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?
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Physical Therapists Concur That Stiff is Better Than Flexible
yoga gave me back my mobility and strength
...in my early 40s, used to waking up with a stiff back, and not even being able to bend forward to brush my teeth in the morning... yoga brought me back to being able to function in daily life without lower back pain.
My lifestyle has improved and my level of happiness and a sense of well-being has improved.
That is not to say that yoga has been an experience without any injury. But the incidence of injuries that have occurred I have learned to eliminate by not pushing myself too far.
Good teachers always tell students in a class to FIRST LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Do not push yourself to do things that your body is screaming at you not to do. Go slowly with each move. Feel each part of the move throughout the range of the move. Stop before straining too much. There is no place for ego in performing the move. While struggle and effort is required, it is to be tempered with awareness (which we all have) of what is gentle extension beyond our comfort zone versus strain beyond our safety zone.
We make these judgments in everyday life: the difference between overcoming laziness, to what we know to be dangerous risk taking.
As adults, even though we have come to rely on professional advisers, really, except with extreme illness, we do not need doctors or other professionals to tell us what is and is not good for us... we just have to listen to our bodies.
- sean joshua
June 3, 2009 6:14PM
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