Said a physio to me once during my initial assessment, “Oh, the yoga injury. We get one or two of those each week.” Ditto with a massage therapist.

So what’s up with that? Isn’t yoga supposed to be good for us?

No surprise to those who know me in the slightest, the answer is, ‘It depends.”

Science Says…

One bestseller-listed book has shed some light on the subject. The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards by William Broad is somewhat controversial, and truly a lively read.

(For example, many of the well-known poses are nowhere near as “millenia-tested” as you might think. In more recent times, British military calisthenics and Swedish gymnastics both heavily influenced yoga poses while India was under colonial rule.)

The Spine

Broad’s book focuses on the plow pose, shoulder stands and headstands as some of the most problematic for injury risk (one of which, surprisingly, is stroke).

My own take on the matter is that many spines don’t tolerate such a large amount of unsupported forward flexion.

This is supported by Michaelle Edwards, creator of a more posture-friendly system of yoga. As she states, “Some yoga poses and exercises can and do accentuate poor posture habits such as the C-shape spine, forward head carriage, rounded shoulders, hyper-extended knees, and flat butt or sacrum.”

The Hips

Edwards’ comprehensive article on yoga injuries has a wonderful photo of Lady Gaga holding one of the poses  – in heels! That perfect storm probably contributed heavily to Gaga’s subsequent need for hip surgery.

The solution in her article is to accommodate the natural curves in the body, promote a neutral spine over a flat one, and encourage soft knees when folding forward.

The Knees

I’m still working through why knees take a hit so often in yoga classes. Without finding anything in other sources, here’s my own best answer so far: the extended periods of muscle lengthening typically aren’t followed in such classes by any focused strength work to “set” the nervous system into using that new-found range of motion…

…which means I’ll stick with my tried-and-true FMS paradigm of mobility before stability: (perhaps) myofascial release, definitely some focused range-of-motion work, which should always be followed by some type of strength move that uses the body part where we just found the greater range. This is the way to make that newly acquired range of motion “stick” in an accessible fashion.

For individualized help with this during your own journey to getting stronger safely, please contact me!