Your Doctor Wants You To Do Yoga
By Dr. Michael W. Schweppe
About four years ago, I got onto a ski lift in Vermont and found myself sitting next to a ski instructor. After making some small talk, I asked him, “Is there a trick to skiing better? I don’t seem to be able to bend my knees and get down as low as some of the good skiers I see.”
“Well, do you do yoga?” he asked.
“No, but what does that have to do with skiing?”
“Well, if you’re over 40 and want to ski, you have to do yoga,” he replied, as if stating an obvious fact.
A few years have gone by, and after a few false starts, I’ve been doing yoga every day. I’m not sure my skiing is much better, but I know I’m healthier, happier and more in tune with my body and mind. I hope this article will convince you to give it a try too —†whether you’re 14, 40, or 94!
The physical form of yoga, hatha yoga, is no longer exotic or strange to most Americans, but it certainly took me a while to get into it. I was an Army officer before going to medical school, and my idea of exercise used to be based on the things I learned in Airborne and Ranger training. I loved doing lots of pushups, situps, pullups and running outside in the early morning darkness. Was something I could do indoors on a little mat real exercise?
We are all creatures of habit and tend to gravitate toward those activities we like, especially when the time available for exercise is limited. Many men prefer strength-training and skimp on cardio and flexibility. Many women enjoy dance-type activities that emphasize balance and flexibility, but avoid strength training. We end up with bodies that are out of alignment and minds that are cluttered and stressed out.
I am now convinced vigorous, regular yoga is the best all around exercise. It is a 5,000-year-old practice that combines strength, cardio, balance, stretching and meditation. It is not gentle or passive, and is at times as physically challenging as anything I did in the military. It is not a fad exercise invented by any one person, but has been refined over the centuries by tens of thousands of people. Things that didn’t work —†or caused injuries — were discarded.
In my orthopedic surgery practice, I have seen very few yoga-related injuries or overuse conditions. In weight training, you have to remember to do legs curls after doing leg extensions, and follow this up with a period of stretching. People skip the parts they don’t enjoy, and can end up with injuries. Yoga, on the other hand, works opposing muscle groups and combines strengthening with stretching seamlessly.
People can, of course, be injured doing yoga, as described in an October 2007 Time magazine article, "When Yoga Hurts", which describes injuries caused by "yoga gone awry". I believe these risks can be minimized by seeking instruction from yoga instructors who have attended a course of training, usually indicated by the initials “RYT” (registered yoga teacher) after their names. We are fortunate in the Hudson Valley to have several reputable yoga facilities with well-trained instructors.
Another way to start yoga is with videotapes or DVDs at home. I did this, and after learning the difference between a downward facing dog and an upward facing dog (two basic yoga postures), I took the plunge and went to a yoga class. This was a little bit intimidating, but I soon recognized most of the postures and movements from my home DVD practice. Another reassuring factor to consider is that gazing around during a yoga class and looking at the other students is really discouraged by the instructor. It’s natural to feel a little self-conscious at first, but you will soon realize that in yoga, you are only in competition with yourself. I have attended classes all around the country and have not experienced the health club primping and preening that turns a lot of people off.
Finally, I especially would like to see more older people get involved in yoga. One of the things that happens to us when we get older is our ability to maintain our balance and recover from near falls is impaired. Several early research studies suggest yoga can be helpful in reversing this trend in older people. And as orthopedic surgeons, we see the often-devastating effects of hip, shoulder and wrist fractures in elderly patients every day. An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.
So make it a resolution to try yoga in the new year. You will find toned abs, thighs and buttocks are not the goals of this 5,000-year-old tradition — although nobody complains when this happens to them. The true benefits are much more profound. You’ll find yourself addicted to practicing every day. And that’s an addiction I wholeheartedly endorse, as a doctor!
Dr. Schweppe is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with Orthopedic
Associates of Dutchess County.† He is the chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck.
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