Yoga: Spiritual Ascension, Or Objective Failure?

Have you seen the new fitness fad? No, its not Crossfit, but Crossfitters are starting to do it. Along with bodybuilders, strength trainers and the like. Yoga has exploded in the western world. From prison inmates, to mothers, to children, yoga has become the new fitness craze, again. But are the benefits of yoga as amazing as the public would have you believe? Let's take a look through the eyes of an objective lens.

Yoga is a practice from Eastern philosophy. Many believe it originated in India, but there is no hard evidence to clarify. Yoga is meant to be a way of finding enlightenment through different postures, meditation, and positions. It was seen as a way of becoming spiritually enlightened by Hindus, Buddhists, and many other religious and philosophical sects. Have we reached spiritual harmony through these practices? Simply put, no we haven't. Let's dive deeper into this.

What would be the criteria for being a spiritual person? Well, a spiritual person would follow the teaching of whatever philosophy or religion they are a part of. They would embody what it means to be part of that sect. Let's take an example. You just finished yoga class for the 20th time. Every time you leave class you drive by a not so nice neighbourhood. Let's say you come across a homeless man. You have the option of bringing that homeless person into your home, feeding them, giving them a place to sleep, clothing them, etc, or you can go about your day. Which option have you chosen almost every day? My guess is going to be "going about your day."

Don't feel bad about it, these are the things you're taught as a child. Don't talk to strangers, right? What would your philosophy or religion have to say about it? Almost all religions would say help the poor man/ woman. So ask yourself, is yoga actually spiritual at all? Do the poses and postures actually create a new paradigm in your body and mind to create a sustainable change outside the body?

Let's get off the topic of spirituality and come to the physical realm. Does yoga promote more health benefits, or more health concerns? Previously researchers have found little to no evidence that yoga promotes a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. The issue here is there are no longer term studies done on the subject. However, we can look at some objective measures around what makes a human function well, whether it be within posture or movement. Lets take the posture of an "ideal" human. Ideally, the human would not have any muscular or neural compensations. Physically it would look like the person has a flat back, the head is in between the shoulders and stacked over top of the body. The feet are pointed straight, the knees stack right over top of the ankles, and the hips stack over top of the knees.

Now let's take a look at the posture of yoga in general.

Upward Dog

Note the excessive compression around the low back. Generally speaking, most yoga practices insist on being in these positions from 30 seconds to 5 minutes and longer. How does that create better function in and outside the body? It doesn't. It causes spinal and nerve compression. Ever wonder where your sciatica came from?

Deep Squat

How about this pregnant woman's squat? Note the hyper-mobility in the hips. Not only does this put pressure on the child, its causing a lot of impingement on the hip flexors and the surrounding nerves.

So when taking a deep objective look, we can see there is quite a bit of harm to it. The perception of it being beneficial is a bit of a mystery. Some speculate it to be a deeper longing for tribalism. Wanting to be involved in a group with the perception of making progress within the group. It's more akin with a social club than a fitness modality.

In conclusion, we can start to see that we need to be more critical in these fitness fads that are popping up. If you don't have objective measures, and people are telling you the benefits of something without any results, it's time to reconsider what you're being told. Whether or not you believe me is completely up to you. If you continue the path of yoga, you will eventually find yourself with injuries that will not be solved with surgery, or more yoga. It is inherent in the positions and postures displayed in yoga. There is no need for a low back to curve completely like a "U," just as there is no need to throw your legs over your head. It may look cool, and it might be a nice party trick, but you're hurting your body more than you think.