that position. 

• More Examples. Dr Allyson on IG is a GREAT follow and example of someone who has taken these concepts and applied them to the yoga world. 

5. I would, with the help of a great yoga coach, figure out the version of each move that allows me to achieve the position without my face and neck  tensing up like the incredible hulk just to “survive” the position and build up from there. 

What are your thoughts on all this blasphemy?

Which concepts would be useful for you to see over video?

-Blake