I’m not the biggest fan of Yoga, in fact I’ve had patches where I will find anything else to do, but Yoga.
I know many people who think the same, about both Yoga and training. I do however have an unparalleled addiction to training, of almost any form. I’ll happily go for a run, lift weights, do boxing, take part in CrossFit comps. The list is endless.
The problem…. all of those activities tend to shorten muscles. I’m not like most of the population however who have a sedentary lifestyle, which also shortens muscles (your muscles will be in a shortened state for a prolonged period of time). If you sit down and you’re inactive, that will have a negative impact on your hamstrings, hips, back, overall posture and more.
So as to why I do yoga, it’s to avoid all of the above, to reverse the effects and to improve posture. Yoga has many health benefits, both mental and physical, helps release those areas you didn’t realise were tight, and activate those areas you didn’t know you don’t use.
I’ve tried many forms of yoga, I’ve been told by some ‘experts’ to stay away from it and others to do it, showing an obvious lack of education and experience from said ‘experts’. Some of these ‘experts’ (most in my experience) don’t actually know that there are different styles of yoga. I haven’t tried every style, but I have tried my fair share, had different teachers, and seen different results. I’ve come away with a bad shoulder (aggravated shoulder impingement), tight back, had achy knees and since found out that certain styles aren’t for me.
As a personal trainer, looking back I know it’s not smart to do flow after flow or repetitive sun salutations when I have tight lats, pecs, teres muscles, and more. No one should be moving like that without correct form (just like any exercise) for example holding their bodyweight in downward dog if the angle isn’t correct. I couldn’t see that I wasn’t doing it properly, all I was doing was sweating, shaking, and pushing through the pain thinking that I was doing the right thing, and wondering how many other people had been sweating all over the mat I was face to face with every week…
I even had one yoga instructor tell the class that the reason I had a bad ankle was due to a ‘poor diet’……hmmm that was my last session with her. It was in fact due to a torn tendon from a tackle when playing football, something she would have known had she asked or given us the opportunity to bring up any issues.
All this and yes, I still ‘do yoga’. After my wife found more specifically Iyengar Yoga, I ended up doing it too. I didn’t want to but she told me it’s ‘very specific’, ‘broken down’, and ‘you can use equipment to help when your knee plays up’!
Upon trying it everything made sense to me, and it just clicked. I train people and make adjustments for injuries everyday. I have a lot of clients come to me to help them train post-injury diagnosis, so I break movement down and allow people to perform exercises to the best of their ability – safely.
That is my experience with Iyengar yoga. Different to all the other styles I have tried, you don’t do the same routine every time you walk in (that’s for some people – but not me). I train in the gym, so I don’t need to do that in yoga, its not ‘exercise’. I use yoga for body awareness, to stabilise, to stretch, and to get the balance of the body right.
I’ve heard every ‘reason’ for not doing yoga, which are in fact just excuses. A lot of the time, (and most people don’t believe me) I can relate to such problems. I’ve heard ‘I’m not bendy enough,’ ‘I don’t think I should do it with my back,’ ‘it’s hard,’ ‘my hamstrings are too tight’ and way too many more excuses to mention.
So! Here’s some of the injuries I’ve had/have (all diagnosed):
- Torn tibialis tendon (ankle/foot)
- Torn gastrocnemius (calf)
- Patella tendinopathy (knee)
- Low hamstring tendinopathy (back of the knee)
- Multiple hamstring tears
- Torn quadriceps
- Various back/hip problems including disc degeneration and two herniated lumbar discs
- Bicep tendinopathy
- Shoulder impingement
- Torn rotator cuff (left shoulder)
- Suprascapular nerve entrapment (right shoulder) – led to shoulder surgery and long re-hab on the shoulder
That’s enough (I’ve had more)…
These types of injuries happen to everyone, I’ve recovered from every single one of them, and by recovered I also mean maintained my body afterward to avoid aggravation.
One of the ways I maintain my body is through yoga. More specifically Iyengar Yoga. It’s also great for my mental health, I always feel better after I have done a session. I walk out in a better head space and that results in greater productivity – a huge benefit to a busy person.
I’ve managed to hurt myself in many different ways, mostly from participating in sport or from everyday activities (not from a single gym activity). You learn (or not sometimes), but you do definitely learn about your body, learn how to manage your injuries and realise they don’t have to take control over you – that you can take control over them.
So the real reason I do yoga? It stopped that pain in my knee when I stand up, released tension and stabilised my core and pelvis to allow me to do everything normally with my disc problems (I do some crazy stuff, but believe it or not, I could hardly move and was pretty much bed-bound but for my determination to prove the doctors wrong), brought back flexibility, made me stronger (yes mobility increases strength), improved all problematic joints and dramatically improved my range of motion. Iyengar yoga improves my stabilisation, body awareness and reduces my risk of injury, especially with all of the ways I push my body to the limit.
I’m not the biggest fan of yoga because it’s hard, you need to go to multiple sessions to truly feel the benefits. It identifies my weaknesses, BUT, when I am consistent with my yoga practice, everything improves both physically and mentally and it put’s my body back into alignment. So why wouldn’t I do yoga?
Interested in yoga? Try my FREE 15 minute relaxation download “Guided savasana.”
Kelly Moriarty is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher and runs Green Body Gym & Yoga Studio in Cardiff, Australia.