all kinds of writing
 
Kali Yuga Yoga Blog Yoga Therapy For Citizens of the Kali Yuga And MoreYogaLeah.htmlYogaLeah.htmlYogaLeah.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2
 
 
PAIN IS NO GAIN IN YOGA Stretching practice is beneficial with proper positioning, instruction... THE intense knots that had developed in Leah Lillios' shoulders throbbed. Certainly, she thought, the yoga classes she'd been taking would ease the pain. Instead, the aches grew worse. Turns out, she'd been hunching her shoulders while practicing a pose where you bend at the waist on one leg with arms outstretched, called the half-moon. Her yoga instructor at the time never bothered to correct her form. "It wasn't until I went to a good instructor who told me to drop my shoulders and create pockets of space between them and my earlobes that I realized I was doing the pose wrong," said Lillios, who is now a yoga instructor and owner of the Kali Yuga Yoga studio. Although yoga, unlike most other sports, has the potential to heal, it can also do you harm. Bad teachers and overly zealous students — not yoga itself — are often to blame. "We live in a society that is very competitive and routinely push ourselves beyond healthy limits," said yoga teacher Wallace Joiner, 34, president of Yoga Society Nashville. "That's one reason yoga is called a 'practice.' It's not meant to be a performance or a competition." More and more of us are flocking to the spine-strengthening activity, which is enjoying a boom time. In just the past five years, the number of studios in Nashville has doubled from 10 to more than 20. And health clubs all over town are offering yoga classes like never before. One physical therapist says he's seen about one yoga-related injury a month lately, the worse being a woman with severe lower back pain that radiated down her legs. "She continued to push through yoga classes, thinking it would make her better," said Trent Nessler, managing director of Baptist Sports Medicine. Indeed, low back pain is among the most common yoga-related injuries, he said. Patients also come in with hamstring strains, neck pain, twisted ankles and shoulder pain, he said. Injury possible One of the key principles in yoga is "ahimsa," or non-violence, so harming your body is contrary to yogic philosophy. Nonetheless, yoga often draws competitive exercisers who think if the woman in front of her can contort into a difficult pose, she can, too. "Yoga will never hurt you, but you may hurt yourself," said yoga instructor Kathi Perry, owner of the Franklin Yoga Center. As she teaches students to link breathing with their movements, she also invites them to close their eyes, which helps diminish the competitive urges. And there are no mirrors in her studio, which reinforces her philosophy to honor your limits, not what everyone else looks like. "Everyone's anatomy is different," Perry said. "We look different in the same pose." Although the movements in yoga can feel awkward and even a little discomforting, they should never be painful, Lillios said. "It shouldn't hurt so bad you want to cry," she said, "or kick your instructor." Sometimes students fall into the trap of wanting to please their teacher or impress other students, Joiner said. Take the standing forward bend, a common yoga pose. The student may not be able to extend her palms all the way to the floor or keep her legs straight — like the picture-perfect way her teacher does. Instead, the student may end up bending her knees a bit, which may be less aesthetic but will help reduce her risk of injury. "We forget sometimes that it's about the journey of yoga — bringing together mind, body and spirit — rather than the destination of the outward appearance of the pose," Joiner said. Style matters Cella Neapolitan, 58, decided to take up yoga when she started losing the flexibility she had enjoyed as a dancer. A back injury from the repetitive motion of twisting her body in her jewelry and photography work only made things worse. She enrolled in a yoga class sponsored by Cookeville Leisure Services Department, which also runs the city parks. "It was dispiriting," she said, saying she couldn't do even the simplest of moves, like crossing her legs in a seated position. If she had tried to force it, she knows she would have hurt herself. Luckily, the instructor sensed her struggle and offered easier movements. After class, the teacher suggested she look into the viniyoga style, a gentler form of yoga that can be customized for those recovering from injuries. In just four viniyoga sessions since then, the tension in her back has decreased, she's breathing better and she even credits yoga for helping relieve her migraine pain. "I am more comfortable and confident in my body," she said. Hitting upon good instructors, she realized, was crucial to staying safe from injury and finding success with yoga. But that's tricky to navigate. Both of Neapolitan's instructors happened to be certified, and certification is certainly a good guide when selecting a teacher. To reach certification, or standards, instructors complete at least 200 hours of teacher training. Some of the best instructors have achieved the 1,000-hour level. Usually, half the hours are spent in personal practice. Trained instructors also can register with the national Yoga Alliance, which requires a minimum of 200 hours of teacher training, another good guide when selecting an instructor. At the same time, though, certification or standards is not the be-all, end-all. Sometimes a teacher with 20 years or more experience may not be certified but instead spent years studying in India with a respected guru. Even though she doesn't have the paperwork to prove it, she may be the best yoga teacher in town. At YMCAs in Middle Tennessee, certification is not required, although many instructors who work there are indeed certified. Rather, they must have at least 20 hours of training under their belt, which can be attained at a weekend workshop, said Leah Steinberg, group exercise coordinator for the YMCA of Middle Tennessee. That is usually sufficient for an instructor to teach a beginner class, Steinberg said, herself a yoga instructor with some 160 hours of teacher training. She's aiming to earn certification at the 200-hour level. Pace yourself Joiner's competitive urges landed her on the injury list, she admitted. In a class for a style of yoga she does not practice regularly, Joiner was struggling to keep up with a pace much more hurried than what she was used to. "We were going in and out of poses too fast. It was a rapid repetition of poses that were unfamiliar to me," she said. She ended up hurting her back. "If I had been paying more attention to my body and been less ego-oriented, I would not have been injured," she said. Sometimes certain styles just don't suit certain people. And finding the style that best fits you is key to avoiding injuries. If you're looking for a vigorous workout as part of a weight-loss program, the more athletic ashtanga style might be better for you, while iyengar, a slower-paced style where you hold poses for about a minute, may have you tapping your toes with impatience. But if you're coming off major surgery and looking to ease back into exercising, you may hurt yourself in power yoga but find slow-flow vinyasa is just what the doctor ordered. "Tell the teacher why you're there," Joiner said. "It gives her the opportunity to say, 'This style is not right for you.' " No need to grin and bear it in yoga. As most yoga instructors like to say, "A good yoga class will meet you where you are." By BONNA JOHNSON • Staff Writer • July 29, 2008 To read this article in its entirety including photos of Leah & fellow KYY practitioner Coretta McDonald visit The Tennessean. http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080729/FEATURES01/807290306/1004/FEATURESshapeimage_3_link_0
Kali Yuga Yoga Featured in The Tennessean!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008