Anna Chapman2013-05-21T17:08:55-04:00Anna Chapmanhttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=anna-chapmanCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Anna ChapmanGood old fashioned elbow grease.Is Yoga Bad For You?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.12128792012-01-18T19:00:00-05:002012-03-19T05:12:01-04:00Anna Chapmanhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/anna-chapman/How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body has caused quite a stir in the yoga community pointing out all the ways that yoga can injure and saying that most people shouldn't do it. But before you roll up your mat and head for the gentler delights of pilates, read this.
You wouldn't go jogging in high heels, like any activity it's important to practice yoga correctly. Yoga poses are designed for bodies which are perfectly aligned. So, if your back is a bit rounded and your shoulders roll forwards because you spend your days hunched over a computer, then you might struggle in class. Backbends are particularly dangerous for the desk-bound because they send the spine in the opposite direction. In fact a backbend can damage a weak back, especially if you throw your head back and cramp all the vertebrae together rather than extending the tailbone in the pose. So, to survive a yoga class, you need a teacher who nags you about alignment, uses props and will adjust your posture throughout the class.
The philosophy which underpins yoga tells us to practice with awareness. This means being aware of your body's limitations and breath in each pose. What it doesn't mean is being aware of everyone else in the class. Don't look at what they're doing. Ever. Everyone has a different body in terms of flexibility and length of limbs. So the person next to you might be able to bind their arms around the legs in a standing pose but that doesn't mean you should force yourself into that position. Yoga is about accepting where you are. Competition has no place in class, it leads to injury.
A lot of people are attracted to bikram yoga (the hot one) because they equate sweating with getting fit. In a heated room it's easier to touch your toes because your ligaments will loosen. The downside is that it's easier to over-extend, sending your back into spasm so that you can't bend over to put your socks on the next day. Your body can also be at risk in flow classes where the speed of poses means you can end up doing positions which aren't in Iyengar's Light On Yoga.
Speaking of which, approach yoga books and DVDs with caution. Some of Iyengar's poses are bonkers and most of us will never be flexible enough to rest our heads on the soles of our feet. And why would you want to?
But yoga is hugely beneficial to millions of people: it improves mobility for MS sufferers, soothes cancer sufferers and eases birthing. It would be a shame to scare these people away by portraying it as a dangerous activity. ]]>Warning: Yoga is as Addictive as Cracktag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9621512011-09-14T19:00:00-04:002011-11-14T05:12:01-05:00Anna Chapmanhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/anna-chapman/
I have two small children, a job in new media and work as a freelance journalist. So what did I decide to do with my teensy amount of free time? Train as a yoga teacher, of course! Not only did this training take hours but so did all the stuff around it that was essential to maintain my addiction - daily practice, practice teaching, racking up class hours with accredited teachers, reading bizarre translations of Sanskrit, writing essays, keeping a diary, even goddamn breathing (they call it pranayama). Jeez! I'm sure crackheads actually spend less time on their cause.
My family suffer for my addiction. Throughout my training I was so desperate to avoid getting pregnant that I frequently fought off my husband's advances - after all, my handstand & peacock (forearm inversion) needed work and aren't suitable poses if you want to keep an embryo in womb. Once qualified, family expansion was back on the agenda, but what's the first thing I did when I got pregnant? Exploited my family by training as a pregnancy yoga teacher, of course. And once the babe was born, I went on a post-natal course. They say that addicts are equally adaptable and can sniff out their drug whatever situation they find themselves in.
Like an addict, I wake up in the morning and I'm desperate for yoga. In fact many devout yogis get up before bleeding sunrise to meditate. And the purpose of yoga, lest we forget, isn't to zap those flabby bits, defy ageing or get a beautiful body, but to reach enlightenment. Those voices, which I'm meant to be taming in order to transcend to that beatific level, badger me until I've done several rounds of sun prayers.
However due to the cries of 'mummy I've done a poo!', the school run and work, my chances of doing yoga first thing in the morning are zero. So I feel cranky. Just like an addict in need of a hit. Sometimes I can't practice all day and my body starts to seize up. My back aches, I feel energy blockages all over my body, lethargy creeps in and I start to gorge myself on chocolate. Yoga withdrawal symptoms can be hardcore.
But what happens when I do get an hour of time for self-practice or I swank off to a class in Primrose Hill? I feel bloody brilliant. The post-yoga glow rivals sex or a hit of finest crack, I suspect.
Recently I turned 40. And rather than having a wild party on a beach in Ibiza - which is how I celebrated my thirtieth - I decided to treat myself to a yoga retreat: a whole day to devote myself to my addiction. These days I love hanging out with other yoga junkies. We have our own slang 'Vera one, for example is the first Warrior pose, otherwise known as Virabhadrasana I), we share equipment, we smile knowingly at each other in a blissed-out state at the end of a class.
And like crack, I cane a lot of money on my addiction. My teacher training cost several grand. Before that I did a foundation course, and now I have to fork out for workshops, classes and gear. Sweaty Betty and American Apparel ain't cheap.
Fortunately unlike crack, yoga remains legal and apparently prolongs life. Some yogis believe that you have a finite number of breaths - that's why they're always telling you to inhale and exhale deeply and slowly. A bit like the sort of breath you'd practice when you smoke a crack pipe (I'd imagine).