Adverse effects of Yogasana

[Guest guest]

Dear Cybervaidya,

I am an Ayurvedic physician from Mumbai. Last week I had a terrible

experince of 'Adverse effects of Yogasana' which I want to share with

all Group memebers so that they will learn & practice Yoga ONLY UNDER

EXPERT'S SUPERVISION.

Here in Mumbai, there are mushrooms of Yoga & Aerobics classes. My

wife (who is also a doctor) joined reputed Yoga Institute in Mumbai

this month for treating her chronic low back pain.

After routine lectures & consultations she was advised few Yogasanas

under supervision of 'seniour' yoga students (& not the yoga master).

On Thursday 5/12/02 she experienced acute backpain after coming home

from Yoga class. We managed that with Moov & painkillers. But in

vain, her pain lasted whole night...we consulted orthopedic dr who

advised other painkillers...but in vain..so Dr. advised list of

investigations...blood, x-rays, mri....to our bad luck mri revealed

that she was suffering from 'ACUTE DISK PROLAPSE & DEGENERATION OF L5

& S1 VERTEBRAL DISK'...Our orthopedic dr, GPs are blaiming Yoga for

this tragedy....now she is completely bed ridden & in such pain that

even sedatives are giving her sleep...NOBODY from The Yoga Institute

has inquired about her absence for 1/2 weeks...Being a strong

follower of Ayuvreda-Yoga-Meditation I am shocked by this

experience...The moral of the story is 'EACH YOGASANAS MUST BE

CONDUCTED UNDER STRICT SUPERVISION OF YOGA TEACHERS'...I PRAY GOD

THAT NOBODY SHOULD GET SUCH TERRIBLE EXPEREINCE/PAIN IN THEIR LIFE!

Thanks and Regds, Dr.Jitendra, MD(AYU)(BOM)

[Guest guest]

my dear ayurvedists

 

somebody emailed the list owner/managers directly in researching the archives,

and I

thought I'd post a response.

 

 

Dear Siddhartha,

 

 

i doubt that asana is the cause, although some people in vain try to push

themselves

beyond their limits. We should remember that Patanjali recommended only one

position : sthiram sukkanam asanam, a 'stable and satisfying position.' Hatha

yoga is

a means to an end, but beyond this has no intrinsic spiritual value. But it can

be

helpful to relax the mind and strengthen the body, but so is hiking,

 

i would more look to the underlying components of nutritional deficiencies

(proteins,

EFAs, vit D (!!!) and other vitamins, minerals and trace minerals etc). In this

case any

strenous exercise, bending or stretching will eventually have a negative impact

by

places undue tension on the weakened tissues.

 

best.. Todd

 

I've had the same issue as well. Have you done anything that has helped your

situation?

 

Thanks, Sidhartha

 

ayurveda, ayurlife2000 <no_reply> wrote: Dear

Cybervaidya, I am an Ayurvedic physician from Mumbai. Last week I had a terrible

experince of 'Adverse effects of Yogasana' which I want to share with all Group

 

-snip-

 

Our orthopedic dr, GPs are blaiming Yoga for this tragedy....now she is

completely

bed ridden & in such pain that even sedatives are giving her sleep...NOBODY from

The Yoga Institute has inquired about her absence for 1/2 weeks...Being a strong

follower of Ayuvreda-Yoga-Meditation I am shocked by this experience...The moral

of

the story is 'EACH YOGASANAS MUST BE CONDUCTED UNDER STRICT SUPERVISION OF

YOGA TEACHERS'...I PRAY GOD THAT NOBODY SHOULD GET SUCH TERRIBLE

EXPEREINCE/PAIN IN THEIR LIFE! Thanks and Regds, Dr.Jitendra, MD(AYU)(BOM)

[Guest guest]

I would like to respectfully disagree with your comment about Hatha Yoga

below. Hatha yoga is not just strengthening the body or relaxing the mind. If

practiced properly, it is also working on all the koshas, and stimulates and

balances the energetic system of the body, which can certainly have an effect on

one's spiritual consciousness. Patanjali wasn't truly addressing Hatha Yoga

specifically (for that, one should consult a text such as the Hatha Yoga

Pradipika), but rather Raja Yoga, focused on meditation, and/or the eight-limbed

system of classical Ashtanga Yoga. Especially when he stated "sthira sukah

asanam". We must understand the statement in the context of which is was

written, which was addressing meditation for the most part. It certainly can be

and is applied to all the other asanas, but was intended mainly to bring

attention to how to properly sit for meditation so as to maximize one's ability

to focus and remain present.

Blessings,

Connie

[Guest guest]

Hi Connie

I appreciate your comments. Perhaps you can tell me how hatha yoga

specifically affects the koshas, and whether or not these effects are

dependent upon its practice. I also wonder about your assertion that

there is a "proper" way of doing hatha yoga: my experience suggests

divergent opinions on several issues, even on the question of breathing.

I think Patanjali speaks with enormous clarity, and believe that all

subsequent asanas (i.e. the sixteen described in the Hatha Yoga

Pradipika (HYP), most being cross-legged) are delineations derived from

Patanjali's original statement, and it is this statement that should

guide the practice: it is the "heart" of the teaching. I think that

in some yogic circles there is probably too much concern for the

pyrotechnics of hatha yoga practice, and for many people this becomes

an end in itself, as a kind of obsession and self-deception. This

feature has long been recognized in India, and for this reason there

have been many critics of hatha yoga in the past.

Personally, I don't believe that it is necessary to twist oneself up in

any number of positions to develop oneself spiritually, but I do think

activities like hatha yoga can help to harmonize, strengthen and create

a new awareness of the body, and can also facilitate deeper states of

awareness (i.e. dhyana and samadhi). But just like not all athletes

are going to win an olympic medal some people may never rise to meet

the challenge of some of the more strenuous and potentially injurious

asanas, and probably shouldn't try. People with physical limitations

(e.g. poor nutrition, age, injuries, joint disease, obesity etc) should

be especially aware of the risk of injury, and thus should orientate

their practice around Patanjali's advice: sthiramsukhanamasanam - this

way there is less risk of injury.

But I do think there are a number of ways to limit the risk of injury,

even in experienced yogins. Here Ayurveda can inform the creation of

a yoga practice. Hatha yoga practice can be preceded by 10-15 minutes

of gentle warm-up exercises (no intensive stretching but otherwise

activities such as massaging, walking, jumping, twisting, dancing

etc.), especially in cool weather. Room temperatures should be warm,

and oleation (abhyanga) and sudation (svedana) is a helpful adjunct

after a practice session. Vit D3, ghee, leafy greens, and seaweeds,

and herbs like haridra, guggulu, triphala, and shunthi are food for

the joints and should be taken regularly by most yoga practitioners if

possible.

Connie, it sounds like you have some training in hatha yoga. What do

you think of the idea that hatha yoga is a kind of shamanic practice?

This was suggested to me by some of my teachers in India. Although I

am by no means a scholar of hatha yoga, perhaps the shamanic element of

hatha yoga is more reflective of how it evolved over the millennia,

especially in the context of 'animal' postures such as the 'cobra,' or

'lion.' By practicing these postures a yogi may have been attempting

to incorporate and integrate the animal spirit or 'power' into his

consciousness, a power that could then be used to facilitate spiritual

development or enhance personal power (siddhis). This idea resonates

in other spiritual traditions as well, such as in the aboriginal

peoples of North America, where a 'power' animal such as an eagle or

bear was caught, killed, and parts of its body used as a kind of

spiritual medicine (i.e. in the medicine bundle, used in the creation

of rattles, whistles and even surgical instruments). The original

practice of hatha yoga practice may be very similar in intent, but

perhaps more sophisticated and lacking the need to take the animal's

life (i.e. the virtue of ahimsa, 'nonviolence').

best wishes... Todd Caldecott

phyto

http://www.wrc.net/phyto

[Guest guest]

Namaste, Todd -

I think an excellent person to tap as a resource for how hatha yoga effects the

koshas is Shandor Remete. His teachings specifically address working with the

energy body through movements in the asanas, mudras, and martial arts movements

based on Kalaripayaat and other martial art systems. http://www.shadowyoga.com

The "Shadow"

aspect referring to the koshas. He's been a great inspiration to me.

 

I don't have sufficient time to address all your thoughts, but they are

fascinating. I certainly don't think asanas are necessary to become

"enlightened", but I also think that they can be a vehicle to facilitate that.

Only the Divine can give us that grace, ultimately, no matter what spiritual

practices we do.

 

As far as "properly" goes, I'm not necessarily referring to technicalities, but

more to the quality of attention and level of awareness of body, mind, heart,

and spirit as one practices. Yes, there is risk of injury, as there is in any

physical activity. With good quality of attention and good skill at

self-awareness on all levels, that risk is very low. The idea of people

"twisting oneself like a pretzel", like many people think of Hatha yoga, is a

great misconception. It's not the intent of the practice. The "twisting" and

other positions are designed to tonify the organs and free energetic flows in

the body, and they happen to also develop flexibility and strength. But the

twisting is not the goal... I find that it is the deeper and deeper awareness

of the self and the Self that is the goal of the practice. The benefits of the

asanas as a side-effect. It is one of the most excellent preparations for

meditation.

 

I can see a correlation between Shamanism and Hatha practice. I think that

Hatha Yoga, done with awareness and attention, can bring one into a trance-like

state, an altered state of consciousness, not unlike what happens in Shamaninc

journeying. I suppose one could also see it as embodying the powers of those

particular animals when doing the practice. If that is the case, then we could

also see ourselves as embodying the qualities of the sages and deities the poses

are named after as well, such as Bharadvaja, Nataraja, Hanuman, and Vishvamitra!

Blessings,

Connie