Lax Regulation of Yoga May Put You At Risk

The business of yoga is booming.

More than 16 million Americans practice yoga regularly, and they spend nearly $6 billion a year on yoga classes and products.

But, as Early Show Consumer Correspondent Susan Koeppen reports, a lack of regulation in the yoga industry could be putting you at risk.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the number of yoga injuries rose from more than 3,700 in 2004 to more than 4,400 in 2006.

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Rachel Schneider, 27, who suffered from back pain, says that, while yoga brought calmness to her life with "a little bit of spirituality" and physicality, it ultimately caused two bulging disks which left her screaming in pain.

She shares her experience of getting injured because of yoga, an exercise that she loved.

And Koeppen explained how the inadequate oversight was leading to unqualified teachers being at the helm of yoga classes and students getting hurt in those classes:



So what is the right way to do yoga?

Celebrity Yoga trainer Kristin McGee showed Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith how to safely ease into yoga poses.

[TexYoga]

This is highly irresponsible reporting. First, you can get a PhD or an MD online too, but if you did, would you believe that you were a doctor? That's just nonsense. Also, by the articles own estimates, there were 4,400 injuries in 2006 out of 16,000,000 practitioners. That is .02%. Not 2%, not .2%, .02%!

Why does CBS think that government regulation would make this .02% decrease. The government is not qualified to regulate this 5,000 year old art. Yoga DOES self-regulate through the Yoga Allicance (YA). www.yogaalliance.com. Ask if your teacher is he or she is YA certified.

Finally, use some common sense. I don't think this woman injured her back through yoga but came to it with a pre-existing condition. Before starting any exercise regimen, people should a) get a physical and b) consult with their physician. Blaming your yoga teacher is passing the buck for taking care of yourself. If a personal trainer asked you to benchpress 250 lbs and you knew you couldn't, would you try it anyway? By the way, no fitness instructors are licensed by the government. This isn't just yoga. Let's not invite the government into every aspect of our lives.

[dslyoga]

SORRY, Two More Things, (but ran out of room) ...

Finally, the 2nd video above pretends to show how to prevent injury in yoga. Unfortunately, though I'm sure very compassionate & well-intended, the yoga teacher interviewed & demonstrating would be VERY dangerous to many of the clients I've worked with over the years. Her yoga techniques are NOT for those who have significant, pre-existing issues, as did the woman in the first video. (I can comment specifically, but you are probably tired of reading my rant by now???)

Bottom Line: This piece from CBS serves to perpetuate many myths & dangers & provides NO solutions, especially if one believes in the deeply & culturally ingrained myths of regulation by The State.

[dslyoga]

The doctor above is right. The woman in pain had insufficient medical care. Her doctor(s) had not seen this problem, nor warned her to be careful (nor how to be careful). It was not her yoga teacher's responsibility to determine this. There's NO WAY regulating yoga teachers would help. They'd need medical training to detect such problems. ... If this line of reasoning is followed, no one could go to yoga class without examination by a doctor, as if doctors have a good track record of seeing such things -- & their causes -- in the first place, which they do not. (See books by Dr. John Sarno, with excellent track record treating back pain w/ unorthodox means.)

Of course, the doctor above is right again: if yoga becomes too much of a threat to the medical establishment (meaning too many people are going to yoga classes rather than modern medicine for relief from problems, which IS happening), it is well documented they'll try to limit competition (such as yoga) as much as possible. (See *Transformation of American Medicine* by Paul Starr & *Of Foxes & Henhouse*s by Stanley Gross, Cato Institute.) Yes, there are doctors who prescribe yoga, but not many.

Yet if 16 million people are doing yoga, and a few thousand getting injured per year, then on a percentage basis, yoga has a FAR better track record than does the medical profession in which iatrogenic disease (people harmed by doctor malpractice or accidents & hospital stays) is a leading health problem. Should doctors now be sent to yoga school to achieve such a low percentage of injury?

ALSO, having myself been a yoga/bodywork therapist for about 28 years, MANY of my clients have suffered from the exercises & stretches prescribed for them by medical and chiropractic physicians and physical therapists. One such exercise is the Pelvic Tilt or Tuck, utilized by many licensed & regulated health care professionals, as well as many who are unregulated. The pelvic tilt is taught by many teachers of ballet, tai chi, Pilates, yoga, physical & occupational therapy, personal training, etc. We are told that this *strengthens* the muscles to *support the spine* and *reduces excess lumbar curve.* While Pelvic Tilts can produce short term relief, it's long term results are not so good.

Using a simple model of a spine & pelvis (available in many places including medical schools), & using some basic anatomical knowledge, it only takes 10 to 20 minutes to show anyone -- medically trained or not -- how Pelvic Tilts/Tucks directly & significantly compress the lumbar spinal discs. But because discs have very little in the way of pain sensitive nerves, few people notice the pressure that builds up over time until other structures (mostly nerves & muscles) start to complain. Also, many people appearing to have too much curve in their lower back do NOT, paradoxically, have too much curve in their lumbar spine. It is in many cases an illusion. Either way, Pelvic Tilts are a very dangerous way to reduce lumbar curve, for those few who actually have it.

NO ONE I've shown all this to has been able to remotely refute my points on this, once they've seen it with their own eyes, and felt the results in their own body. Also, it is usually not so-called *weakness* causing many people's back, neck or shoulder (& many other kinds of) pain, but over-contracted, shortened & hardened muscles that are causing MANY of these problems. Hardened muscles irritate nerves, compress joints, & restrict blood flow, among other things. Such muscles also present PSEUDO-weakness, but it is RELAXATION, lengthening & balancing of these muscles that is is called for. Unfortunately & paradoxically, much of physical therapy and even many yoga classes are actually increasing the tensions in their patients or students bodies, even though becoming more superficially flexible.

Plus, in 28 years, I've never once *strengthened* someone out of a problem with posture, pain or dysfunction, and I usually don't get them until they've been through the proverbial ringer with all the other modalities, both orthodox & alternative. Pelvic Tilts do little to stretch muscles, except the low back muscles which are stretched a bit, but this has it's own problems & dangers which few people, including doctors, understand.

SO, if one of the most popular exercises, extensively utilized by THE most highly-trained, licensed & regulated professionals (orthodox doctors & physical therapists), is so dangerous, and since many of the leading yoga certification programs teach Pelvic Tilts anyway, how will regulating yoga teachers help? Americans have grown up with the myth that licensing and regulation protect the public & ensure competence. But nothing can be further from the truth. Many studies & books proving this point are available for those interested. (See above for a start.)

[julirathke]

The real problem here is the lack of body awareness most individuals in the US have. Yoga is about honoring the body, humbling the ego and the asana practice is really about what you CAN do comfortably, not forcing the situation and competing with your mat neighbor. This responsibility does not fall on this teacher, rather, it is up to each person individually to know their bodies. This women needs yoga to help her learn more about her body. That is what yoga is trying to teach people and hopefully help transform this non-connectedness people have come to settle into.

I suspect this woman, like many others, would have hurt themselves eventually doing just about anything, and in her case, perhaps even picking up a pencil.

[wkeevers96]

Typical "intellectual". This woman is stuck with permanent, excruciating pain, and "julirathke"'s only concern is, "that's fine in practice, but how does in play out in theory". A danger of even greater scope with all manner of alternative therapeutic practices with no empirical-scientific study of efficacy, is that real diseases can go undiagnosed. In this instance, it was the cure that was the disease.

[scottyusa]

It's the meditation part I would have a problem with lol

[thesevenveils]

This has nothing to do with instructors. This has to do with either people who start yoga with a preexisting injury or obese people who have trouble wiping their bum trying to do even the basic stretch exercises.

[margieboy]

Yoga is perfectly safe for people with preexisting injuries or for the obese provided each person finds the appropriate instruction suited for his or her own abilities and limitations.

[BryanFRussell]

This is a valid perspective that people need to be careful who they are taking yoga from. However, government regulation is certainly not the best solution for this problem. Unfortunately most people in government do not know very much about yoga and it would be difficult for them to be able to decide who is qualified to teach and who does not. I suggest that the yoga industry itself make a stronger push for more consistency in certifications and standards. At present in the yoga community the basic accepted certification level to be a teacher is 200-hrs of training. The 30-min online certification is not recognized in the yoga community that I know. As we better educate people about what the standard certification is, people will be able to make more informed decisions about who to take yoga classes from.
Thanks for the segment, but I feel you missed the point.

[margieboy]

People must take responsibility for their own behavior. If they go to a yoga class and feel "pushed" or uncomfortable they should leave. Yoga teaches one respect for one's body's limits for that day and to not listen to your own body but to put the responsibility for your response onto one's instructor is foolish and stupid and misunderstands the entire basis for doing yoga. No government that I know of can regulate out the foolish and stupid.