Yoga as Science, Once and for All
Don't Get it Twisted, Yoga is Exercise, First and Foremost
Modern Yoga teachers have turned this ancient science into contests of flexibility and quests for meditative transcendentalism. Betwixt to them, modern Yoga teachers are perpetuating stereotypes about this science that are hindering its acceptance by the Western medical community. Yoga could be a powerful complementary medicine prescribed by health care professionals and acknowledged by medical journals as a scientifically valid form of treatment. Instead, Yoga has been confined to the dark hallways of skepticism due to the predominant stereotypes that it is a radical way of thinking and a form of meditation. Certainly, Yoga is a holistic medicine, meaning it can treat both the mind and body as a whole, but promises of meditative bliss made by modern Yoga teachers leave everyone skeptical.
The text "Anatomy of Hatha Yoga" by H. David Coulter presents Yoga as a science and studies the medical and anatomical benefits of Yoga exercises. I have been teaching therapeutic Yoga to patients for the past four years and I have almost completed a five year double blind study of the benefits of Yoga treatment on diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and depression. Dr. Coulter's text has been a invaluable resource to my study and should be considered the most comprehensive, authoritative text on Yoga. Like any other form of traditional exercise such as aerobic conditioning and resistance training, Yoga is a form of self-treatment and, unlike other exercises, is completely unbound from exercise equipment. You don't need even need running shoes to do Yoga, all you need is some open space and a little will to empower yourself.
Published by HEVVY
"For those who understand you, no explanation is necessary, for those who don't, none is possible." -Kurt Cobain View profile
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6 Comments
Post a CommentI am interested in your study that incorporates native healing and yoga. I have been discouraged by the 'business' of yoga practice in many American studios. I think its interesting that the white culture (or lack of culture) in America is so quick to assimilate these yogic teachings as their own by attaching a $ to their use. Thanks for posting!
Interested to learn more about Yoga. I have tried some of the deep breathing and it really helps.
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I agree with HEVVY that Yoga operates on many levels, much like the martial arts. Certain postures and levels of meditation are meant for advanced students with years of practice and devotion to their art. If any Yoga instructor is promising instant gratification, bliss, or any other metaphysical nirvana, that teacher is not being true to the art form. I think to truly understand Yoga, you have to be knowledgeable about the Sutras and the physiological aspects explained in the Anatomy of Hatha Yoga text by Dr. Coulter. Regardless, I see that this seems to be a controversial subject matter, given the banter between the author and critic below.
Hi Sue, whoever you are, thank you for your negative comment. It is people like you that I am addressing. I am a certified Bikram Yoga instructor and I am now developing my own style of Yoga that incorporates American Indian healing components. The metaphysical components of Yoga are meant for highly developed students, maybe you should read Patanjali and see that all of Yoga, the physical and metaphysical, are meant for the prepared student. I don't appreciate your uninformed opinion on my site.