I used to be resistant to the idea of Yoga. I have recently discovered that it falls into the same category as everything else: if you know what you are trying to accomplish, it can be a useful tool.
My flexibilty has been pretty poor for a long while. After working on it extensively through weight training and seeng some great results I decided to try Yoga to further my progress. I chose Bikram, a form of hot Yoga, for 2 main reasons, neither of which has anything to do with the heat. The first is scheduling. The studio that I frequent has classes all day long which allows it to easily fit in my schedule. The second is consistency. Bikram Yoga always uses the exact same poses so I can go to any class and work on the same things, easily following my progress. My end goal is to improve my flexibilty.
What I would like to talk about is the specificity of the goals and criteria that I outlined. It is important to be that specific about your fitness routine. Yoga can be an excellent tool if you know exactly what you hope to achieve and why you are using it to achieve that goal. Many forms of exercise promise a great many things and without specific goals for ourselves, we may be lured into aiming for things we don’t need, sometimes at greater risk.
Yoga and hot Yoga claims a wide variety of benefits including:
Strength
Flexibility
Improved Circulation
Improved Internal Organ Function
Detoxification
Thyroid Regulation
And there are many others. Just like with many forms of exercise if you are interested in substantiating these claims through scientific research it can be difficult. There have been many studies that show that Yoga does have positive effects in a variety of ways, but there are also those that contend the opposite. Sometimes the question in and of itself can be tricky. What exactly is detoxification, for example, and what toxins are we supposedly purging from our systems? How do we measure an improvement of our internal organ’s function? Is it merely because we feel good? What is the difference in function of a Yogi’s spleen vs. that of your average spleen?
The uncertainty of these questions and a lack of interest in weighing their merits can be problematic. Getting a detox through sweating in hot yoga, for example, can sound appealing but there are other things to consider. When you are warmed from heat your body will be more flexible than normal. This could allow a greater range of motion than your body is accustomed to which can increase risk of injury. Dehydration is also associated with all types of negative outcomes. It thinkens the blood, which can be risky for people with cardiovascular disease. It can cause electrolyte imbalances, which can have dire consequences for you nervous system. Pregnant women should probably avoid hot Yoga entirely as overheating is one of the only restrictions on exercise during pregnancy.
That all being said, as I mentioned, I do Bikram Yoga myself. I am not so into the hot part of the proposition, but that is because I in particular don’t feel that I need any of the supposed extra benefits associated with the heat. I have chosen it because it fits my schedule and I am going into it with a clear understanding. So it’s not that hot Yoga isn’t good, but as always we need to focus in on exactly what we as individuals are trying to achieve. I know precisely what my range of motion should be and am therefore not worried about overdoing it after the heat has made me artificially more flexible. I am not pushing postures further than I should or physically can in order to stimulate my thyroid because stimulating my thyroid is not my goal.
I think that we all need to focus in more on our specific needs and goals, rather than letting the exercise modality define them for us. Let’s not do things because they say it has a certain set of benefits, but rather, let’s define our deficites and work to correct them. Too often I see individuals doing things that are at best useless, and at worst damaging and I do feel that Yoga can be particularly risky. My personal opinion in general however is that Yoga can be a great tool in your workout routine, the question is only, what do you need it for and are you using it towards that end?