Yoga, Misconception and Myopia

“The soft minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new. For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea.” 
Martin Luther King  (via Vern Gambetta's Functional Path Training)

  The path is set.  An honest look at where the "fitness" industry is going will reveal a fundamental shift away from the old physique first paradigms, or even the newer function first crowd, towards a holistic approach to wellness which places health at the top of the priorities hierarchy.  But change is destabilizing.  The strong will accept change and start the process of learning the skills necessary to thrive in the new paradigm.  Others will hide behind tired misconceptions and doggedly hold on to safe assertions, secure behind the fortifications of conventional wisdom.

I was flabbergasted recently by the myopia of one such piece of common fitness dogma.  While listening to the FitCast, my jaw dropped when I heard one of the hosts exclaim that the only way to progress in yoga is to gain weight!!  Wow!  Now if that isn't being stuck in the More Is Better paradigm then I don't know what is.

 What can I say?  Those who grok the Better Is Better paradigm will understand that progress does not always mean more quantity, but also involves more quality.  So when you think of something like yoga as a piece in the overall puzzle of wellness, you can't just think of how much weight you are lifting.  Rather, you must appreciate the power of yoga to:

• Provide incremental sophistication of movement patterns.
• Develop the ability to apply strength through a broad spatial spectrum.
• Allow the practitioner to build increasing control over movement and the application of strength.
• Balance out the vast net of connective tissue which binds the musculoskeletal system and allows it to function.

More is not better.  Better is better.  And yoga (or some other form of compensatory exercise) plays a crucial role in a balanced training program.  I love to lift heavy stuff, but the only reason that I can keep doing it, and progressing, without getting injured is because I compensate for it.

Challenge the established wisdom.  Look far and wide for a better way.  Try stuff.  Don't get bogged down in the myopia of more, more, more.

Check out this video clip of me teaching a workshop in Australia to see how flow yoga can teach incremental sophistication.  This allows us to develop quality of movement above and beyond increasing quantity.

Comments

[Damien]

That is a weird statement to make.

I have a problem/question that has been itching with me for a while... my main competitors here in Thailand will likely be the currently set-up yoga studios.

I have been to some yoga (and I intend to check out more) and I know that Prasara is fundamentally different from anything else I have experienced, and much more fun.

But people going to yoga classes make progress, they get more flexible and stronger (although the question is if their joints are properly stabilised or not) how does one compete with that already established paradigm?

[John Sifferman - Real World Strength Training]

Damien,

I don't know if this will help answer your question, but I would teach people that everything is an act of conditioning. Naturally, if they perform yoga regularly, they will progress and improve that activity and the attributes it requires - but this does NOT mean it is good for them, or healthy. It simply means they are getting better at what they already do.

You may need to ask if their yoga practice carries over to enhancing other physical skills that their lives require. Looking at yoga as merely a means of improving strength and flexibility only gives a very narrow perspective of what is possible. Of course, there are emotional and spiritual benefits to practicing yoga, if someone wants to recognize and claim them. Even still, this only scratches the surface, when you ignore the unlimited physical skills that can be enabled and enhanced through a prasara yoga practice.

This was a great article Adam, and the more coaches that start writing about the wellness revolution, the more we will reach every day. There will always be some old dogma to discard, but the process is enlightening.

John Sifferman NSCA-CPT
http://www.JohnSifferman.com

[Kevin Lee Dougherty]

If I may add to this pertinent post by the always engaging Mr. Steer: I live in a yoga Mecca of sorts (Santa Cruz, CA). I can't even begin to count the myriad yoga schools, courses, styles, etc. I know it takes up a couple of pages of the local Yellow Pages. It can be said that yoga is an integral part of the local physical fitness scene. Immersing myself in yoga more deeper in the past couple of years (inspired by Prasara, Cameron Shayne's Budokon yogic science and Shiva Rea who Scott Sonnon deeply admires) I've taken up yoga academically, too (more on this in a later post at the RMAX forum). One thing I think that needs to be stressed more elegantly is the differences of "Doing" yoga and "Being" Yoga (a well-practiced Prasara session to me is most definitely the latter). A danger in how yoga is being applied presently in this culture is as an augmentation to other activities (yes, Prasara is used as a compensation in CST, but, more importantly, IT'S one of the 3 definite Wings of CST, not to be glossed over, but to be used consistently and deeply). It is a 4,000 year + system that is just more than stretching.

[Adam]

Great discussion guys! I think part of the image problem in yoga and other "traditional" movement arts is the difference between good yoga and bad yoga, good movement and bad movement, good teachers and bad teachers. There is lots of both out there, but I have the feeling that most trainers in the current mainstream probably see the "bad" stuff for the most part. So yoga comes to be perceived as another way of packaging a "stretching class."

Damien, I think part of the answer to your question is in the question itself. Prasara is just more fun. Never mind the benefits down the road, hook them now with the fun. I once had a conversation with Coach Jones in which we both agreed that the best approach with our clients is to "give them what they want and sneak in what they need..."

Thanks for chiming in guys!

[Kevin Lee Dougherty]

Senor Steer and Damien, I think we are only seeing the beginning of Prasara, its embryonic stages. I love the 5 Series A flows and the 5 Series B flows and am presently happy with studying and delving deeper in them. Eventually, Prasara should be 'creating' ones own flows. Sonnon has given us the map and compass, it is up to us to explore the topography.

[Adam]

Kevin,

Amen. You are quite right. Each day, "your yoga" will be a bit different, and you have to seek that out. The set flows are like sheet music, so you can learn the notes, riffs, etc. Then you can start playing some jazz... ;)

I've got a bunch of flows I'm about ready to film that are for doing flow yoga in a confined space. In my classes we are on hardwood floor with just a 2x6 yoga mat. So I've had to take the principles of Prasara and apply them to the mat. It's been fun and I think it will be cool material to share. I'm looking at trying to film a few in two weeks time.

Cheers,
Adam

[Damien]

Cool.

Looking forward to seeing that, Coach. It may be very likely that I will have to go a similar route until I can establish my own gym/studio.

Why is it that I have never seen a matted yoga studio???

It is a pretty obvious testament to the linear nature of most yoga currently out there.

I have in the past created my own flows, but currently am seeking a deeper understanding of the material already laid out for us (and my creative exploration impulses are all currently focused on my strength and metcon training).

John, your answer is great... and backed up with the idea of 'just more fun' really works.

:)

[John Sifferman - Real World Strength Training]

Thanks Damien!

Adam, looking forward to taking a look at those flows!

John Sifferman NSCA-CPT
http://www.JohnSifferman.com

[yoga schools]

I love the post! It’s speaks the truth perfectly. I love the part about the yoga and chocolate binging. Keep up the posts!