3 reasons why you should do yoga, and 1 big one that says you shouldn't..

I recall my introduction to yoga as a bright eyed 17 year old. A friend hooked me up with the practice to help with my surfing, which I was getting fairly serious about at the time. My desire then, was to be more limber and agile, and incorporate it as part of my fitness training.

Like many, I became drawn into the spiritual practice, and particularly the breathing (pranayama). It wasn’t long before I transformed from a weirded out dude at the back of the class, moving my mouth pretending to chant when the group kicked in, to busting out omms with the best of them.

As life took various turns, I soon became disillusioned with the more meaningful sides of the practice. Mainly through the abundance of try-hard hippies and fake gurus, who became more transparent to me as I became more immersed in both practicing and teaching.

It seemed yoga for the west had become laced with bullshit that it just couldn’t shake.

Whether it was detoxing organs with certain poses, or life coaching from a 6 week trained 19 year old busty dancer, it was either endure the emerging culture and venture into the world of MLM essential oils and herbalife, or break free and realise that there is more out there.

While I personally still have a yoga inspired practice, I have come to realise that the physical practice that initially drew me to yoga is largely flawed for the masses. As both a practitioner longing for more, and a teacher unable to give students at the time, what they needed, I have come to realise there are many elements of yoga missing if a practice based on physical benefits is your vibe.

On that note, below are the reasons why I think you should and shouldn’t do yoga. Your call.

Benefits of Yoga

Mindfulness 

The mindfulness benefits that come with doing yoga cross over into everything. For example, research has shown that those that do yoga also tend to make better food choices, and this is due to the exposure to mindfulness techniques.

Becoming a bit of a buzz word in the psychology realm, mindfulness is the core of a good yoga practice, and has a massive amount of mental and physical benefits. Mindfulness in movement will also cross over into the gym, sport and whatever else you do, which could help with injury prevention and efficiency in movement.

Community

Like Church, Crossfit and dressing in black and loving “The Cure" (or whatever band the current version of goths/emo’s or whatever it is called now called loves), having an interest in a cult-ure allows you to be part of something. You identify with the group, have people to share common interests, and have a thing that you do. Community means that you show up to practice, and stick to goals, and this is a good thing.

Spiritual stuff

I almost wasn’t going to include this, as I think it barely exists in mainstream yoga practice, in Australia anyway. Having trained with some very well known yoga teachers who have become known for interpreting the ancient texts, I have been saddened to see how fake the person behind it all can sometimes be. Whether it is the guru misrepresenting themselves, or the 6 week trained student throwing our contrived quotes, finding a teacher that can help on the spiritual path of yoga is difficult. Look in places you wouldn’t expect, avoid stereotypers, and you may find someone that can help you on the spiritual side of yoga, which obviously has some groundwork behind it if that is your vibe.

Benefits that you think you may be getting from yoga that you probably aren’t

Injuries/Physical stuff

Every-single-day when we start looking at mobility and movement, someone in my clinic will ask “Do you think I should do yoga?”

You may note that above, outside of the mindfulness benefits to movement, there are no physical qualities listed in benefits. Harsh maybe, but that’s because I don’t think yoga is the place to go for most people who want to move better.

I say this as someone who still has a regular yoga practice, and loves the movement component. But that’s because I know what my body needs from the practice, and also because I supplement it with the same things that I incorporate into my Not Really Yoga system, to ensure that we aren’t creating imbalanced and flaccid bodies.

Stretching muscles that don’t need stretching, and ignoring those that are spasming and trying to contract to stabilise a joint, is a recipe for disaster, and it is often what happens in a general yoga practice.

Keep in mind, yoga was intended as a one-to-one discipline. A student and his (as it was at the time) guru. Sure, there are yoga teachers around who can determine what a student needs for their body, and find a way to deliver it in classes specific to common issues for their students, but they are rare diamonds.

Applying general strategies to the body hardly ever works.

But it sometimes does. That is why they still exist. Particularly because they are empowering and feel good for a little while, but if you want to improve the way you move, get better at your sport, be stronger, or be pain free, then you need to at the very least, apply a strategy that takes into consideration the things that someone in your situation may need.
Providing you get through this, then a general yoga class can be a great maintenance program, but keep in mind, many teachers, and the practice in general, seems to place a bigger emphasis on the lengthening the muscles along the backside of the body. This is hardly ever what people who exist in modern day society need.