Can You Do Too Much Yoga?
It's a question that people usually don't ask. But the ones who do usually have a good reason: injury.
In the U.S., yoga is marketed as a physical endeavor. It is usually practiced as a physical endeavor, first and foremost, and almost exclusively. And just like any other physical endeavor--be it cycling, running, weight training, or aerobics--if that single physical endeavor is all you do, you will get hurt. Period. End of story.
Repetitive injuries are on the rise in the yoga community, and it is because yoga teachers and yoga students alike are not attuned to some simple facts:
In the U.S., yoga is marketed as a physical endeavor. It is usually practiced as a physical endeavor, first and foremost, and almost exclusively. And just like any other physical endeavor--be it cycling, running, weight training, or aerobics--if that single physical endeavor is all you do, you will get hurt. Period. End of story.
Repetitive injuries are on the rise in the yoga community, and it is because yoga teachers and yoga students alike are not attuned to some simple facts:
- Yoga is billed as the be-all, end-all answer to your physical conundrums. It's marketed as the greatest cure for the greatest ills. But it's not designed to be, and nor should be used as such, especially in isolation.
- A balanced approach to any intentional exercise is necessary when we live, work, and function in a sedentary, post-industrial world. When we only "use" our bodies during intentional, planned physical activity, and we do not vary that activity sufficiently, we will get hurt.
- Each of our muscles needs to be both stretched and strengthened. When strength or flexibility of one area or muscle group is ignored at the expense of strength or stretching of another, we get hurt.
I was just writing the following passage in my Save Your Neck and Shoulders Handbook:
"It takes a really well-trained shoulder complex to make it through a set of inversions (like the ever-present downward-facing dog) and sun salutations (with their brutal sequence of plank-chaturanga-upward facing dog) without creating massive imbalance in the shoulders…."
and had recently finished my article, "How to Stop Back Pain and Avoid Surgery," when everything just lined up perfectly for me to write this current piece.
Here, I want to reiterate the things that I have told my workshop participants since I started teaching this stuff:
Here, I want to reiterate the things that I have told my workshop participants since I started teaching this stuff:
- Yoga was not designed to fix your back (or any other body part, for that matter)
- Yoga asana (physical poses) are just one tiny portion of Yoga practice, and the benefits are magnified when one participates in the entire system of Yoga
- Yoga was not originally designed for sedentary, middle-aged, stressed-out American bodies that sit all day and are already physically imbalanced
- Most yoga practiced in the U.S. is billed as flow/power yoga, emphasizing vinyasa and rapid sun salutations (which, I have already explained, are usually not healthy, and often dangerous, for anyone with instability, imbalance, or bodily pain), and most people need a better balance of slow, static, alignment-based poses to gain strength and protect joints from injury
- If you don't incorporate appropriate, intelligent, well-planned strength and joint-stability training (see the Hauber Method™) into your weekly yoga, cycling, running, or other physical endeavors, you will get hurt.
Remember that I don't think back pain should exist.
I also don't believe that shoulder pain, neck pain, knee pain, or any other pain should exist.
And remember what I insist in all of my workshops: Pain is not inevitable; it developed due to poor structural alignment over time. (See Why Does My Back Hurt?)
And sadly, doing the same yoga poses (or any other activity) over and over without an eye toward a proper strength-flexibility balance can actually be the cause of that poor structural alignment.
Yes, yoga can cause you pain and even injury.
You can do something about it when you have the correct information. And it makes me so happy to provide that information to you.
I also don't believe that shoulder pain, neck pain, knee pain, or any other pain should exist.
And remember what I insist in all of my workshops: Pain is not inevitable; it developed due to poor structural alignment over time. (See Why Does My Back Hurt?)
And sadly, doing the same yoga poses (or any other activity) over and over without an eye toward a proper strength-flexibility balance can actually be the cause of that poor structural alignment.
Yes, yoga can cause you pain and even injury.
You can do something about it when you have the correct information. And it makes me so happy to provide that information to you.
This modified Shalabasana is one of the few yoga poses I recommend people with back pain practice regularly.
To read one of the absolute best articles written about why yoga should not be practiced a lot--or at all--by most people, especially those with back pain, read this piece from the NY Times, written in 2012.
"Can You Do Too Much Yoga?" Written by Sara Hauber.
First published in 2012; updated and republished November 20, 2019.
First published in 2012; updated and republished November 20, 2019.
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Click the button below to go back to the main Articles page and read more about how most yoga is not good for people with back pain.
Or, if you're ready to experience the magic of the Hauber Method™ yourself, book your introductory session today! You'll get a free sample of Hauber's Heal Your Back Handbook!