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Dr. Timothy McCall: The Best Way to Prevent Yoga Injuries

Dr. Timothy McCall - How to Avoid Yoga InjuriesBy Dr. Timothy McCall

In my own experience, perhaps the most important way to prevent yoga injuries—besides such obvious things as keeping the joints well-aligned—is to pay close attention to the breath, trying to keep it as smooth, even and regular as possible.

In most instances, before a problem occurs the breath has become ragged or strained. Slow, even breathing tends to keep the nervous system calm, even when you're doing practices that are intense. If you find it impossible to keep the breath smooth, I believe you need to back off in the pose, reducing your effort or how deeply you've gone in, or simply come out. Your body is giving you a message with the breath, and you ignore it at your own peril.

Pay particular attention to the breath as you transition in and out of poses, as this is a time when many injuries occur. For those who have trouble remaining mindful of the breath, I suggest employing a light ujjayi breath, loud enough that you hear and can use as a meditative focus, but which someone on the next mat might not be able to hear. 

Of course, you also want to avoid any poses and breathing practices that are contraindicated for any medical conditions you have, for example, skipping headstand and shoulderstand if you have neck problems or retinal disease. I've written extensively on contraindications in my book Yoga as Medicine, and in many articles archived on my web site, and I also recommend Loren Fishman's work in this regard.

 But often, people have medical conditions that have not yet been diagnosed (or which they don't mention to the teacher). It's my belief that even in these instances the breath will usually indicate whether it's safe to proceed.

Also see Dr. McCall's article on yoga and safety, particularly as it applies to practicing headstand. 

Missed the Telesummit on Yoga Injuries: Facts and Fiction with great, prominent yoga teachers Dr. Timothy McCall, Judith Hanson Lasater, Roger Cole, Dr. Loren Fishman, Ellen Saltonstall, Julie Gudmestad and Peggy Cappy? There is still time to upgrade to a permanent access pass and enjoy all the session recordings as well as transcripts. More details below. For more information about Dr. Timothy McCall and his national and international yoga workshops, see DrMcCall.com.

More information on Telesummit on Yoga Injuries: Facts and Fiction

 

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The Supreme Journey of Life - Quotes by B.K.S. Iyengar

With this blog post, we continue our series of quotes from renowned yoga masters, who have devoted their life to the practice of yoga and meditation. We hope you, as we have, will find inspiration and guidance for your yoga practice and life from their wisdom and insights.

Yogacharya B.K.S.Iyengar is a living legend, who has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He is widely credited as one of the foremost yoga masters in the world, and through his emphasis on the fine details of alignment in yoga asanas, he has helped millions deepen their experience and practice of hatha yoga.

 

"Illuminated emancipation, freedom, unalloyed and untainted bliss await you, but you have to choose to embark on the Inward Journey to discover it." ~B.K.S.Iyengar

 

“It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity.”  ~B.K.S.Iyengar

 

"He who has conquered his mind is a Raja Yogi. . . . .It is generally believed that Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga are entirely distinct, different and opposed to each other, that the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali deal with Spiritual discipline and that the Hatha Yoga Pradipika of Swatmarama deals solely with physical discipline. It is not so, for Hathy Yoga and Raja Yoga complement each other and form a single approach towards Liberation.

As a mountaineer needs ladders, ropes and crampons as well as physical fitness and discipline to climb the icy peaks of the Himalayas, so does the Yoga aspirant need the knowledge and discipline of the Hatha Yoga of Swatmarama to reach the heights of Raja Yoga dealt with by Patanjali."   ~B.K.S. Iyengar -Light on Yoga, p. 23.

 

"The supreme adventure in a man’s life is his journey back to his Creator. To reach the goal he needs well developed and co-ordinated functioning of his body, senses, mind, reason and Self." ~B.K.S. Iyengar -Light on Yoga

 

"It took me whole decades to appreciate the depth and true value of yoga. Sacred texts supported my discoveries, but it was not they that signposted the way. What I learned through yoga, I found out through yoga."  ~B.K.S. Iyengar –Light on Life, p. x

 

"Yoga recognizes that the way our bodies and minds work has changed very little over the millennia. The way we function inside our skin is not susceptible to differ either in time or from place to place. In the functioning of our minds, in our way of relating to each other, there are inherent stresses, like geological fault lines that, left unaddressed, will always cause things to go wrong, whether individually or collectively. The whole thrust of yogic philosophical and scientific inquiry has therefore been to examine the nature of being, with a view to learning to respond to the stresses of life without so many tremors and troubles." ~B.K.S.Iyengar -Light on Life, p. xv.

 

"Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open."  ~B.K.S. Iyengar

 

"If you take up any noble line and stick to it, you can reach the ultimate. Be inspired, but not proud. Do not aim low; you will miss the mark. Aim high; you will be on the threshold of bliss." ~B.K.S. Iyengar  - Light on Life, p. x.

 

"Yoga, an ancient but perfect science, deals with the evolution of humanity. This evolution includes all aspects of one's being, from bodily health to self-realization. Yoga means union -- the union of body with consciousness and consciousness with the soul. Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one's actions."  ~B.K.S. Iyengar

 

“Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome. For without change, nothing in this world would ever grow or blossom, and no one in this world would ever move forward to become the person they're meant to be."  ~B.K.S. Iyengar

 

"In order to find out how to reveal our innermost Being, the sages explored the various sheaths of existence, starting from body and progressing through mind and intelligence, and ultimately to the soul. The yogic journey guides us from our periphery, the body, to the center ofour being, the soul. The aim is to integrate the variouslayers so that the inner divinity shines out as through clear glass." ~B.K.S. Iyengar  –Light on Life

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Menopause, Anxiety, and Yoga

yoga for menopause and anxietyBy Cheryl Acheson, RYT

My brain went wacky around 50. I have a loving husband and great kids, yet I was not enjoying my life. Menopause had bestowed on me one of its gifts—anxiety. The hamster on the wheel in my brain began running in overdrive, especially at night. Are my adult kids safe?  Will I have enough money to live on? Why is my dog coughing—do I need to get her to the vet this minute? Did that new sweater hide my back fat?  On and on it goes—and most of it is complete garbage.

The topper for me was trying to get out of a repeat family trip to Hawaii, a place I have always loved.  My brain was not working properly.  Fortunately, my young but wise physician encouraged me to seek assistance rather than go it alone. She encouraged me to continue my steady yoga diet along with guided meditation work to reduce my angst. After six months of consistent practice, I am happier and my relationships are healthier. I sleep better. 

Yoga helps me deal with anxiety.  Not just any yoga.  Not the yoga of a 25-year-old with a Cirque du Soleil body sweating and pretzeling into noodle-like forms.  I am talking about the kind of yoga taught by a knowledgeable teacher who creates an environment for students to stretch their physical, mental, and (perhaps but not a requirement) spiritual selves and relax.  For those overwhelmed by worry, relaxation is perhaps more beneficial than the movement portion.  I also like a class that is fun!  

Here is what yoga gives me: 

1. I have a new community and friends (young and old) whom I would never have met. There is something about being together and stripping away protective barriers that creates an environment where it is all right to share ourselves. Our common bond is we enjoy gathering together, focusing on our individual breathing, and for a multitude of reasons finding peace and sometimes even grace in moving our physical and mental selves out of our comfort zones. We support each other.

2. I am now physically, mentally, and emotionally stronger from yoga.   I have developed confidence that allows me to embrace new challenges. 

3. I  focus on my breath and slow it down.  This allows the body and mind to relax, which is vital to good health.  In short, the hamster in my brain stops running, if only for a few seconds.  Knowing I can stop the hamster is very powerful.  I now have the power to stop the hamster when I am not practicing yoga! 

4. A specific physical benefit for me is strengthening the pelvic floor.  Why is this important?  Leakage—no one wants it.

5. I have a sense of balance—physical and emotional.  I have heard that physical balance is something we lose with age unless we specifically work on it. Who on this earth does not need to enhance emotional balance?

So, if taming the stress response sounds helpful, I encourage you to give yoga a try.  Find a teacher who is nice and with whom you can relate.  Avoid "power" and "heated" classes, as these are code words for an "ass-kicking" class.  You can certainly work up to that if you wish.  Seek out Level 1 or Beginning Yoga.  If your first class does not feel right, find another.   

Hope to see you on the mat!

 

Cheryl Acheson, RYT. Ever the student, Cheryl's training is primarily Iyengar yoga and Anusara yoga based.  She has studied with many yoga instructors, including Darren Rhodes, Max Strom, and Seane Corn.   She has also apprenticed for three years with Tom Abrehamson, one of the Silicon Valley's most dedicated pranayama and hatha yoga instructors.   With well over 500 hours of formal yoga teacher training, Cheryl is always refining her teaching skills and advising her yoga students that through the discipline and devotion of their yoga practice, they are able to calm the mind and dust off the mirror to reveal the true self as the embodiment of the divine.  Cheryl enjoys teaching yoga to beginners of all ages.

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Use It or Lose It – Yoga, Exercise and the Fountain of Youth

By Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D., RYT-500

Judith Hanson Lasater, in a recent teleclass on Yoga U Online Trainings commented, “People often ask me if it’s necessary to practice yoga every day. I tell them, no, not at all. Just practice whenever you want to feel good!"

Most of us relish our yoga practice exactly for that simple reason—it makes us feel good! But the long-term benefits of a regular yoga practice go far beyond that—and they are encapsulated, of course, in that worn-out adage: Use it or lose it!

You’ve heard that phrase many times. But to truly appreciate its significance, it's useful to take a look at where it derives from.

One of the early studies that alerted medical researchers to the importance of exercise for physical health was the so-called Dallas bed rest study, performed back in 1966. The researchers took a group of five healthy 20 year-old men, measured their cardiovascular fitness on a series of parameters, and then put them to bed for three weeks. The five 20 year-olds weren’t even allowed to go to the bathroom without using a wheel chair!

After three weeks, the men were measured again. At the time, what the researchers found was revolutionary: In just three weeks, all five had experienced a dramatic loss in cardiovascular health and exercise capacity on all parameters measured; the equivalent of about 1% loss of capacity per day of bed rest.

The five men were then put on an intensive aerobic training program, and within an eight-week period were able to regain, and in some cases, exceed, their previous level of physical fitness.

This was one of the original use-it-or-lose-it studies. It alerted medical professionals to the fact that prolonged bed rest might not be the best way to recover from surgery or other illnesses. And, it changed our understanding of the importance of movement and exercise forever.

But that’s not all. After 30 years, the researchers took another look at the aerobic and cardiovascular fitness levels of the original five men in the study, now 50 and 51 years old. What they found was truly astounding.

In terms of cardiovascular fitness and physical work capacity, the men had been more weakened after three weeks of bed rest 30 years earlier than the three decades of aging they had undergone since then! In other words, the completely sedentary lifestyle of bed rest had put them through a time machine, and caused them to age 30 years in terms of key cardiovascular health parameters in just three short weeks.

The men were then put on a six-month endurance training program, including walking, jogging and spinning. The intensity of their workout was gradually increased until they were exercising four or five times a week for a total of about 4-1/2 hours at the end of six months.

As the end of the six months, one hundred percent of the age-related decline in aerobic power among these five middle-aged men occurring over 30 years was reversed.

Obviously, the study has numerous limitations, in particular the fact that it was done one so few subjects. Nonetheless, it speaks volumes about the importance of physical activity to maintain and improve our functional capacity at all ages of life.

The study is a sobering reminder of the risks of a sedentary lifestyle. Even though few people are sedentary to the point of being virtually at bed rest, the general principle holds: Lack of exercise will lead to significant deterioration on numerous markers of health, including cardiovascular fitness.

The good news is that, just as a sedentary lifestyle will make you decades older than you really are, regular exercise can make you look and feel, literally, decades younger. And while the Dallas bed rest study and its follow-up studies focused primarily on cardiovascular health, other studies show similar results on other markers of healty aging, including muscle strength, flexibility, core strength, balance and coordination, and so on.

So the answer to the question: 'How often should I do yoga?" is both about how you want to feel in the short term—and how you want to feel in the long term. The Dallas bed rest study is another reminder that each time you hit your yoga mat, you don't just benefit your mental and emotional well-being in the present. You make a significant investment in your long-term, future health and well-being as well.

For more inspiration for your yoga practice from Judith Hanson Lasater, check out our Yoga U Download Library, which contains numerous wonderful talks in which Judith shares her insights and wisdom about how to deepen your yoga asanas practice and teaching.

 

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Morning Yoga Sequence

Image: 
morning yoga sequence

A great morning yoga routine to get the cobwebs cleared and start out the new day!

Check out our Pinterest page for more yoga inspiration. 


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Happy Thanksgiving! 4 Great Reasons to Practice Gratitude

Gratitude isn't just a pleasant emotion - it has benefits for your life as well. See what research says about what practicing gratitude can do for you.

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Yoga Tips for the Handstand-Challenged w/Christina Sell

Mastered headstand, but wonder if you'll ever make it into handstand on your own? Or, are you teaching students at different levels and wonder how to help everyone progress from basic arm strengthening and alignment awareness to full handstand?

Watch this great online yoga video in which Christina Sell breaks down the steps to teach and master handstand. Whether you're bold or timid, lots of great yoga tips here to set you on your way.

 

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Time to Talk Back - Yoga U Hosts Online Telesummit on Yoga Injuries: Facts and Fiction

A panel of experts addressed some of the key issues in yoga today in the online telesummit Yoga Injuries: Facts and Fiction.

The media debate surrounding yoga injuries, spurred by the New York Times article “Can Yoga Wreck Your Body?”,  left a lot of confusion in its wake. We have heard many reports of yoga practitioners being cautioned against practicing yoga, because friends or relatives have heard that yoga is ‘dangerous.’  Indeed, if you’re new to yoga, you may be concerned yourself—who wouldn’t be when reading the words “yoga’”and “stroke” in the same sentence?

It's time to clear up the confusion and take a look at the real issues.  In an effort to shed some much-needed clarity on this debate, YogaUOnline sponsored an online telesummit on Yoga Injuries: Facts and Fiction with leading yoga teachers and medical experts, including Roger Cole, Ph.D., Tias Little, Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., P.T., Dr. Loren Fishman, Dr. Timothy McCall, Julie Gudmestad, P.T., Ellen Saltonstall, and Peggy Cappy, founder of the PBS-Series Yoga for the Rest of Us. Yoga Injuries global telesummit

“There’s an important discussion to be had,” Cole continues, “which is why this telesummit is so important. But ultimately the debate doesn’t concern whether it is possible to get hurt practicing yoga. Of course it is, just as you can get hurt while dancing, biking, jogging, golfing, or weight-training. But that doesn’t mean yoga should be considered particulalry ‘hazardous.’”

In fact, compared to injury rates from other forms of physical activity, yoga may be relatively safe. For example, between 1990 and 2007, an estimated 970,000 weight training–related injuries were treated in the U.S., according to the American Journal of Sports Medicine. With about 37 to 45 million practitioners, that's an average of 57,000 injuries per year, or about 12 to 15 people out of every 10,000 practitioners. In contrast, the number of yoga injuries treated in 2007 was at 5,500, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission. With an estimated 15.8 million yoga practitioners, that pegs the injury rate at a comparatively low 3.5 out of every 10,000 practitioners. In other words, yoga appears to be about four times safer than weight training.

Still, any yoga injury is one too many. One of the greatest benefits of the telesummit is to focus participants’ on where the actual risks lie and how to practice more safely.

Ultimately, the debate, if there is one, boils down to the question of whether taking up yoga is likely to do you more good than harm. Here the balance lies squarely in favor of yoga. Level-headed analysis shows that while the documented risks are quite modest, the potential rewards are tremendous. For instance, there are more than 400 studies documenting the health benefits of the practice; yoga is being used to help veterans with PTSD, people suffering from depression, kids with ADHD, those with chronic conditions such as back pain, and others. And most people are drawn to the practice because they like the way it makes them feel, physically and emotionally.

“Obviously, any physical activity carries some degree of risk,” says Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D., RYT-500, Managing Editor at YogaUOnline.com. “But the heart of the debate about yoga today really lies in the opportunities—and challenges—that lie ahead for practitioners and for yoga teaching as a profession. This is an important discussion, and the internet offers a great forum to explore the issues in depth.

If you—or, if you're a yoga teacher, your students—have concerns, the Yoga Injuries: Facts and Fiction telesummit can help you to evaluate the evidence. The talks contain a wealth of valuable, practical information you can use not just to get the real facts beyond the media narrative, but also to enrich your yoga practice or find out the best ways to get started with yoga.

Some of the lectures included: Yoga and the American Body: It’s Not One-Size-Fits-All with yoga teacher and physical therapist Julie Gudmestad, Yoga as Medicine – How to get the Most Out of Your Yoga Practice No Matter What Your Age with Dr. Timothy McCall, and Yoga As Alchemy – The Heart of Teaching Yoga with Tias Little. For more information, go here:

Yoga Injuries: Facts and Fiction - Upgrade to Permanent Access Pass

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Yoga Perspectives from the 2012 Third International Fascia Congress in Vancouver - Day 1

By Anita Boser

Yoga therapist and Heller worker Anita Boser has kindly agreed to be YogaUOline's emissary at the 2012 Third International Fascia Congress in Vancouver, B.C. Here is her first report with highlights on ground-breaking new research into fascia and the interconnectivity of the human body.

The conference is completely sold out, 800 attendees from 37 countries and 6 continents.  We only want to know: where are the scientists from Antarctica?

My mind is trying to absorb all the wonderful information presented throughout the day. We had four keynote speakers, a panel discussion on Scars and Adhesions, and a choice of three parallel sessions. Several of the speakers highlighted similar findings.  Here are some key highlights:

Fascial Fitness: Low Force Exercise Beats High Force

When it comes to fascial fitness, low Force exercise has more beneficial effects and is less damaging to tissues than high force exercise.  This is even true in repetitive motion; the body seems to be able to adapt to low force.  Regardless of the level of activity, collagen synthesis is about two times the level of the resting rate.  Concentric, eccentric, and isometric contractions all increase the cross links between fibers.  Therefore, it seems that healthy tissues depend on being active regularly more than the type of activity. 

For yoga practitioners, the implications of this is that the type of yoga practice isn’t as important.  It's doing he fact it regularly that produces the positive effects.

Another topic that came up here that I remember from the 2011 SYTAR yoga therapy conference was the discussion of motor maps, which is how the homunculus maps the body.  Dr. Mary Barbe found that with high repetition, high force exercise, the receptive fields grew in the brain so that the individual fingers weren’t “seen,” but the brain viewed the hand as more of a mitt.  Also, high repetition, high force exercise causes the fibroblasts to exude connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), which thickens the fascial matrix.  Again, there is the case for regulating the repetition and force of activity, being conscious of and staying within tolerable limits.

Dr. Barbe also found that when injury begins, there is a window of opportunity where it can be treated with anti-inflammatories.  Since the inflammatory process is temporary and eventually leads into degenerative changes if the activity is not suspended, the FIRST incidence of pain is where treatment can be effective.  If passed, it is a missed moment and injury will be more profound.  Again, we see the need for conscious movement.

Interestingly, mechanical loading has a greater effect on changes in connective tissue than does growth hormones and other chemical factors.  The loading affects all parts of the cell, into the nucleus, even to the point of which genes get expressed.  For example, rats that over-exercise start to express damaging genes, but when they rest their gene expression returns to normal.  

Adhesions and Scar Tissue After Gynecologcal Surgery

There was also a huge discussion of adhesions, especially after surgery.  Studies have found a huge incidence of adhesions after gynecological surgery, from 55% to 100%, depending on the type of surgery.  The average incidence is 70%!  The adhesions begin three to five days after the surgery and Dr. Diamond postulated that it is due to oxygen deprivation.

That just brings me back to the basics of breathing, how important it is for every aspect of physiology.  Even with all the chemicals, cytokines, tendinomes, CTGF, genes and everything there is to know, stopping to breathe deeply is good medicine.  I had to remember that several times today.

My brain feels like it is changing shape to allow the transformation of new connections.  It reminds me of the video shown this afternoon by Dr. Guimberteau, Skin, Scars &Stiffness.  Like in his first video of fascia, Strolling Under the Skin, which is now available on YouTube, the slender fibrils glisten and rearrange according to the tension placed on connective tissue.  

Also check out our online course with Tom Myers:

Fascial Fitness - An Emerging Revolution in Movement Science

Plus, download Yoga U Online's free interview with Tom Myers:

Fascia - The Hidden Key to Mind-Body Transformation

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Living in Shades of Grey: Anusara, John Friend, and the Guru Syndrome

This blog post also appeared in Huffington Post's Yoga section. If you feel to share it, please Facebook share it via HuffPost here.

It’s hard to read any yoga blog these days without coming across the lengthy, messy break-up currently unfolding in the Anusara yoga community following the disclosure of Anusara-founder John Friend’s, well, rather philandering ways.

In the wake of the NYT yoga wreckgate, that’s a lot of upheaval in otherwise tranquil yoga world.

Time to take a deep Ujayi breath, and hold on to your center. Oh, darn. There goes another quasi-spiritual leader, who, surprise, surprise, turns out to be just another flawed human being.

While everyone has been quick to de-friend Friend, so to speak, take one step back, and there’s a valuable lesson for all of us in the Anusara debacle, which applies not just those in the yoga community. Without a doubt, Friend went off the deep end, losing perspective and his footing in the process. However, those who enabled his behaviors by structuring for him the pedestal from which these actions could unfold are not beyond reproach either.

Which comes first, the guru or the follower? Are we who follow and turn someone into a larger-than-life character with powers (and privileges) we would not bestow on ‘normal’ human beings, ultimately, enablers? By giving away our powers to partake in the perceived glory of that person, are we innocent ‘victims’ or do we really help create the monster?

The phenomenon of ‘guru-ization’ extends not just to the yoga world, but to any area where a strong, charismatic person leads a group of people. Think politicians, religious leaders, rock stars, and yes, yoga superstars (yoga groupies, anyone?).

 As Lauren Jacobs writes in a Huffington Post blog:

Human beings are unfortunately often all too happy to be led into wherever they think they will be safe, loved, and taken care of. [Such leaders often seem to be] permitted to act above the rules that govern the rest of us, [because]  people are so beholden to them than no one will speak out against them.

Those of us who have been part of any type of movement with a strong leader have all experienced just how starry-eyed, head-in-the-clouds, ambitiously idealistic most everyone gets around them. 

Some followers are driven by personal ambition, some are driven by an unconscious search for perfection, a longing to the days when the world was a simple black and white, and parents the perfect, infallible protectors in a safe world (and many by both). It’s tempting to seek out that same perfection in another human being, and give away one’s power to a charismatic, inspiring leader.

Without fail, we are all robbed of that illusion sooner or later. Inevitably, there comes a time when the realization dawns that the teacher/leader is, well, just as flawed and human as everyone else. And, often times that person is enabled to make even larger mistakes than the rest of us by the permissive, starry-eyed idealism of those around him.

With each fallen guru, we will decry and denounce, and this will inevitably go on for a while. But beneath all the finger pointing, we should not forget to ask the difficult question: Are we the ones who set ourselves up to be failed?

Ultimately, when the illusion breaks, it is not a bad thing. It is a wonderful thing. It is an invitation, not to anger and hurt, but to move into a world which exists, not in black and white, but in shades of grey.

When the hurt disappears, the realization might just dawn that it’s okay to separate the teacher from the teaching. When someone sidesteps, there’s no need to throw out the baby with the bathwater. That teacher inspired us, because he/she brought something valuable to the world—at least for a while. Whatever that valuable teaching/inspiration was, however long it continued to uplift and inform us, that has a value in and of itself.

Anusara yoga has helped deepen the yoga practice of thousands of people, produced some of the best yoga teachers in the country, and heightened the bar for yoga teacher trainings (disclosure: I am not an Anusara-trained teacher). That's an accomplishment that doesn't have to go away, because of Friend's personal issues. The teacher is not the teaching.

Once we learn to separate the teacher from the teaching, we may just be able to appreciate what is valuable, without giving away our power. We can give ourselves permission to live in a world of shades of grey, where seeking the comfort of black and white is just too costly an illusion to buy into.

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