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Is yoga going to break your body?

Is yoga going to break your body?

Posted by Henry Maitland on 20th Jul 2017

Before I launch into this month’s health tip I just want to say hello to all our new readers and clients. I feel privileged that you have chosen to shop with us and very much hope that you find additional value in this newsletter and the articles that we write.

One of the key reasons for writing this newsletter is that health cannot just be about supplements, as the name clearly suggests they are supplemental and therefore are only a part of a healthy life, diet and philosophy of being. To maintain integrity whilst selling even the highest quality supplements I feel there should be a responsibility to ongoing education as to the other aspects of health that need to be addressed to reveal a balanced and a truly vibrant and happy life.

So what’s all this about yoga breaking my body I hear you ask!

I was relaxing on Sunday with a few of the papers (which I don’t read often for reasons that are perhaps beyond the scope of this post) and was interested to see the title ‘Do you feel the pain?’ with the article being on the dangers of yoga.

Now the article itself was actually very balanced and came to the sensible and logical assumption that it comes down to the appropriateness of the individuals readiness to do yoga, their degree of physical injury, the type of yoga they choose to do and the teacher they have, all in all very well considered. There were however many crazy and very poorly thought out arguments from ‘top media health professionals’ as to why yoga might break you. These arguments clearly demonstrate why we keep missing the point when it comes to our physical health and what is actually required to be healthy.

How to build a healthy body for life

So how do we go about building a healthy body for life when there are so many different things that can be done, so many directions that could be taken? Well as with anything if we do not understand the context to which the situation exists in we cannot come to any logical solution, we can only judge from the limited perspective that we have.

If we look at exercise and physical health logically we can see that there has to be a foundation, a base that no matter what the type of exercise is done this foundation supports it. As with all systems, if the foundation is no good the rest of the system is flawed.

The physical foundation for humans is our ability to move correctly and to be able to stabilise that movement limiting wear and tear on the body and reducing the chance of injury. So to build the foundation from which all other physical health related activities can be done we need to achieve a balanced strong and stable foundation. This comes from postural correction, corrective stretching and stability and movement training.

It appears that the majority of people are born with a pattern of skeletal imbalance observable by age 4-5. We don’t really feel the effects of this until were in our 20s and the degree of the effects that we feel come down to a large list of genetic, learnt and environmental factors. By age 30 we have imbedded the pattern and by age 40ish after a few kids and some serious stress we’re usually ready to start ‘getting fit’

Most peoples who have pain are experiencing this pain as a result of the underlying primary imbalance. Now add yoga, or going to the gym or lifting weights, or going jogging, or pump class, or being pushed to the max by a personal trainer or any of the other numerous choices that can be made and see what happens. In most cases if you’re doing enough to make a difference you’re doing enough to cause pain and injury. There are of course exceptions as an excellent teacher in something like yoga or Pilates can help correct posture and rebalance the body incorporating the necessary rehabilitation. I am of course making some generalizations to make this slightly shorter!

The point being that if we do not address the foundations of our physical health before trying to build on it we will end up in most cases injured. And this is how it is for the majority of us! Surely we have to stop looking at what the media tells us healthy is and start looking at this logically. I can guarantee and demonstrate to you that the vast majority of the information in the mainstream media is only there to sell a product and has no connection at all to your long term health.

Out of the many wide spread approaches to building physical health available I would say that an appropriate type of yoga taught by a great instructor would be a very beneficial place for many people to begin their health journey. The right kind of yoga provides the opportunity to gently bring the body back to balance whilst addressing breathing and an increased awareness of ones deeper Self. When people such as those in last week ends newspaper say that practices such as yoga are quote “a waste of time” or “the reason everyone likes yoga is because it’s not very hard” or the classic “you might feel that you’re getting fit doing this once a week but you’re not” is clear self-evidence of their lack of understanding of human health. These quotes come from a celebrity trainer who advises the media on health matters… and so we can see how promotion of false teachings is propagated.

I would however say that if you are in pain, have suffered from pain or are very out of shape I would start off working with a C.H.E.K practitioner. The CHEK institute in California is the only place of its type and has teachers all over the world. Due to numerous physiological and mechanical laws the body needs specific training to address the underlying cause of dysfunction fully and there needs to be assessment to figure out the full pattern before it can be corrected. This correction is to build a foundation that can set you up for life.

In health and happiness

Henry