Are your mind, body and spirit out of tune? You might think about pulling out the yoga mat. Yoga is practiced by millions worldwide to reduce stress, increase flexibility and improve overall health, but some experts warn that all of those complex stretches and maneuvers could be doing serious damage to your body. Is yoga the secret to a healthy life, or could you just be kicking yourself?
Yahoo's Mind-Body Expert
Yoga is safe when it's recognized not be a sport but rather an art. For instance, when a triathlete applies force, hustle, and effort to her yoga, it puts pressure on certain muscles and joints that aren't used to a lot of attention. Those muscles and joints are more fragile and easily injured. So if an athlete or Type A personality comes to yoga for the first time and applies excessive muscular strength, yoga will be harmful to the body.
Yoga requires a different form of strength the yogis call organic strength. When one relaxes and breathes in the midst of intense sensation, they will find a better result in yoga. A good yoga teacher will teach how to build "capacity for experience" in order to protect if not nourish the body and make better decisions in intense situations.
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